One of the most famous kisses ever was more or less arranged

Robert Doisneau went down in history in 1950. Many couples sued the photographer: they assured that they were the ones there.

His name was Robert Doisneau. Born on the outskirts of Paris in 1912 (two days before the Titanic accident), it was precisely in the capital of France that he stood out.

At a young age, he started taking photographs on the streets of Paris from the 1930s. A humanist photographer, betting on social change. Modest, but playful and ironic images; with mixtures of social classes, on streets, in cafes.

“People like my photographs because they see in them what they would see if they stopped running and took time to appreciate the city”, said Robert Doisneau at the time.

It was in 1950 that he captured an image that – later – spread his name across the planet, when he took the photograph titled ‘The Kiss at the Hotel de Ville’.

Life magazine published an article about love in Paris and picked up (and paid for) this image. Several couples assured that they were in that photograph – and sued Doisneau because of that.

But the (now) famous French photographer assured that the moment had been staged with Françoise Bornet and Jacques Carteaud, two theater students.

A revelation that ended the illusion of millions of people: that moment would have been genuine, spontaneous.

I mean, it was more or less staged.

In 2017, Robert Doisneau’s daughter, Francine Deroudille, explained that, precisely because of image rights, the father preferred to use friends and young actors in your photographs.

On this day in 1950, the photographer took to the streets of Paris with the two young theater students and “let them be”.He followed them, the couple did what they wanted, and Robert was paying attention, capturing everything he found relevant.

When they walked together, he took photos. When they talked, he took photos. When they held hands, they took photos.

When they kissed, he photographed.

The photographer was even sitting on a café terrace. He took the photograph, which didn’t even find anything special at the time (as did other local inhabitants, who passed by and didn’t even look).

It was only 36 years later, when the photograph was published on a poster, that it became a worldwide phenomenon. In 1986 this photograph – which was already in the archive – reappeared when the Life magazine decided to sell it as a poster. They were sold 410 thousand posters all over the world; Robert Doisneau’s photography has become legendary.

With context, the daughter explains: “US magazines were very interested in stories from Paris, especially stories about life on the streets of Paris where people behaved much more freely than anywhere in the US. Even on the streets of New York, couples were not seen kissing and certainly never so casually.”

Paris was (already) the capital of arts, culture and freedom.

Robert Doisneau died in 1994. He was 81 years old. He died in Paris.