Willy Ronis
1910–2009 · France
Composing with ordinary life.
The story
Ronis developed a reportage photography attentive to working-class communities, work and leisure. Paris, Belleville, Ménilmontant and Provence occupy important places in his work. His images combine social commitment, apparent simplicity and precise construction. They are not limited to neighbourhood nostalgia: gestures, relationships between people and shared spaces form a way of telling everyday collective life.
Understanding the work
Follow the lines of the space and the positions of figures. An image’s harmony does not necessarily erase social tensions; it can make a situation more attentive and more legible.
Key works and series
Belleville-Ménilmontant; scenes of work; Le Nu provençal.
