Capa snap story told at Barbican

A new exhibition of photography from the late Robert Capa will show at the Barbican in London next month. Some 72 years after the famous falling soldier photo was taken and for the first time in the UK every image taken by Capa on that same day will be shown.

“There have been various theories about whether the soldier was actually shot in battle, [said Cynthia Young, who curated the exhibition.] “Looking at the photos it is clear that it is not the heat of battle. It is likely the soldiers were carrying out an exercise either for Capa or themselves.
“The images are ordered according to the numbers on the back of the negatives, so it’s the best sequence we can put together and from that we can deduce the story.”

At the beginning of 2008, over 3,000 Robert Capa negatives surfaced in Mexico. The exhibition, This is War! Robert Capa at Work‘ runs at the Barbican in London from 17 October until 25 January.