édouard boubat is a Parisian photographer born in 1923 and died in 1999. he is one of the representatives of humanist photography, like robert doisneau, brassaï or henri cartier-bresson. he worked for the magazine "realities" for almost twenty years. it was after the war, in 1945, that he discovered photography. he sells the six volumes of his dictionary to buy his first camera: a rolleicord in 6X6 format, and takes his famous photograph: "the little girl with dead leaves, 1946". in 1947, he met lella, who would become his muse. the same year, he won the kodak prize. in 1971, he was the guest of honor at the arles meetings, where he won the grand prix du livre in 1977 for “la survivance”. all of his work was awarded the grand prix national de la photographie, in paris, in 1984.

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édouard boubat's flowers, whether they are sunflowers, cherry blossoms, bouquets of various flowers or lush vegetation, bring grace and timeless fullness to the daily scenes he captures. édouard boubat seeks the snapshot by surveying Parisian alleys, or green spaces such as the Luxembourg garden, or that of plants where he captures a couple kissing behind a cherry tree whose petals celebrate the poetry of the embrace. it is intuition which guides his approach, he says: “the photograph“ awaits ”the one who knows how to see it”.

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like this naked woman in his “homage to the customs officer rousseau”, or this parisian woman on her sofa looking out onto the street from her window, edouard boubat's photos invite a form of gentle meditation. this technique of “back photography”, of which he is a fervent practitioner, is found in many of his images, it prevents direct contact with his subject and illustrates for him the fact of knowing how to look into the distance and dream.