“I intuitively felt that I had found my path. I knew I would have to work hard. I was going to become a photographer.”
Which photograph could summarize Martine Franck‘s perspective? Perhaps the one taken at the Charles-Foix Hospital in Ivry-sur-Seine, France in 1975. An elderly woman looks directly into the lens with a bright gaze and a wide smile, her left hand circling her eye as if she herself is focusing before clicking the shutter. This photo exudes tenderness, mischief, and joy. It encapsulates the respect and friendly approach with which Martine Franck photographed the elderly, hospital residents, workers, women, and the marginalized. Through her work, Martine Franck gave a face to those unseen, the marginalized, the destitute, and the forgotten. She proudly represented her commitments and values through her images.
The 100 Photos for Press Freedom collection by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) pays tribute to the Belgian photographer, born in Antwerp on April 2, 1938, and who passed away in 2012. She was the wife of Henri Cartier-Bresson and a member of Magnum Photos. “Martine was a beautiful person inside and out,” writes her lifelong friend Ariane Mnouchkine, founder and director of the Théâtre du Soleil. Together, they undertook a youthful journey from Japan to Pakistan, passing through Cambodia and Iran. From these travels came Martine Franck’s joy and passion for imagery: “I intuitively felt that I had found my path. I knew I would have to work hard. I was going to become a photographer.”
With women and marginal people
“Here is Martine Franck practicing, what is not common, a friendly gaze, the only approach establishing a trust-respect exchange that is visible in her images,” said Robert Doisneau, who recognized her humanist eye and her natural ability to lean towards others and listen to them.
“I have always been interested in women’s causes. I photographed feminist movements extensively, capturing attempts to achieve women’s liberation, all over the world.”
Martine Franck
Martine Franck was not a militant photographer. Her photos told stories. She became close to the Women’s Liberation Movement (MLF), covering demonstrations and standing with strikers and undocumented individuals, making women’s causes one of her key commitments. This dedication led her to photograph major figures of her time, such as Simone Veil, Simone de Beauvoir, and Gisèle Halimi.
“A photograph is a fragment of time that will never return.”
Hired by Life magazine, she briefly explored fashion photography, contributing to Vanity Fair and Vogue, before joining the Vu agency in 1970 and Magnum in 1983, founded by her husband, Henri Cartier-Bresson, whom she met in 1966. He became one of her favorite subjects, with each photo of him being a gift. His fame never overshadowed her. She confessed that she never suffered from his notoriety; her own vision was unique.
Writer Matthieu Ricard remembers her serene and reassuring presence that allowed her subjects to reveal their deepest selves, never intruding, always maintaining a respectful distance: “I don’t think you can be a good photographer without being curious about others.”
Martine Franck created her images with swift, insightful composition. In 1977, in the UK, she captured British children in the mining town of Killingworth playing on a winding slide that seemed to ascend into the sky. Her photos spoke of childhood and carefreeness. Her mastery of composition can be seen in the spiral staircase of the Clamart Library (featured on the album cover) and in the interplay of lines, shapes, shadows, and silhouettes at the pool in Six-Fours-les-Plages, designed by architect Alain Capeillère. “A photograph is a fragment of time that will never return,” she said.
Whether photographing the fishermen of Long Island, the 130 residents of the Irish island Thoraigh, or the eyes of Tibetan monks, she pursued fragments of life wherever her photographic intuition led her. This album by Reporters Without Borders brings together her most beautiful shots and, through testimonials, reminds us how Martine Franck’s inner beauty radiated through the eyes of her photographed subjects. “I don’t think you can be a good photographer without being curious about others,” Martine Franck said. Her sensitivity to the world was her finest fragment.
100 Photos for Press Freedom: Martine Franck, available for €12.50 on the RWB website.
