Robert Capa’s evocative photographs documenting the five wars he lived through will be exhibited in the city this month starting today
A Republican soldier writing a letter in Spain, 1936
Hungarian war chronicler, Endre Friedmann, famously known as Robert Capa, woke up one ordinary morning in the early 1940s to three letters waiting at his doorstep. The first was from the electricity board informing him of an outstanding payment. The second came from the Department of Justice classifying him as a potential enemy alien who must attain special permits to travel and must give up his camera. The third was a letter from the editor of Collier’s Magazine, who, satisfied with his photography, offered him a special assignment in Europe with an enclosed cheque of $1,500.
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A woman amid rubble from buildings destroyed by Nationalist air raids in Spain, 1936
This is a glimpse into Capa’s life, a moment before he accepted the assignment and managed to sail to England to document the Second World War from the frontlines. His oeuvre extends to the documentation of the Spanish Civil War, which he captured with his partner Gerda Taro, the Second Sino-Japanese War, the First Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War.
Republican soldiers of the International Brigades, Spain
“Robert Capa is the great-great-grandfather of photography,” says Mukesh Parpiani, Head of Photography at the National Centre of the Performing Arts (NCPA), on the eve of the inauguration of a fortnight-long exhibition featuring 108 images by Capa at the recently-opened Dilip Piramal Art Gallery. It is fitting, Parpiani agrees, that one of the earliest exhibitions since the gallery’s recent renovation is a spread of photographs by one of the greatest chroniclers of all times. The collection has been curated by the Liszt Institute–Hungarian Cultural Centre Delhi from among those displayed at the Hungarian National Museum and, therefore, holds special value for him.
Robert Capa photographed by his partner, Gerda Taro
“I was three years old when Capa died. So, I grew up seeing a lot of his work appear in Indian and international magazines. It’s a lifetime opportunity for me not just to see his work displayed but also to host it at our gallery. You need courage to cover so many wars. To be a visual chronicler is to be brave. Capa risked his life and died in Vietnam while on his mission to capture the Indochina war; he was so brave,” admits Parpiani. He shares, with a glint of pride, how this might be only the second time that images by the co-founder of Magnum Photos will be exhibited in such a celebratory way. Earlier this year, Museo Camera showcased them in Delhi. Founding member of the centre, Aditya Arya, will be the Guest of Honour for the Mumbai showcase that
begins today.
From April 3 to 19; 12 pm to 8 pm
At Dilip Piramal Art Gallery, NCPA, Nariman Point.
Free
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