Like his other Hungarian friends and colleagues, Brassai, Kertész, Feher, Hervé, Rédner & Révai, Ervin Marton made his mark through photography.
After taking part in WWII’s French Résistance in Paris, he became the chronicler of French society, from its streets to the richness of its cultural life.
Often inspired by Atget, his photographs seem to infuse into the social fabric a form of poetic realism – his own contribution to the “Humanist Photography” movement of Post-War France.
Often inspired by Atget, his photographs seem to infuse into the social fabric a form of poetic realism – his own contribution to the “Humanist Photography” movement of Post-War France.
His work is in the Budapest National Gallery, the Paris Bibliothèque Nationale, the Wells-Fargo and other collections in the U.S.
Budapest 1912- Paris 1968
A photographer and an artist with an extensive graphic, painting, and sculpture œuvre, Ervin Marton specialized both in street photography and in portraits, capturing much of post-war French cultural life.
Some of the luminaries he photographed include Picasso, Cocteau, Chagall, Camus, as well as Chaplin and Louis Armstrong, along with Gaston Bachelard, Paul Léautaud, Blaise Cendrars, Jacques Prévert, Yves Montand, Juliette Gréco, Foujita and many others.
He was born in Budapest, Hungary, moved to France in 1937 and when the war broke out, as part of the FTP-MOI, joined the French Resistance.
His work is in the collections of Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the National Gallery in Budapest and the Wells Fargo in St. Louis.
Photo
A TEXT DESCRIBING HIS PHOTOGRAPHY WORK WILL APPEAR HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
Art
With a training in graphic arts, painting and sculpture, Marton has produced a rich and diverse artistic œuvre. The last time part of that body of work was seen was at the National Gallery in Budapest, Hungary during the 1971 retrospective. This site will slowly display more and more of these works.
Exhibits &
Publications
His work continues to be exhibited and published. Some of recent highlights include a two-story self-portrait on the royal palace in Budapest, Hungary and the cover for Sartre’s updated English translation of Being and Nothingness.
What They Wrote
“To Ervin, as a friendly souvenir – à Ervin, en souvenir amical”
Jean Cocteau
Poet- writer – filmmaker – artist
Jean Cocteau
Poet- writer – filmmaker – artist
“an extraordinary poetry and quality – une qualité et une poésie extraordinaire”
Marta Gili
Jeu de Paume Museum Former Director – Ancienne Directrice du Musée du Jeu de Paume, Paris
Marta Gili
Jeu de Paume Museum Former Director – Ancienne Directrice du Musée du Jeu de Paume, Paris
“The champ of black and white/
L’as du noir et blanc.”
Blaise Cendrars
Poet – Writer
L’as du noir et blanc.”
Blaise Cendrars
Poet – Writer