Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898–1995), the man behind some of the most memorable pictures of the 20th century, was a professional photographer for almost 70 years. He started working in photography in Weimar Germany in the 1920s. Having fled Nazi Germany in the mid-’30s, he shot for
LIFE magazine from its debut in 1936 until it ceased publishing as a weekly in 1972. After
LIFE was shuttered, Eisenstaedt kept photographing until the mid-1990s.
Eisenstaedt was “renowned for his ability to capture memorable images of important people in the news, including statesmen, movie stars and artists” and for his candid photographs, taken with a small 35mm Leica camera and typically with only natural lighting. Below is a selection of 30 fascinating black and white photographs of Paris taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt in 1963.
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| Young Parisian women at a discotheque. |
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| Woman looking out her window at street with pigeons lining the sidewalk below her. |
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| Young Parisians dancing at a discotheque. |
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| Two young Parisian women on a balcony. |
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| Young Parisians dancing at a discotheque. |
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| Young Parisian women dancing together at a discotheque. |
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| Parisians at a sidewalk cafe. |
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| Parisian children playing in the street. |
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| Parisian beatniks hanging out on bank of the Seine. |
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| Parisians at a street market. |
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| Amphibious car crossing the Seine. |
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| Two weary American tourists resting on sofa in gallery of the Louvre. |
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| Parisian woman feeding pigeons in park. |
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| Ceramic hounds in window of antique shop. |
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| Gendarme directing traffic. |
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| Young Parisians dancing at a discotheque. |
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| Montmartre sidewalk artist and an admirer. |
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| Parisian couple embracing at a discotheque. |
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| Young Parisians dancing at a discotheque. Golfe Drouant Gallery? |
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| Two elderly Parisian women meeting in the street. |
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| Parisian men playing cards on box top in square of Ile de la Cite. |
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| 91 year-old painter visiting the Louvre. |
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| Montmartre sidewalk artist and monkey entertaining tourists in the Place du Terte near Sacre Coeur. |
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| Parisian children riding merry-go-round in a playground. |
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| Parisian girl dressed for her first communion accompanied by family members. |
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| Woman in window of public baths. |
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| Two Parisian boys “fighting a duel” in the street. |
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| Parisians on the banks of the Seine. |
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| Stamp collectors trading stamps on the Avenue Matignon. |
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| Barge on a canal. |
(Photos by Alfred Eisenstaedt, via LIFE archives)
