Poetic Moments in the Ordinary: The Photography of Andre Kertesz

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The world is unordered and chaotic, but with his sensitive intuition, the moment he pressed the shutter, an ordered world was formed.

Buy, Long Island 1963

His work influenced many masters, including Cartier-Bresson, Man Ray, and Capa.

Crossroads 1930

Unlike Cartier-Bresson, who relied heavily on anticipation and planning, for him emotion and intuition were always the first conditions.

Macdougal Alley, New York City 1977

His works are casual and natural, yet everywhere they reveal a simple geometric beauty, full of poetry and rhythm.

Sixth Avenue,New York,1973

Brassaï said he possessed the two qualifications essential to a great photographer: an untiring curiosity about the world, people, and life, and a refined sense of form.

Looking at the Circus, Budapest, 1920

He is the photographer André Kertész.

Bocskay Place, Budapest 1914

André Kertész was born in Hungary in 1894.

Budapest 1914

He began photographing constantly at the age of eighteen; his works were naturally whole from the very start — effortless and unpretentious.

My Brother as a Scherzo 1919

After arriving in Paris, the capital of art, in 1925, he entered the golden age of his photographic creation.

Satyric dancer 1926

In Paris, Kertész befriended many artists, among them Mondrian, who would later pioneer geometric abstract painting.

The Fork 1928

In Mondrian's home, he created a series of works that look ordinary today but were extremely advanced for their time — extracting lines, light and shadow, and geometric structures from ordinary scenes of life.

Chez Mondrian 1926

The piece below, "Mondrian's Pipe and Glasses," was collected for nearly 400,000 US dollars.

Mondrian's Glasses and Pipe 1926

His works everywhere demonstrate the photographer's keen power of observation.

Quai Voltaire 1928

His street photography, besides its ingenious geometric composition, often required patient waiting to capture the flawless, decisive moment — a profound influence on Cartier-Bresson.

Meudon 1928

Photography is simple — unbelievably simple. Kertész once said of himself: "I have never run far to look for material; it is often right on the steps outside my door."

Broken Glass, Paris 1929

Critics described him: "His photos are so simple they seem like cheating. Astonishingly, he photographed this way from the very beginning."

Lyons 1931

Unlike Cartier-Bresson's masculine, rigorously constructed compositions, André's works appear more spontaneous and gentle.

Le Pont des Arts, Paris, 1933

Yet within this simple, casual composition lies a kind of poetry.

Poughkeepsie,New York,1937

Interwoven lines and blocks of color, as if filled with musical rhythm.

Elevated Train Platform, New York 1937

Beyond street photography, what earned Kertész his place in photographic history was his series of visual "distortion" works, exploring innovative visual expression with profound meaning.

Melancholic Tulip 1939

The age of 43 was the turning point of Kertész's life. Against his friends' advice, he decided to leave Paris for America to fulfill a work contract. But after the contract ended, the outbreak of World War II made it impossible for him to return to France.

New York 1944

Honored as a master in Paris, he was ignored in America and fell into obscurity.

Watchmaker’s Shop New York 1950

The American photography world of that time only understood technique-first documentary photos, not expressive creative photography — no museum invited Kertész to exhibit.

Washington Square, New York 1954

A tiger stranded on the plains, Kertész was forced by livelihood to apply for a job at LIFE magazine — only for LIFE's editors to judge his photos as "saying too much, making the intent unclear." In anger, Kertész decided he would never publish in LIFE for the rest of his life. In those hard years, he could only make a living photographing furniture.

Washington square 1966

Through the long years, Kertész kept photographing the fragments of life he observed by intuition — steadfast and solitary — never changing himself because he was misunderstood.

Rainy Day, Tokyo 1968

Not until American photography slowly matured did people discover with astonishment that such an extraordinary figure had been living in their own country all along. In 1964, the Museum of Modern Art held a retrospective for him; a series of global exhibitions followed, and flowers and applause surrounded Kertész once again.

New York 1970

Kertész's late works are full of emotional metaphors born of experiencing all the vicissitudes of life.

New York 1972

Anyone who has ever experienced loneliness will feel deep resonance with Kertész's late works. No matter how trends changed, he stubbornly held to his photographic philosophy in solitude, cutting poetic moments out of ordinary life.

The Balcony, Martinique, 1972

"Appreciating the Masters of Photography" series:

1. Poetic Moments in the Ordinary — André Kertész

"Appreciating the Masters of Photography" is a new column by Thomas, aimed at improving aesthetics and broadening horizons. It features not only classic photos from photographic history, but also works by the most active and top photographers across every field, style, and medium today.

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