Robert Capa exhibition opens in India – photo gallery

On 7th January 2023, a unique exhibition of photographs by the world-renowned Hungarian born photojournalist, Robert Capa (1913-1954) was inaugurated by His Excellency Mr. István Szabó, Ambassador of Hungary to India at Museo Camera, a modern museum of art, science, and history of photography at Gurugram near Delhi. This amazing exhibition of 108 photographs by the legendary lensman, Robert Capa, has been made possible by the collaboration between Liszt Institute-Hungarian Cultural Centre in Delhi, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center, Budapest and Museo Camera, Gurugram.

The impressive inauguration ceremony was attended by Her Excellency Ms. Diana Mickeviciene, Ambassador of Lithuania in India, Ms. Mugdha Sinha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Culture, Government of India, Mr. Raghu Rai, eminent India photographer, Mr. Aditya Arya, Founder of Museo Camera and Dr. Marianne Erdő, Director of Liszt Institute-Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi and many eminent invitees. Rich tributes were paid by all speakers to the extraordinary life of Robert Capa.

The iconic photographs by the Greatest War Photographer in the World are on display in the exhibition from 8th to 31st January 2023.

Robert Capa is considered a unique visual chronicler of several 20th-century wars. He covered wars directly from the battlefield, and made his mark in photography in the course of his tragically short life. His photographs taken at the frontlines and in the heartland showed the power of images constructed from a deep sense of humanism and compassion.

Robert Capa had stated:

“It’s not enough to have talent, you also
have to be Hungarian”.

He also said :

“If your photographs aren’t good enough,
you’re not close enough”.

Robert Capa had also photographed great personalities of his time such as Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Ernest Hemingway and others.

In 1954, he was on an assignment from ‘Life’ magazine to cover French colonial wars. During that task, he unfortunately stepped on a landmine and died on 25 May,1954 in Thai Bihn City, Vietnam. The French Army awarded him the Croix de Guerre with Palm posthumously. In his rather short life, he had contributed a lot.

I end this report with a quote by Robert Capa:

“For a war correspondent to miss an invasion
is like refusing a date with Lana Turner”.

Guest author: Gopalan Rajamani

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