Paris: Ronis

Unparalleled in his ability to portray the Parisian joie de vivre, Willy Ronis captured sheer delight on the faces he photographed, from the Parisian gamin running with an oversized baguette to the cheerful Parisiennes behind the bakery counter, and from dancers in full swing at a summer festival to a gaggle of children in a bumper-car tangle. His images are iconic and varied, ranging from lovers embracing in front of the Eiffel Tower to monuments softened by gauzy fog to a determined factory worker protesting for her rights.

The Parisian-born Ronis bought his first Rolleiflex camera in 1937 at the age of 27. He strolled the streets of his beloved city, training his camera on the working-class neighborhoods of Belleville and Ménilmontant, capturing the essence of everyday life in Paris. He memorialized the urban landscape—a lamp-lit bridge or the leafy horse chestnut trees bordering the Seine—and typical Parisians—in the metro, sunbathing on the Île de la Cité, or ice-skating in the park.