A key figure in post-war French
photography, René-Jacques (born René Giton, 1908–2003) embarked on his career in the 1930s. Quick to learn the profession's many variants, photojournalism for the Paris daily
L'Intransigeant, photo essays for the publisher Grasset and industrial photography for Renault. In the footsteps of writers Francis Carco and Léon-Paul Fargue, he haunted the streets of Paris during their empty hours, while also working as a set photographer for film directors René Lucot, Georg Wilhelm Pabst and Jean Grémillon.
