Henri Cartier Bresson ‘‘Military Appraisal at Moscow Trolley Stop” January 1955

Compositional Analysis of “Military Appraisal at Moscow Trolley Stop”

Aryssa Hernandez

11 September 2019

The power of Henri Cartier Bresson’s ‘‘Military Appraisal at Moscow Trolley Stop’’ (1955) is hidden in the facial expressions seen from the point of view of a pedestrian on the same sidewalk however, as the photograph leads the eyes towards the focal points one can clearly sense the amount of tension and intimidation in this instance captured. Henri Cartier Bresson was able to capture the story using vectors of attention to draw the audience member’s eyes to these focal points, using the precise timing of a pedestrian strolling by and tonal qualities to highlight essential points that tell the story.

The first detail guaranteed to capture the attention of the audience is the woman’s facial expression near the center of the image because of its location. However, it may be compelling to follow her gaze guiding the eyes passed the other faces of the soldiers behind her. The gaze is met by the stare of a bystander behind the soldiers by the lamp post, which also creates a vector upward to the building, leading straight to the trolley again and ensuring that the audience observes every detail of the image, including the subject and the setting. It is also worth noting that the top of the trolley and the gaze of the women are parallel to each other and towards the approaching soldiers. These vectors encourage the audience to look at this chronological order to be able to acknowledge all facial expressions. All of these vectors of attention foster curiosity, and they cannot be overlooked; it is notable that the women are anticipating an uncomfortable encounter, and their straying gaze reveals the soldiers’ line of sight in their direction.

The provided perspective of any observant pedestrian on the same sidewalk allows the image to come across as an ordinary moment at first glance. Contrary to first impressions, this is not just any ordinary moment, and there is a story behind every face we see. There is a timely fashion in which the gazes are being held at, and it was captured seconds before the encounter. Notably, the women look almost disgusted or intimidated as the men approach them from behind. Their body language, which illustrates a shield of protection, reveals a sense of defensiveness or preservation. The woman who is positioned facing the camera has her legs crossed, similar to the woman in front of her, and her arms behind her back as a way of protection from the soldiers. She is using her arms as a guard; this seems to be no coincidence, as that the woman in front of her also crossed her arms towards the approaching soldiers. The anticipation caught in this moment is also represented through the nearby witness in the far left. The witness is compelled to watch the four of them and this displays that he is expecting a break in the peace at the trolley stop. On the other hand, there is also a sense of mystery because the image expresses serenity. Curiosity is in human nature, and out of instinct, it garners the attention of the audience to analyze this photograph thoroughly in order to completely comprehend its significance.

Dark colors are often associated with wickedness, and lighter colors are affiliated with purity and well being. With respect to the photograph, the women are in lighter clothes than the approaching soldiers and even reveal some skin which is even lighter. Furthermore, the woman facing away from the camera also has lighter hair, and both women are in sunlight. The man is in the shadows behind them, which makes him appear as if he is approaching from the darkness, as his uniform contributes to his dark presence. His seemingly black uniform is the darkest component in the image, which contrasts with his surroundings. In addition, due to the fact that his black uniform covers him head to toe, exclusive to his face, it can even come off as mysterious. An everyday example is when a stranger passes by in all black, and their skin completely covered in black clothes except for their face, it is nearly impossible to look away, emphasizing how difficult it is to not glance. Once again, this is due to the human nature of curiosity and the yearn to look for answers. These mysterious vibes, along with the intimidation from the man’s stare towards the women, only increases the photograph’s ability to capture the story as perplexing and mystifying.

What seems as a very candid photograph, represents quite an event on the trolley stop in Moscow, as the title indicates. The soldiers, who are intended to provide security and safety, are threatening to two women at the trolley stop. The story of the women protecting themselves through body language is communicated clearly through Henry Cartier Bresson’s use of several techniques.

Reflection

After writing a compositional analysis, I learned that a photo can be analyzed and that fact is merely overlooked. A picture can say just as much as an essay can and there are several ways of approaching that. The compositional analysis allowed me to see a photograph as more than just people on a sidewalk or more than soldiers walking down the street. If it was not for the techniques learned in class such as the rule of thirds and vectors of attention, I would have continued to only look at a photograph for a second or two and immediately put my focus into the center of the photograph. The most difficult aspect, however, was analyzing the photograph and combining all the techniques in order to determine the meaning that the photographer conveyed. I was most confident in the analysis of the context because of the perfect timing of the photograph. I was able to identify the significance of the women’s body language and the direction of the soldiers’ gaze. I enjoyed the analysis of the vectors of attention the most because it is something I have never paid attention to. For instance, the gazes of subjects in a photograph and the rooftops are used to guide the audience’s eyes towards the subjects. With respect to my own writing, after revisions, I learned that I could be more analytical in my conclusion instead of re-writing my thesis. In high school, I was trained to restate my thesis in my conclusion and write a short summary. Since this essay was the first large assignment, it was uncomfortable to further my analysis in my conclusion because it felt like I was obligated to continue. For another analysis project, I would transfer this skill of writing a proper conclusion in order to further my analysis. In addition, I would transfer the organization and proper terms used for analysis that I used in this analysis.

