Willy Ronis (1910-2009, French) was a photographer who primarily used post World War II working class neighborhoods of Paris as subjects for his photos. The son of Jewish immigrants, Ronis’ initial love was that of music; however, after his father’s death, he tried to continue his business of taking portraits. The business failed, but Ronis continued with his photography and met other photographers of the time such as Edouard Boubat, Brassai, Robert Doisneau and Henri Carter-Bresson all of whom were cat lovers known for capturing the cat in candid shots. Ronis produced photographs for Life, Vogue and Time Magazine as well as many other publications. Ronis was known for including his personal life into his photographs by producing portraits of his wife, Marie-Anne, his son Vincent, and of course his cats. Ronis’ motto for his photography was, “Most of my photographs were taken on the spur of the moment, very quickly, just as they occurred. All attention focuses on the specific instant, almost too good to be true, which can only vanish in the following one.”
A Black Cat In Gordes, France from La Chanson du chat, 1957
Le chat au poêle, Paris, 1947
Le chat derrière la vitre, 1957
Le chat derrière la vitre,
Gordes, 1957
Vincent et le chat
Ronis’ son Vincent with Cat
Le chat de l’ ecrivain,
The Writer’s Cat,
1950
Cat on a Chair, 1946
From Les chats de Willy Ronis
Cat in Paris
Vincent et le chat,
Paris, 1955
Cat in Foliage
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