Originally published by Seghers in 1949 and later reissued by Denoël in 1983, this collection had long eluded enthusiasts. Its recent re-release, featuring a fresh graphic design by the renowned Philippe Apeloig, aligns with Denoël editions’ ongoing celebration of the Swiss writer since 2022.
Robert Doisneau‘s contribution to the book by Blaise Cendrars is noteworthy. Through his lens, Doisneau captures the essence of post-war Parisian suburbs, providing a visual narrative that complements Cendrars’ dense and poetic text. The images by Doisneau have become timeless classics, celebrated in this updated edition with a new graphic layout. Together, the collaboration of Cendrars and Doisneau takes readers on a journey through time, offering a unique perspective on the suburban landscapes of Paris and showcasing the artistry of two great talents.
For over sixty years, Robert Doisneau meticulously documented the lives of Parisians and suburban dwellers, spanning from the pre-war era in Les Halles to the pre-occupied Gentilly, the profound void of the Occupation from 1940 to 1944, his native southern suburbs, the existentialist Saint-Germain des Prés, and the new cities of the 1980s. His thousands of images transcend mere documentary value, adhering to a holistic perspective that collectively forms a body of work expressing a unique vision. No single category has successfully encapsulated the richness and diversity of his oeuvre. Doisneau is foremost the engaged witness of a history in motion, haunted by profound reflections on the passage of time, the superfluous, the unfinished, and modernity in the Baudelairian sense of the term. This is why he excelled in capturing what would inevitably disappear.

In 1945, a young Robert Doisneau was commissioned, by Denoël editions, to produce a report on Blaise Cendrars (1887-1961), an already famous writer. This order is intended to promote his novel L’Homme foudroyé. Received by the novelist in his hideout in Aix-en-Provence, Doisneau finds a hermit there who has returned to writing after four years of silence. Very quickly, the meeting between the writer and the photographer is woven into complicity and friendship. The two men talk, walk, and discover each other. Meanwhile, Cendrars writes, writes without respite: will come La Main coupe, Bourlinguer and Le Lotissement du ciel. The photographer’s gaze rests, for his part, constantly, in the light of Provence, on the intimacy and solitude of the work of an immense writer at the peak of his talent, in the fullness of his life and of his work.