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Henri Cartier Bresson ‘‘Military Appraisal at Moscow Trolley Stop” January 1955

Compositional Analysis of “Military Appraisal at Moscow Trolley Stop”

Aryssa Hernandez

11 September 2019

The power of Henri Cartier Bresson’s ‘‘Military Appraisal at Moscow Trolley Stop’’ (1955) is hidden in the facial expressions seen from the point of view of a pedestrian on the same sidewalk, however, as the photograph leads the eyes towards the focal points, one can clearly sense the amount of tension and intimidation in this instance captured. Cartier Bresson was able to capture the story using vectors of attention to draw the audience to these focal points, using the precise timing of a pedestrian strolling by and tonal qualities to highlight essential points to complete the story.

The first detail guaranteed to capture the attention of the audience is the woman’s facial expression near the center of the image because of her location. However, it may be compelling to follow her gaze guiding the eyes passed the other faces of the soldiers behind her. This gaze is met by the stare of a male bystander behind the soldiers by the lamp post, which also creates a vector upward to the building, leading straight to the trolley again and ensuring that the audience observes every detail of the image, including the subject and the setting. It is also worth noting that the top of the trolley and the gaze of the women are parallel to each other and towards the approaching soldiers. These vectors encourage the audience to look at this scenario in chronological order to be able to acknowledge all facial expressions. All of these vectors of attention foster curiosity, and they cannot be overlooked; notably, the women are anticipating an uncomfortable encounter, and their straying gaze reveals the soldiers’ line of sight in their direction. At first glance, Cartier-Bresson’s pedestrian perspective allows the audience to interpret the scene as an ordinary moment at this time. Contrary to first impressions, this is not just any ordinary moment, as there is a story behind every face we see. There is a timely fashion in which the gazes are being held, and it was captured seconds before the encounter. Notably, the women look almost disgusted or intimidated as the men approach them from behind. Their body language, which illustrates a shield of protection, reveals a sense of defensiveness or preservation. The woman who is positioned facing the camera has her legs crossed, similar to the woman in front of her, and her arms behind her back as a way of protection from the soldiers. She is using her arms as a guard; this seems to be no coincidence, as that the woman in front of her also crossed her arms towards the approaching soldiers. The anticipation caught in this moment is also represented through the nearby witness in the far left. This witness is compelled to watch the four of them and this anticipates that he is expecting a disruption of the peace at the trolley stop. On the other hand, there is also a sense of mystery because the image expresses serenity. Curiosity is in human nature, and out of instinct, it garners the attention of the audience to analyze this photograph thoroughly to completely comprehend its significance.

Dark colors are often associated with wickedness, and lighter colors are affiliated with purity and well being. Concerning the photograph, the women are in lighter clothes than the approaching soldiers and even reveal some lighter skin. Furthermore, the woman facing away from the camera also has lighter hair, and both women are in sunlight. The soldier is in the shadows behind them, which makes him appear as if he is approaching from the darkness, as his uniform contributes to his dark presence. His seemingly black uniform is the darkest component in the image, which contrasts with his surroundings. Besides, since his black uniform covers him head to toe, exclusive to his face, it can even come off as mysterious. An everyday example is when a stranger passes by in all black, and their skin completely covered in black clothes except for their face, it is nearly impossible to look away, emphasizing how difficult it is to not glance. Once again, this is due to the human nature of curiosity and the yearn to look for answers. These mysterious vibes, along with the intimidation from the man’s stare towards the women, only increases the photograph’s ability to capture the story as perplexing and mystifying.

What seems like a very candid photograph, represents quite an event at the trolley stop in Moscow, as the title indicates. The soldiers, who are intended to provide security and safety, are indeed threatening to two women at the trolley stop. The story of the women protecting themselves through body language is communicated clearly through Cartier Bresson’s use of several techniques and conveys the military’s appraisal of the women.