Clémentine Deroudille – Robert Doisneau : music

« I have always contended that I came to photography by ear : I was scraping away on the violin as a child from the age of five…. My music stand was set up beneath a tall mirror. I had a good view of the room behind me, and it was easy to watch the young lady who gave piano lessons. Her hair was like a halo of sunshine, and my violin teacher observed her attentively. With my improvised rear-view mirror, I was the conductor of the ballet that was in progress…. My powers of observation became acute. »
–Robert Doisneau

Discover the lively and varied music scene that defined twentieth-century Paris. From street-corner accordionists to Saint-Germain jazz stars like Django Reinhardt and Eartha Kitt, and from classical virtuosos such as Maria Callas and Pierre Boulez to alternative rock groups, these images reveal the photographer’s profound affection for the world of music and its unique power to engage.

Robert Doisneau (1912-1994) was a major figure in humanist photography, whose iconic images of France, and of Paris in particular, enjoyed immense critical and popular success. His granddaughter Clémentine Deroudille, a radio and documentary producer, curated the accompanying exhibition at the Philharmonie de Paris.