Jacques-Henri Lartigue

This volume, published by Bordas in 1990, serves as a focused biographical survey of the life and work of the French photographer and painter Jacques-Henri Lartigue. Compiled with the assistance of his widow, Florette Lartigue, the book was produced to archive the ephemeral, joyful nature of his early twentieth-century images, which capture the leisure class, early aviation, and automotive sports with a distinctive, candid eye that remained largely unknown to the general public until his late-career discovery.

The design of the monograph reflects the aesthetic sensibilities of the period, prioritizing a clean, archival presentation of Lartigue's gelatin silver prints and color photographs. By contextualizing his work through the personal lens of Florette, the publication highlights the photographer's lifelong dedication to documenting the 'movement' and 'light' of his immediate environment. It was received as an essential reference for understanding the transition between his amateur beginnings and his eventual status as a seminal figure in the history of modernist photography.