Young woman immortalised kissing lover in Paris in 1950 dies aged 93

By in Photography

Young woman immortalised kissing lover in Paris in 1950 dies aged 93
  • Le baiser de l’hotel de ville (Kiss by the City Hall) showed Francoise Delbart 
  • Was kissing Jacques Carteaud in scene set up by photographer Robert Doisneau

By Harry Howard, History Correspondent

Published: 05:28 EST, 3 January 2024 | Updated: 05:40 EST, 3 January 2024

It was an image of romance which defined an era in the city of love. 

What became known as Le baiser de l’hotel de ville (Kiss by the City Hall) showed young Parisienne Francoise Delbart in a clinch with her lover Jacques Carteaud. 

The picture was taken by photographer Robert Doisneau in 1950, as France was recovering from the horrors of the Second World War.

Now, more than 70 years on, it has emerged that actress Ms Delbart, whose married name was Bornet, passed away on Christmas Day at the age of 93. 

Doisneau, who became famous for his chronicling of Paris street life, had initially spotted a pair of drama students embracing in a Left Bank cafe in April 1950.

What became known as Le baiser de l'hotel de ville (Kiss by the City Hall) showed young Parisienne Francoise Delbart in a clinch with her lover Jacques Carteaud. Above: Ms Delbart holding the famous picture in the same spot in 2005

He then got Ms Delbart, then aged 20, to re-enact the kiss for a shoot commissioned by American magazine Life to show the return of romance to post-war Paris.

The black and white shot subsequently appeared in the popular magazine but was then forgotten until 1986, when a poster company re-discovered it and turned it into a global hit.

By the 1990s, it adorned hundreds of thousands of posters, as well as postcards and even tea towels and chocolate boxes. 

The identity of the subjects remained a mystery, with many believing that they were snapped at random by Doisneau.

A series of couples came forward to claim they were the lovers in the image.

Among them were Jeal-Louis and Denise Lavergne, who filed a suit in 1992.

That claim prompted Ms Delbart to come forward with a signed original print from Doisneau, proving she was the woman in the photo.

The picture was taken by photographer Robert Doisneau in 1950, as France was recovering from the horrors of the Second World War

Furious, she also took legal action and demanded Fr100,000 as a share of the profits generated by the use of the image.

Although a court rejected both suits, Doisneau confirmed that Ms Delbart and Mr Carteaud had been the lovers and that they had willingly posed for him.

He said before he died in 1994: ‘I would never have dared to photograph people like that. Lovers kissing in the street, those couples are rarely legitimate.’ 

In 2014, French-American man Marc de Mauregne claimed that he was one half of the pictured couple. 

‘I recognized myself, my hair,’ the then 87-year-old said. 

‘I think we were going to the movies. The lady was a friend who used to live in my street in Paris. Her name was Rolande Dupuis.’

However, his claim that the image was taken in 1945 or 1946 was at odds with the verified date of the photo.  

Ms Delbart’s romance with Mr Carteaud did not last long. She later said: ‘Jacques looked a bit like Burt Lancaster. We split up when he met someone else and we lost touch.’ 

He went on to become a wine producer and died in 2006. 

Ms Delbart, who appeared in several France films in the 1950s and 1960s, married Alain Bornet, a director and screenwriter, in 1962.

The couple had no children and Mr Bornet died a decade ago. 

Ms Delbart, who appeared in several France films in the 1950s and 1960s, married Alain Bornet, a director and screenwriter, in 1962. Above: The couple in 2005

Ms Delbart sold her original print of the famous picture for €155,000 in 2005.

She said in 2022: ‘I was with my boyfriend. We didn’t stop kissing … Robert Doisneau asked us to pose for him. 

‘We did a series of snapshots. They appeared in Life magazine but no one paid attention.’

She died at her home in Evreux, Normandy. 

