KHALDEI (Evgeny). - Lot 147

KHALDEI (Evgeny). Khaldei: A Photojournalist in the Soviet Union. Text by Mark Grosset. Paris, Éditions du Chêne, [circa 1997–1998]. Folio size, publisher’s illustrated hardcover with an illustrated dust jacket (here protected by plastic wrap), lavishly illustrated with black-and-white photographic reproductions. An important monograph dedicated to Yevgeny (Yevgeny) Khaldei (1917–1997), one of the greatest Soviet photographers of the 20th century, whose images constitute a true visual record of the Soviet Union during World War II and the immediate postwar period. A photographer for the TASS agency beginning in the 1930s, Khaldei covered the major events of the conflict on the Eastern Front, from Murmansk to Berlin. His name remains inextricably linked to one of the most famous photographs of the century: the raising of the Soviet flag over the Reichstag in May 1945, which has become an icon of the Red Army’s victory, comparable, in the collective imagination, to the American flag raised on Iwo Jima. The book traces his entire career through a rich selection of photographs: daily life in the Soviet Union, the siege of Sevastopol, the liberation of Budapest, Vienna, and Berlin, international conferences, the Nuremberg trials, and the profound political and social transformations of the postwar era. Mark Grosset’s texts place these images in their historical context and also explore the belated rediscovery of Khaldei’s work following the collapse of the USSR. More than just a collection of photographs, this volume offers a reflection on the role of the photojournalist confronted with propaganda, censorship, and the demands of historical documentation. It contributes to the international movement to rehabilitate Khaldei, who is now recognized as one of the great names in 20th-century photojournalism alongside Robert Capa, David Seymour, and Henri Cartier-Bresson. Condition: A very fine copy, still protected by clear plastic wrap. The dust jacket is very slightly creased beneath the plastic wrap; the interior is in excellent condition.