Raymond CAUCHETIER (1920–2021), Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard. Walking

Silver print, produced in 1998, signed in felt-tip pen, with ‘Copyright’ and title stamps on the reverse. Annotations (dimensions and references) in pencil on the reverse. Dimensions: 7.1 x 9.4 in Quote from Raymond Cauchetier: ‘I’m always amazed when I see some of my photos become iconic, symbolising not only the New Wave, but an entire era, and sometimes even France itself. Why do certain images emerge in this way, so unpredictably? (…) One of the most famous photos is *La Descente des Champs-Élysées* from *À bout de souffle*. It should never have existed. Godard had great difficulty filming this scene in which Belmondo meets Jean Seberg, a street vendor selling copies of the *New York Herald*. He’d devised a plan to hide the cameraman in a Post Office delivery trolley, with a hole cut in the front, so as to film the actors, to whom he shouted the lines as discreetly as possible. (…) Whilst the camera had managed to capture the essentials, it was impossible for me to take a decent photograph of the scene. So I asked Belmondo and Jean Seberg to walk right to the bottom of the Champs-Élysées, where the pavement was still deserted, to re-enact the scene, just for me. They very kindly agreed. My experience as a photo-novel director – a job that allowed me to earn a living between film shoots – enabled me to get them to direct their gazes and synchronise their walking in a way that worked perfectly. Yet this very simple photograph went on to enjoy a completely unexpected global success.” Raymond Cauchetier, *La Nouvelle Vague*, foreword by Philippe Garner, Paris, Hugo Image, 2022, p. 17.

Estimate:£2,144.91

View all items fromAguttesorPhotographs