How one photographer captured a year of chaos on Capitol Hill

By in Photography

How one photographer captured a year of chaos on Capitol Hill

US Rep. Kevin McCarthy, right, speaks with Rep. Matt Gaetz after Gaetz voted “present” during the 14th round of voting for House speaker in January 2023. McCarthy was elected speaker after the 15th vote, but 10 months later Gaetz would force a vote that would oust McCarthy from his position. “I feel like the photo kind of shows the friction between those two people and also kind of foreshadows what we know now,” photographer Haiyun Jiang said.

Haiyun Jiang had no idea what was in store for her at the start of 2023.

She was in Washington, DC, starting the second half of her photojournalism fellowship with The New York Times. She got her feet wet in 2022 covering Congress alongside fellow New York Times photographer and mentor Doug Mills.

“He taught me so much about what you look for, where you should stand and when to take risks and do something different,” Jiang said.

Then the 118th Congress convened on January 3, 2023, and the House — with its newly elected slim Republican majority — failed to elect a speaker.

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Rep. Barbara Lee, center, tallies votes for House speaker in January 2023.

“What I thought would be just a one-day election turned into a weeklong power struggle with Kevin McCarthy having to go through 15 rounds of voting,” Jiang said. “Eventually on Friday after midnight, he (was elected speaker). That was not how I planned my beginning of 2023.”

Jiang has spent the past year capturing the chaos of Capitol Hill, documenting lawmakers navigating everything from the debt-ceiling crisis and government shutdown threats to McCarthy’s ouster as House speaker and Rep. George Santos’ expulsion from Congress.

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Rep. George Santos gets into an elevator outside of his office at the US Capitol in April. The Republican from New York pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges, including allegations of fraud related to Covid-19 unemployment benefits, misusing campaign funds and lying about his personal finances on House disclosure reports. In December, the House voted to expel him in a historic vote.

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Construction materials surround a statue of US President Theodore Roosevelt outside the Senate floor in January 2023.

But she’s also challenging herself to cover the Hill a little differently. She’s looking beyond the press gaggles for those in-between moments that paint a larger picture of what’s going on.

“I’m very lucky in the sense that the Times has a different mission in terms of photo coverage,” Jiang said. “We’re trying to do something a little different, bring more variety to the coverage. That’s very, very important to me — that they encourage me to be a little different, to take risks.”

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Shadows of House Republicans are cast on empty chairs during an October vote for speaker.

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A House aide stores smartphones in a cabinet for House Republicans during a party conference meeting in October.

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Light shines on Gen. Horatio Gates in John Trumbull’s painting “Surrender of General Burgoyne” as visitors tour the US Capitol rotunda in May. “I really want to give the audience the visual option to look at what’s happening and get a better sense of the context and environment,” Jiang said.

Looking for those in-between moments — and being at the right place at the right time — has led to some memorable photos. After Rep. Matt Gaetz voted “present” and killed McCarthy’s attempt to become speaker during a 14th round of votes, McCarthy confronted Gaetz.

“That was such a serendipitous moment. I didn’t think they would actually meet up and talk that close,” Jiang said. “There were a lot of photographers on the balcony in the gallery, but I think in my angle you can see both of their faces. That’s a storytelling photo for me. It summarizes the dynamic of that speaker vote.”

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Reporters stake out McCarthy’s office in October, ahead of his ousting from his position as House speaker.

Jiang, who interned with CNN Digital’s photo team in 2019, has always been interested in covering politics — partly because she grew up on the southern coast of China.

“I came from a country that doesn’t necessarily have political freedom,” Jiang said. “I think that enables me to look at American politics in a different way. I really cherish the fact that we get to witness all these historical moments because I think that’s what democracy intended — to have a free press to document what’s happened.”

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US Sens. Lindsey Graham, left, and Cory Booker arrive at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January 2023.

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The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the nomination of federal judges in January 2023. “We want to work hard and bring the best pictures to our editors because they put a lot of trust in us,” Jiang said. “I don’t ever want to let them down.”

