The Woman in the Kiss at the Hotel de Ville, the famous photograph by Robert Doisneau taken in Paris in 1950, will remain forever. Francoise Bornet has died at the age of 93, reports the newspaper Le Parisien, stating that the disappearance dates back to December 25, when the woman was in Evreux, Normandy.
She was only twenty years old when she posed in front of Doisneau's lens with her then partner. It was the American magazine Life that commissioned the photographer to do this report to describe the effects of the period after the Second World War. “They told us: 'I'm Robert Doisneau, I think you're quite charming. Would you agree to kiss me in front of my camera?'” Françoise Bornet said.
The photo became iconic in the 1980s. Bornet then – as the French media remember – tried a film career and took on supporting roles. In 1993, several couples took Doisneau to court, all claiming to be the man immortalized in the photo. “A beautiful memory was taken away from me,” commented Bornet. And Doisneau had confirmed that the model was indeed her, even if it was difficult to recognize her in the picture. The woman did not receive a single euro from the process. In 2005, he decided to sell his original copy, offered by Doisneau himself, for 185,000 euros.
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