Giacometti and Cartier-Bresson

After Matisse-Picasso and Calder-Miró, the trend of exhibits based on the juxtaposition of two big-name artists' works continues. Une communauté de regards at the Fondation Cartier-Bresson in Paris, until March 26. The exhibit, devoted to a comparison of the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson with that of Alberto Giacometti, consists of drawings, sculptures, and photographs around four themes, according to the Web site: surrealism, "the decisive moment," drawings of Paris, and Giacometti photographed by Cartier-Bresson. I've seen two reviews of this exhibit so far. The first is by Frédérique Fanchette (Giacometti dans l'objectif d'un ami, January 25) for Libération (my translation):

Alberto Giacometti loved to converse with his friends. The exhibit "Une communauté de regards," which puts his work in a dialogue with that of Henri Cartier-Bresson to whom he was linked, would certainly have pleased him. For his part, HCB, who had followed the beginnings of this project proposed by the Swiss curator Tobia Bezzola, replied several months before his death, "It would be an honor." Photographs, sculptures, and drawings are on show at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, the artist's former home-studio situated in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, not very far from 46, rue Hippolyte-Maindron, where Alberto Giacometti lived and worked.

In another review (Les malicieux jeux de miroirs entre Henri Cartier-Bresson et Alberto Giacometti, February 3) for Le Monde, Claire Guillot recounts the story of how the two artists met (my translation):

When they first met, in the 1930s, the photographer marvelled, "It was a joy for me to learn that Alberto had the same three passions as I: Cézanne, Van Eyck, and Uccello."

To read more in English, check out Louise Baring, Two men in pursuit of the decisive moment (The Telegraph, January 24). After Paris, the show will move to the Kunsthaus in Zurich, Switzerland, from May 13 until August 7.