What is this picture about?! - Robert Frank - Paris

[Daniela]

I've tried searching for information since there are no captions in the book. Went through a lot of his work and nada.
Any info? It's driving me crazy

 

[Milpool]

Were these people for or against white snow?

 

[Sirius Glass]

Were these people for or against white snow?

I do not know. Please advise!

 

[Chuck1]

Could be nuclear fallout, or pollution of some sort???? Just a guess

 

[MattKing]

Nuclear Winter?

 

[Dustin McAmera]

Maybe they're warning us off the yellow stuff.

 

[bernard_L]

Definitely surrealistic.
Also reminds me of some nonsensical demonstration in the Village of The Prisoner.

 

[koraks]

Or, perhaps, it is just simply the announcement of the at the time new Walt Disney film?

I'd have expected the signs to read "BLANCHE NEIGE" in that case.

I just don't know enough about French culture in the mid-20th century to be able to interpret this. I was thinking of maybe a political protest to something happening locally in Paris (assuming it's Paris).

 

[Dustin McAmera]

To me, they don't look like a spontaneous demo. There would be more of them, and they'd mill about. The placards mounted on little ladders are odd - designed for standing still, not for carrying about. I think maybe those men have been paid to stand there, maybe by an advertising agency, or a press-baron with a political axe to grind.

Maybe just up the road there are three more blokes, with signs saying 'ciel bleu?', and then a little further on is the place that will sell you a skiing holiday.

 

[CMoore]

I'd have expected the signs to read "BLANCHE NEIGE" in that case.

I just don't know enough about French culture in the mid-20th century to be able to interpret this. I was thinking of maybe a political protest to something happening locally in Paris (assuming it's Paris).

To me, they don't look like a spontaneous demo. There would be more of them, and they'd mill about. The placards mounted on little ladders are odd - designed for standing still, not for carrying about. I think maybe those men have been paid to stand there, maybe by an advertising agency, or a press-baron with a political axe to grind.

Maybe just up the road there are three more blokes, with signs saying 'ciel bleu?', and then a little further on is the place that will sell you a skiing holiday.

That was my thought.
He documented an event that is "normal" to society.
The "message" of the signs may be relatively mundane.

It definitely would be interesting to know what the signs signified.

 

[Daniela]

Interesting to read everyone's thoughts

The photo can be found in this book, btw:

Definitely surrealistic.
Also reminds me of some nonsensical demonstration in the Village of The Prisoner.

What is the Village of the Prisoner?

To me, they don't look like a spontaneous demo. There would be more of them, and they'd mill about. The placards mounted on little ladders are odd - designed for standing still, not for carrying about. I think maybe those men have been paid to stand there, maybe by an advertising agency, or a press-baron with a political axe to grind.

Maybe just up the road there are three more blokes, with signs saying 'ciel bleu?', and then a little further on is the place that will sell you a skiing holiday.

This makes sense. Definitely lacks the spontaneity and "messiness" of a "manif" (shot for manifestation: demonstration/march)

 

[pentaxuser]

I found it impossible to date the picture other than to say it was the post-war era and likely the late 50 or 1960s - something about the clothes suggest no earlier than the post-war period and probably no later than the 1960s but why the ? at both ends of the identical phrase

Isn't this the way that a question in Spanish is written and isn't Spanish the only European language that is Latin based that uses a ? at both ends?

A long shot here but doesn't the Basque region span the French/ Spanish border area and might French speaking Basques use or have used the Spanish way of two ?s

Is it definitely in Paris or might it be a town in the Basque regíon

Was such a phrase used by a political group in the 1950s or 60s as koraks has wondered about

Out of all of us probably Daniela has the best chance of researching that aspect

I tried "Neige Blanche" connection with a group or movement in France in the 50s and 60s via Google but it was about as useful as a chocolate teapot

pentaxuser

 

[bernard_L]

What is the Village of the Prisoner?

