As part of the never-ending celebrations of all things French here in Brazil, which has so far included everything from electro popstar Sébastien Tellier to cubist Matisse, photgrapher Henri-Cartier Bresson has been honoured with an exhibition of more than 100 photographs from around the world. Considered the father of photojournalism, the exhibition brings together images that span his career, from more famous ones such as Behind the Gare St. Lazare (perhaps his most famous photograph) to others displaying the breadth of his travels around the world.

Having gone to see the Walker Evans exhibition only a few weeks ago, it was fascinating to see how distinct each photographer's style was and yet how in many ways, they share similarities. The curators of each exhibition seemed to pick up on differences more, demonstrated by the organisation of the photographs: whilst Evans' work was neatly separated out into series and also chronologically, the Cartier-Bresson was much more wild, with photographs with seemingly nothing in common side by side, apart from the vivacity that united them all which Cartier-Bresson managed to capture (and, arguably, instilled in them himself). Most of Evans' work was austere, capturing the harsh conditions of an economically fragile nation, compared to the Francophone's more "colourful" portraits of life. And yet they both strive to bring together elements of journalism and art to their photography; Evans may be tied to the former and Cartier-Bresson to the latter, but one pick out these elements in both their work nonetheless.

I'd seen some of Cartier-Bresson's work before, in my godfather's books, on the internet, on posters, etc., but much of it was still unknown to me. To see such a variety of his photographs in one place truly felt like a privilege. There seems to be so many sensations running through each picture, from joy to sadness, from serenity to excitement, from tragedy to comedy. Some images seemed so composed and based on pre-existing styles of art, such as the picture above, whose winding stairs reminded me a lot of German Expressive Cinema, and yet others seemed authentic and vibrant reflections of life that were captured without preconceptions or pretensions. One particular photograph that I was amazed by was of a stream in Japan; a little foam had built up on top of the water and had been dragged by the current, forming wisps of white against the darkness of the water. It the lines looked so meaningful and purposeful, it was as if it had been painted on the water.

But I would have to say that personally, Behind the Gare St. Lazare still ranks as one of the most impressive photographs I've ever seen (of the relative few I have seen). A clear example of "the decisive moment" Cartier-Bresson came to be known for, the picture shows the moment before a man steps into a perfectly still puddle of water. On closer inspection, one sees that the man's actions are also mirrored by a dancer on a poster on the wall behind: layers upon layers of reflections. Asked about how the picture came about, he replied, “There was a plank fence around some repairs behind the Gare Saint-Lazare train station. I happened to be peeking through a gap in the fence with my camera at the moment the man jumped". As the French would say, pas de quoi.