Who is Robert Capa?

Robert Capa, whose real name was Endre Ernő Friedmann, was a world-renowned war photojournalist who was born in Hungary in 1913 and died in Indochina in 1954. He is best known for his striking photographs taken during some of the most important conflicts of the 20th century, including the Spanish Civil War, World War II, the Chinese Civil War and the First Indochina War.

Robert Capa co-founded Magnum Photos in 1947 with other photographic greats such as Henri Cartier-Bresson and George Rodger. This agency became one of the most respected in the field of photojournalism, offering photographers greater creative freedom and ownership of their work.

Among Robert Capa’s most famous works, The Falling Soldier, taken during the Spanish Civil War, captures a Republican soldier at the moment of his death. The image has become a powerful symbol of the brutality of war, although its authenticity has been debated.

Robert Capa is also famous for documenting the Normandy landings on D-Day, June 6, 1944. His photographs, taken under enemy fire, are among the few visual testimonies to this crucial moment in the Second World War. Unfortunately, most of the photos he took that day were lost due to a processing error.

Robert Capa died in 1954 after stepping on a mine in Indochina, while covering the war for Life magazine. His philosophy, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, it’s because you’re not close enough”, inspired generations of photojournalists. Robert Capa remains an emblematic figure, representing the courage and dedication to duty of photojournalism.

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