A cult series of 1967, created by Patrick McGoohan, main actor, producer, and sometimes director.

The Prisoner - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You must watch it.

Attached image is maybe what made me think of The Prisoner when looking at your image.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

@Daniela, my suggestion would be to ask Ute Eskildsen. According to the Steidl website, she selected the pictures from this book with Robert Frank. You could send an email to Steidl explaining your enquiry and ask for a contact email.

 

[Dustin McAmera]

I searched for 'neige blanche' at archive.org, searching for texts, from 1948 to 1960; didn't find anything helpful.

I found a dissertation about the quest for the Grail. Sir Perceval sees a falcon attack a wild goose. Three drops of blood fall on the snow (trois gouttes de sang rouge sur la neige blanche), and Perceval falls into a mysterious dream of his beautiful friend Blanchefleur. I don't think this is helpful.

And I found an article about a Haitian-born journalist in Quebec, titled 'Une tache noire dans la neige blanche':

https://web.archive.org/web/20070928104228/http://www.media-awareness.ca/francais/ressources/textes_d_opinion/representation_minorites/tache_noire_neige.cfm

 

[wiltw]

Interesting, the blend of French language with Spanish punctuation...Frespañol
That happens where the cultures blend, like Spaniards who relocated to France; if the photo were truly situated in Paris, that might be indicative of some societal movement that took place at one period.
Perhaps, since Franco was seeking to wipe out Basque identity, this might have been related to a movement sympathetic to the Basque identity. Just a guess, though. We need to get insight of one of our respected seniors who lived in the times prior to the 1950's...hats were not common (here in the US) even in the 1950's

 

[bernard_L]

Interesting, the blend of French language with Spanish punctuation...Frespañol
That happens where the cultures blend, like Spaniards who relocated to France; if the photo were truly situated in Paris, that might be indicative of some societal movement that took place at one period.
Perhaps, since Franco was seeking to wipe out Basque identity, this might have been related to a movement sympathetic to the Basque identity. Just a guess, though. We need to get insight of one of our respected seniors who lived in the times prior to the 1950's...hats were not common (here in the US) even in the 1950's

Respectfully, I think you mis-interpret the Basque beret. Looks like the scene is in Paris, although I don't recognize the avenue. First off, the beret is not from basque country, but from nearby Béarn. Second, Franco did not attempt to wipe out the beret as part of the Basque identity, but to the contrary adopted it when the Carlistas (dissident royalists) joined the franquist movement.
The beret was widely worn in France between WWI and WWII, and later became part of the frenchman cliché, in a parodist/sarcastic way, also a symbol of conservative/chauvinist segments of the population.

The baguette is missing. So is the bottle of wine, but look at his nose.

So, I maintain my opinion that the picture represents a parodic event meant to make fun of chauvinists and to mystify the bourgeois, like the passer-by on the left.

 

[bernard_L]

About the beret as a symbol for the nationalist right in the France of the 30s, a photo and a cartoon of the paramilitary movement croix-de-feu. See those berets?

 

[MattKing]

Could it be a movie set?

 

[wiltw]

Respectfully, I think you mis-interpret the Basque beret. Looks like the scene is in Paris, although I don't recognize the avenue. First off, the beret is not from basque country, but from nearby Béarn. Second, Franco did not attempt to wipe out the beret as part of the Basque identity, but to the contrary adopted it when the Carlistas (dissident royalists) joined the franquist movement.
The beret was widely worn in France between WWI and WWII, and later became part of the frenchman cliché, in a parodist/sarcastic way, also a symbol of conservative/chauvinist segments of the population.

The baguette is missing. So is the bottle of wine, but look at his nose.

So, I maintain my opinion that the picture represents a parodic event meant to make fun of chauvinists and to mystify the bourgeois, like the passer-by on the left.

