Children at a Puppet Theater, Paris, 1963
Gelatin silver print, printed 1966
Flush mounted to masonite
15 × 18 inches
Exhibition print from the traveling show Witness to our Time: Photographs by Alfred Eisenstaedt
Two labels on mount verso, both read: "Paris 1963"
May 27, 2024
Not only is this one of the most beloved photographs in Alfred Eisenstaedt's long career, it is surely one of the most ebullient images among all of photography's canonical pictures. While in Paris, Eisenstaedt focused his camera on the young audience attending an outdoor puppet performance of Saint George and the Dragon, capturing their collective exuberance at the precise moment when the dragon is slain. The wide eyed expression frozen on the child's face in the center of the picture is such a delight, one feels certain that having seen it, it will never be forgotten.
