As Proust was in his writing, Jacques-Henri Lartigue was in his photography a keen observer of the mores of contemporary Parisian society, in particular their expression through forms of consumption and leisure. The rising spectacle of women’s fashion did not escape the attention of either figure as a key aspect of the city’s self-image as the capital of modern culture.

In Avenue du Bois de Boulogne Lartigue captures the image of two promenading women. As their backs are turned, it is unclear whether his subjects are conscious of being photographed, yet their modish outfits and accessories denote an acutely modern awareness of appearance as self-presentation. A peripatetic photographer, Lartigue was an avid proponent of the then new handheld camera.

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Jacques-Henri Lartigue (French, 1894 - 1986)
Avenue du Bois de Boulogne, 1911
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Dr. Myron A. Hofer, in memory of his mother, Frances L. Hofer, P1978.90