View attachment 380280

My assumption about Basque was simply because of the adoption of what might be interpreted as cutural blend, Frespañol. The beret itself for me was not a clue which brought me to any conclusion. Around Easter. we took holiday in the Basque area of Spain and France, stayed for a period in Guernica and visited the Basque museum there, becoming aware of historical events and the people's interpretation of the events.

It was Franco who collaborated with Hitler in the bombing of Guernica in 1937, the subject of the anti-war painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso, a town which is/was representative of the Basque state and its capital of government, considered a key part of the Basques' national identity . It is stated that Franco's motivation for collaborating with Hitler in the bombing of Guernica was to break the strong resistance of the Basque people during the Spanish Civil War by terrorizing the civilian population, using the bombing as a tactic to demoralize them and force them to surrender. He suppressed the use and teaching of the Basque language, So bombing their capital and banning their language seems a lot like making their culture disappear. So posters in Frespañol seems in context with historial happenings.

 

[logan2z]

I don't know if this adds anything useful, but I came across this image by Henri Cartier-Bresson from 1938 in which someone is holding a similar sign with what appears to be the same font. Maybe the same protest group? A long shot, but it's possible that unearthing some additional information about this photo might lead you to some information about the one you posted.

Good luck!

 

[cliveh]

Does it need to be about anything? You may just like it as an image.

 

[bernard_L]

It was Franco who collaborated with Hitler in the bombing of Guernica in 1937, the subject of the anti-war painting Guernica by Pablo Picasso, a town which is/was representative of the Basque state and its capital of government, considered a key part of the Basques' national identity . It is stated that Franco's motivation for collaborating with Hitler in the bombing of Guernica was to break the strong resistance of the Basque people during the Spanish Civil War by terrorizing the civilian population, using the bombing as a tactic to demoralize them and force them to surrender. He suppressed the use and teaching of the Basque language, So bombing their capital and banning their language seems a lot like making their culture disappear. So posters in Frespañol seems in context with historial happenings.

I agree with all you write about Franco and the Basque.

But this thread began with a picture where some people are wearing berets. And my point was that (IMO) in the context of that scene, the beret refers to traditionalists and chauvinists rather than the Basque.

Plus, Robert Frank was born in 1924. So any pictures he took in Paris were after WWII. At that time (fifties, from the look of pedestrians), it is difficult to imagine a political demonstration related to Guernica. There were demonstrations, petitions, articles in France in support of the oppressed Basque people, but a lot later, like seventies. I lived in Paris at that time.

 

[chuckroast]

I've tried searching for information since there are no captions in the book. Went through a lot of his work and nada.
Any info? It's driving me crazy

View attachment 380218

The use of "neige blanche" (white snow) played a significant role in a World War II battle that took place in the Mont Blanc region of the French Alps. This battle, known as the Battle of Vallée Blanche, occurred during the winter of 1944-1945 and involved French Resistance fighters defending against German forces.

Battle of Vallee Blanche

Seventy-five years have passed since the noise of gunfire and artillery echoed off the granite walls of the Mont Blanc Massif. This was a little-known battle of World War Two, fought at its highest altitude, and is a remarkable story of endurance and courage. Chamonix was an important frontier...

www.jottnar.com

HOWEVER, it's not clear that this had anything to do with the photo in question.

 

[pentaxuser]

The use of "neige blanche" (white snow) played a significant role in a World War II battle that took place in the Mont Blanc region of the French Alps. This battle, known as the Battle of Vallée Blanche, occurred during the winter of 1944-1945 and involved French Resistance fighters defending against German forces.

Battle of Vallee Blanche

Seventy-five years have passed since the noise of gunfire and artillery echoed off the granite walls of the Mont Blanc Massif. This was a little-known battle of World War Two, fought at its highest altitude, and is a remarkable story of endurance and courage. Chamonix was an important frontier...

www.jottnar.com

HOWEVER, it's not clear that this had anything to do with the photo in question.

Maybe not but this discussion in total is full of fascinating info such as yours above so that gives it life

pentaxuser