Reykjavík Museum of Photography

Alongside mentors Robert Capa and Henri Cartier-Bresson, Riboud was encouraged and subsequently became an articulate and sensitive photographer. The French Riboud is best known for his extensive photo reports on the East being among the first western photographers to enter China since Mao´s Cultural Revolution in 1966.

French Riboud's compositions are strong and graphic, yet there is a compassion toward humanity that also surfaces. 

Riboud is a shy photographer who took refuge behind the camera in order to see without being seen. As he states, "I was torn between the fear of getting too close to people and another force that egged me on to get a closer look", creating tensions within Ribouds images. His compositions are strong and graphic, yet there is a compassion toward humanity that also surfaces. "Photography," he has said, "must not try to be persuasive. It cannot change the world, but it can show the world, especially when it is changing."

In this retrospective exhibition works spanning over 50 years are presented. In comparing the early images from the 1950's to the later photographs not much has changed. Although the landscape and the architecture and the clothing have become more modern, the captured gestures, the juxtapositions and the compassion that motivates Riboud's eye have remained the same. No matter where he turns his camera, whether it is in China or Iran, France or India, he photographs the essence of those before him, not as they might want to be remembered but as they appear to him.

Ribouds photographs have appeared in numerous magazines, including, Life, Géo, National Geographic, Paris Match and Stern. The exhibition was organized by the Reykjavík Museum of Photography and Alliance Francaise, with the help of the French Embassy in Iceland. 


Marc Riboud│50 Years of Photography

Marc Riboud started his career as a photojournalist in the1950's and became a Magnum agency photographer in 1953.

Marc Ri­boud│50 Years of Pho­to­graphy

Marc Riboud started his career as a photojournalist in the1950's and became a Magnum agency photographer in 1953.

Marc Riboud│50 Years of Photography