Elliot Erwitt was fittingly born in the city of art, Paris

Erwitt's pictures never cease to show humans at their most vulnerable and most natural states, usually at rest or at play. In most instances, he acts as a spy, unassuming and unfelt, yet ever-present. The picture on pages 86-7 of Snaps is a true testament to this. It shows to paintings, side by side, on the wall at the Museo del Prado, in Madrid in 1996. The painting on the left is of a clothed woman, posing during the renaissance, and on the right is the same woman in the same pose but this time she is nude. On the left, stands one woman, alone, who gazes at the painting and is presumably unaware that Erwitt is behind her with his camera. In front of the painting on the right stands seven men, starring at the nude painting, also unaware of Erwitt's presence. Are the men gawking or admiring? The woman is certainly doing the latter. Or so we can assume, which is where the photograph becomes amusing: in the assumption. We do not know the expressions on the face of any of the individuals in the photograph and the viewer is left to guess. The humour in this photograph is evident upon first sight. The cluster of men on the right is in high contrast with the lone woman on the left, however, initial attention is not necessarily directed towards them. Both sides of the picture are equally as poignant and the work together to provoke the same emotions upon viewing of the photograph. Besides the obvious message of gender and sex that this picture conveys, Erwitt has also captured a candid moment that emphasizes our love and fascination with art. From this photograph, observing art seems to be a passive activity, one that puts us at rest. However, viewing art is a highly visual and intellectual activity, and Erwitt knows this. After all, we are looking at his own photograph, analyzing and deconstructing it. The composition of this photograph depends largely on pattern. The symmetrical pattern on the floor is counter-balanced by the symmetrical placing of each painting on each side. They work together to create a sense of uniformity and perfection that is typical of a museum. However, this balance is thrown off by conglomeration of men who overpower the lone woman. So it is the humans who are disrupting the form of the museum. Perhaps if the museum wanted to achieve true balance, they should have included a nude painting on the left wall as well. Erwitt's omnipresence in this photograph is reminiscent of the two others discussed previously, and it is most certainly this unassuming quality as a photographer that allows him to capture these odd yet real moments in life.

, France in 1928. He was raised in Milan and Hollywood and began

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Approximate Word count = 1797
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)