Despite spending so much of her time at the US Capitol, Jiang doesn’t let the monotony get to her.

“I know that some people covering politics think about day in and out, it’s the same stuff, same place, same people, nothing has changed,” Jiang said. “But I don’t think every day is the same. Every day is different. The power shifts, the staff changes — but also, the context changes, too.”

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Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in October, a week after he was ousted.

Not every day is perfect. There are days when Jiang feels like she missed “the” shot, or times where she feels out-of-sync.

“When you have a rough day, you doubt yourself. Am I good enough? Am I doing enough? What can I do better next time?” Jiang said. “Doug (Mills) always tells me, ’If you don’t do well, tomorrow is a new day.’ Think about what you can do better next time and prepare yourself for that the next day, because there’s no sense of dwelling on your mistakes.”

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Spectators show signs of fatigue during the third round of voting for House speaker in October.

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The Longworth House Office Building is seen during the speaker race in October.

For Jiang — and many journalists — her job is more than just a job. It’s a responsibility that she doesn’t take lightly.

“It’s really a privilege to be working in that place,” she said. “It’s such a magnificent building. It’s historic. There are so many crazy moments that happen over there, and I get to see that.”

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Young visitors gather on the Capitol steps in April.
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks to reporters about a proposed debt limit deal in May.

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Republican members of the House meet in October to select a new candidate for speaker.

Jiang says she’s looking forward to covering the 2024 election and the events leading up to it.

“As we all know, the stakes are high,” she said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty going into next year, and I’m excited to see how that plays out. And as a photojournalist, I’m very curious to see how the American people eventually decide on what matters the most to them.”

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Rep. Matt Gaetz, who led the effort to oust Kevin McCarthy as House speaker, speaks to reporters outside the Capitol in October. “I feel like I’m on the right path” Jiang said. “I’m doing the right thing. I’m doing my job to a degree that people find informative. That’s all I wanted to do.”

She will likely be spending less time at the Capitol over the next year. She’s already booked to cover the Iowa caucuses later this month. But she will be back.

“I feel like it’s so important for journalists to stick with it, to be able to see beyond the obvious and bring the audience — which is the American public who reads the news — the best information we can present,” Jiang said. “I think that’s so important, and I don’t take it for granted. I don’t think I would ever want to leave Capitol Hill behind.”

IDF officer’s photographic chronicles of war in the north

By in Photography

IDF officer’s photographic chronicles of war in the north

Guy Shmueli is a reserve mental health officer serving at an IDF base somewhere in the north. As the weeks pass and the war continues, Shmueli, who normally works as a social worker, keeps serving and assisting soldiers while simultaneously documenting the daily life on the base through his lens.

“Photography for me is a kind of therapy amidst the ongoing tension of the period and helps me find the ‘human’, the ‘warm’, and the beautiful aspects amidst and alongside the complex feelings,” Shmueli said in a conversation with Ynet. “I hope that through my photos, I manage to convey at least part of my experience.”

Shmueli’s works from his war journal are currently on display at the Artura Gallery in Emek Hefer, and next week he will launch an exhibition titled “Details from a Photographed War Journal” at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque.

The Art of Delivering Niche at Scale: AI’s Role in Influencer Marketing

By in Art World News

The Art of Delivering Niche at Scale: AI’s Role in Influencer Marketing

By Ritesh Ujjwal

Artificial intelligence has created a powerful impact on almost all modern industries, speeding up processes, improving the quality of work and increasing productivity and has revolutionized the way we live, work, and interact with each other. Forbes has projected that the global artificial intelligence market is set to grow at an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37% from 2023 to 2030. This growth is expected to catapult the industry to a massive $1,811 billion by 2030. We see this impact on influencer marketing as well, where the integration of AI is ushering in a new era of influencer marketing for brands, redefining content production, optimisation, and distribution.

