Robert Capa

Early Life

Robert Capa (born Endre Friedmann) was born in Budapest, Hungary, into a Jewish family that were co-owners of a hair-salon. He was exiled from Hungary at eighteen for political differences and went to Berlin, where he enrolled at the German Academy for Politics to study journalism. In need of money, Friedman got a job at a photo agency as a darkroom assistant, where his career in photography began. His talent for the medium developed when he was given his first camera by the agency’s director, Simon Guttmann. Guttmann was also responsible for Friedman’s first large commission, when in December 1932, he sent him to Copenhagen to photograph the great Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky.

Friedman remained in Berlin for two years until Hitler’s rise to power meant that he was forced to flee to Vienna. Soon after, he gained permission to return home to Budapest where he stayed for a few months before going to Paris in September that year. He took up variety of photography assignments and it was there that he met a fellow Hungarian, the photographer, André Kertész.

Photographic Career

Kertész and Friedman became good friends, with Kertész becoming a mentor. He introduced Friedman to the Leica camera, and filled him with confidence as a photographer. Friedman remained in Paris trying to further his photographic career, however his poor French restricted his success, as did being mistaken for a more established photojournalist who shared the same surname. Frustrated, Friedman decided to change his name to something more unique, and ‘Robert Capa’ was born. This new name, with a hint of American flare, added excitement and mystery on the Parisian photography circuit.

Commissions increased and, in July 1936, he was sent to cover the Spanish Civil War. It was there that he took one of his most enduring photographs, ‘Death of a Loyalist Militia Man, Spain, 1936.’ The photograph is perhaps one of the most talked about photographs of all time. The question of whether the subject has genuinely been shot, or whether it is a staged photograph, has never been proven either way. However, the evidence shows that the man in question did indeed die that day on the same battlefield. This, combined with the fact that his left hand remains tightly clenched as he falls – contrary to normal human instinct – suggests that the photograph is likely to be genuine.

Capa remained in Europe until the outbreak of World War II when he fled to New York. He joined ‘LIFE’ magazine as their war correspondent, and was sent to areas of Europe and Northern Africa to cover the action on the front line. In particular, on 6 June 1944, Capa covered the D-Day landings in Normandy, riding in the landing craft with the soldiers. He captured every detail, taking eleven rolls of film and risking his life for the photographs. With ‘LIFE’ desperate to publish the pictures, the films where quickly ferried to their London office. Unfortunately, the laboratory technician felt under such pressure that he made a mistake, and set the drying temperature for the film too high. This subsequently melted all the negatives save eleven frames, which were shaky and out of focus. Despite this, and perhaps even because of this, the surviving photographs had a visceral energy that captured the raw horror of warfare like never before. Their impact was unparalleled, and they have become some of the most important war photographs ever taken. Capa’s bravery, and the brilliance of these photographs, secured his reputation as one of the most exciting photographers of his time.

When the war was over Capa returned to Paris where he met, and fell in love with, Ingrid Bergman. His affections were so strong that he followed her back to America, and attempted to start a new career as a Hollywood film director. However, he met with little success and soon returned to working for ‘LIFE’.

Magnum Photos

In 1947, Capa with fellow photographers Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour, William Vandivert and George Rodger, decided to establish a cooperative photographic agency, to give themselves control over commissions. They called it Magnum Photos, and Capa devoted his life to the new agency, both in New York and Paris, and enjoyed nuturing new talent in the same way that he was helped by Kertész. Magnum Photos remains a powerful, photographer-owned agency to this day.

Robert Capa’s final assignment for ‘LIFE’ unfortunately lead to his death. He was in Japan working on an exhibition associated with Magnum. From there, ‘LIFE’ sent him to South East Asia to cover the First Indochina War. On 25 May, 1954 he stepped on a landmine and was killed.