Art

Femmes by Martine Franck

Selecting from images gathered over a 50-year-career, Belgian photographer Martine Franck explores the lives of women across the world with her book 'Femmes'

Martine Franck

Martine Franck Machine tool factory. Bucarest, Romania. 1975. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Young dancers rehearsing at the Ballet Moisseev. Moscow, Russia. March, 2000. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Louvre Museum. Tactile gallery. Paris, France. 2007. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Old people's home. Ivry sur Seine, France. 1975. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Visit. An older and younger woman. Paris, France. 1986. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Chantal Reiber, Project Engineer of a chemical factory.

Grande Paroisse, Toulouse, France. 1991. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Children climbing wall. Tory Island, Donegal, Ireland. 1995. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Painters of the imaginary exhibition, painting by Paul Delvaux. Grand Palais, Paris, France. 1972. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Vietnamese refugees in a refugee camp organised by Caritas. Kai Tak, Hong-Kong. 1980. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck French writer Chantal Chawaf. Grigny, France. 1983. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck French actress Isabelle Huppert. 1981. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Italian painter Leonor Fini at home. Paris, France. 1981. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos
Martine Franck Ariane Mnouchkine during the rehearsal of "Le songe d'une nuit d'été". Théâtre du Soleil. Paris, France. 1968. © Martine Franck | Magnum Photos

“Taking a portrait of someone – be it man or woman – starts with a conversation. It is important for me to try and catch the person when they are listening or when they are in a pensive mood or have forgotten my presence. I rarely ask a person to pose for me as I prefer that they reveal themselves as they wish. For me the eyes and the hands are most important and when possible I like to use natural light. All through my life as a photographer I have made a point of photographing women whom I admire, who have done something special with their lives, who have protested against their fate, also those close to me, like my daughter and grand-daughter and intimate friends all of whom appear in this collection.” – Martine Franck

Martine Franck travelled the globe photographing the social landscape. This book brings together a selection of her photographs of women, from factory workers in Bucharest to geishas in Kyoto and encompassing the film stars, artists, writers and performers she photographed since the 1960s. It is both a celebration of women and a testimony to the unique vision and empathy of a great photographer.

"Taking a portrait of someone – be it man or woman – starts with a conversation"

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