Transformative role of AI: Unlocking a new segment in influencer marketing

AI and ML Roadmap to Influencer Marketing Strategies

The incorporation of automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies has significantly streamlined campaign management complexities for brands, providing AI-led analytical tools and platforms that autonomously track and optimize campaign life cycles. Integrating Influencer Relationship Management (IRM) software ensures meticulous oversight of influencer tasks, covering engagement, metrics, content, and results. In the past, marketers heavily relied on Facebook’s Open Graph to efficiently scout target audiences and identify ideal influencers instantly. However, following Facebook’s closure of this functionality, marketers dealt with the challenge of murky data, resulting in inconsistent outcomes. This shift has prompted the industry to explore alternative strategies, emphasizing the importance of adapting to new technological solutions, such as automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI), to maintain effective and reliable influencer marketing practices. AI facilitates strategic matchmaking, pairing brands with the right influencers based on well-defined success factors. ML acts as a feedback loop, pinpointing areas of improvement and guiding an ideal course of action. Additionally, Natural Language Processing (NLP) analyzes content sentiment and ensures compliance, while Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) predicts optimal incentives and identifies lookalike creators, collectively enhancing campaign reach. Ultimately, this technology-driven approach aims at fostering genuine connections between influencers and their audience, delivering value through tailored and engaging content.

The Generative AI Approach to Effective Marketing: The proliferation of AI applications has brought about a significant transformation in influencer marketing. One such application that has gained immense popularity is generative AI, which allows creators to generate realistic and high-quality content, including texts, videos, and pictures, thereby enabling them to engage with audiences more effectively. As per Statista’s report, over half of the marketers, which is about 55 per cent, have been making use of ChatGPT to meet their marketing needs. Similarly, 42 percent of marketers have been relying on Copy.ai, which is essentially a natural language processing software that generates social media content and product descriptions, to achieve the same goals. Moreover, AI has ushered in a new era of virtual influencers like Lu do Magalu, Lil Miquela, K/DA, and others. These digital entities, crafted through computer graphics software, possess unique personas, effectively functioning as influencers across various social media platforms.

The Authenticity Imperative

The rising popularity of influencers can be largely attributed to the genuine, relatable nature of their content. Thus, it is crucial to achieve a harmonious balance between human authenticity and AI automation. While artificial intelligence serves as a valuable tool for optimizing workflows and generating data-based insights, human interaction and customization continue to act as essential components that sustain the appeal of content creators in the modern era.The potential impact of artificial intelligence as a creative competitor is a topic of discussion within the influencer marketing industry, sparking concerns about content creators turning to AI for scriptwriting and marketing strategies. Brands often collaborate with influencers based on factors such as organic growth and the monetization potential of their followers, giving significance to authenticity. If influencers adopt AI for crafting pitches, the authenticity central to influencing may be compromised, resulting in a loss of trust for both influencers and brands and potentially affecting their livelihoods and financial performance. Considering the consumer perspective is vital, as user preferences play a substantial role in shaping the trajectory of influencer marketing. However, a nuanced dynamic emerges, with consumers showing a preference for both entertainment and authenticity on social media, blurring the lines between content generated by humans and AI. Additionally, legal concerns arise as AI usage, both in generating content and creating AI influencers, raises issues such as intellectual property, liability, and copyright problems.

Final Thoughts

The emphasis on authenticity in influencer marketing has primarily originated from consumer preferences rather than industry initiatives. This highlights the importance of influencers collectively addressing concerns related to AI misuse on social media. The term “AI influencer” itself introduces a paradox, as it challenges the historical consumer demand for authenticity in influencer marketing. The industry faces the ongoing challenge of balancing technological advancements with consumer expectations to ensure a harmonious evolution in influencer marketing practices. While AI has certainly assisted influencer marketing operations, relevant and authentic influencer appeal continues to be a crucial element that modern-day consumers actively consider. As marketers prepare for an AI-dominated influencer marketing business, it is this delicate balance that will drive development and success.

(The author is Ritesh Ujjwal – Co-Founder, Kofluence, and the views expressed in this article are his own)

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