Nobody disputes the André Kertész, who was born 110 years ago, is an important figure of universal photography history; therefore he is a little bit everybody’s. But – accepting the fact that the whole world treats him as his own – there are 3 nations that are somehow closer to Kertész’ material, pictorial and mental inheritage than any others. One of them is Hungary, where he was born, grown up and lived until his age of 30. The second is France, where he had his most productive 10-year-period, and the third is the USA where he spent most of his life. So he is everybody’s, but a little bit more connected to these three countries.

Hungarian Museum of Photography has more the 200 Kertész-photos and now organises an exhibition in the Hungarian Institute, Paris from his photos exclusively taken in Hungary. Showing young Kertész’ photos being taken before, during and after the World War II visitors can see how he started, how he found his own way of expression, and what effects were forming his philosophy of life, habitude and photography techniques.

Among them some are well-known, but there are some that are new for public. Some of his late photos are also on show that have never been published neither in international press nor in any of Kertész-book. These photos were mainly taken during his visits as an old man in Hungary, giving a cross-section of a very old man’s nostalgia and inside journeys. Visiting home he went to places of his childhood, he was taking many photos in Szigetbecse, where he had found a lot of old German family magazines illustrated by wood- and litoprints on Mihály Klöpfer’s attic when he was six years old.

One of them was called Die Gartenlaube. Watching this magazine he was inspired to take similar photos in his life. Kertész said in one of his interviews: „ I liked these magazines a lot. I thought later I will take similar photos – and from this point on I was looking at things like later I was supposed to expose them. I think I was right. Actually I started to take photos in 1912. I was ready to start my artistic career from the composition point of view. Instinctive unity of balance and line was the first thing I learnt. But this is not my merit; I was born with this talent… Later, when I was taking landscape or portrait photos either in Tiszaszalka, Esztergom, Haraszti, or France and New York landscape and people of Becse were reborn on each of my photos.”