Charbonnier's photographs are historical documents showing us the transformation of French society between 1945 and 2004. Charbonnier was active in his promotion of the profession, contributed vigorously to sessions at Les 30 x 40, the Club Photographique de Paris, and in 1970, at the invitation of writer Michel Tournier, he participated in the first Rencontres d'Arles as a guest of honor, and was included in first public evening meeting of three important 'Photographers of the Moment', with Brihat Denis and Jean-Pierre Sudre. Many photographers from all over France came to this event. Jean-Philippe Charbonnier married Gisèle Gonfreville, with whom he had two daughters, divorcing her to marry Agathe Gaillard, with whom, in 1975, he opened the first photography gallery in Paris, the Agathe Gaillard Gallery, which dealt in Charbonnier's popular Paris photos. Today, the gallery still exists and shows classic mid-century French photography. He and Agathe had a daughter, Eglantine. In 1996 he married Christine Vaissié, graphic designer and art director, who assisted in the preparation of the great Charbonnier exhibition at the Modern Art Museum of the City of Paris in 1983. She remained with him until the end of his life. In 1983, he was awarded the Vermeil Medal for Photography by the city of Paris. Charbonnier died, of a disease contracted during his travels, in Grasse on 28 May 2004, the same year as Henri Cartier-Bresson, whom he regarded as '...a formidable "statue"...THE Living National Treasure at its best...' "It took me 30 years and a lot of pain to discover the truth of what Henri Cartier-Bresson always said. One should only use one camera with one lens that coincides with your angle of vision, with the same film at its normal speed. The rest is just gimmick and hardware." (Jean-Philippe Charbonnier. In: Colin Naylor, ed. Contemporary Photographers, Chicago and London, St. James, 1998.) References External links www.luminous-lint.com Photosapiens Reporters sans Frontieres 1921 births 2004 deaths Photographers from Paris French photojournalists Fashion photographers Humanist photographers