Erich Salomon, ‘king of the indiscreet’

Erich Salomon, ‘king of the indiscreet’

By 1931, Erich Salomon had acquired a reputation for capturing candid photographs of politics in action. Indeed, the very term ‘candid camera’ was invented (by the London Graphic) to describe his shots, while Salomon himself invented a new name for his job: photojournalist. While other photographers would take laboriously set up posed portraits with heavy equipment and startling flashes, Salomon used a lightweight Ermanox camera to capture the unguarded expressions and postures of his subjects. His intrusions were not always welcomed, but Salomon was adept at using subterfuge to infiltrate closed venues, dressing as a diplomat with his camera disguised in a bowler hat, briefcase or pile of hollowed-out books. This photo depicts a July 1931 Franco-German banquet at the Quai d’Orsay in Paris, with the French Foreign Minister (and renowned orator and advocate of peace and unity) Aristide Briand holding court. Briand, sure that the Salomon had found a way in despite a ban on press photographers, delightedly points Salomon out to his companions, exclaiming ‘Ah, le voilà! Le roi des indiscrets!’ (‘Ah, there he is! The king of the indiscreet!’), just as Salomon presses his shutter release.

Berlinische Galerie. Museum of Modern Art, Photography and Architecture, Erich-Salomon-Archiv