Sans titre / Untitled, 1948-1954

The great African portrait photographer Seydou Keïta lived in Bamako, Mali, from 1921 to 2001. A self-taught photographer, he opened a studio in 1948 and specialized in portraiture. Seydou Keïta soon photographed the entire city of Bamako, and his portraits gained a reputation for excellence throughout West Africa.

His numerous clients were drawn to the quality of his prints and his keen sense of aesthetics. Many were young men dressed in Western-style clothing. Some clients brought in items they wanted to be photographed with, but Keïta also had a selection of European clothing and accessories—watches, pens, radios, a scooter, etc.—which he made available to them in his studio. The women came in flowing robes that often covered their legs and necks; they only began wearing Western outfits in the late 1960s. Seydou Keïta worked mostly with natural light in his home courtyard and, for economic reasons, took only a single shot for each photograph.

Keïta was discovered in the West in the early 1990s. His first solo exhibition took place in 1994 in Paris at the Fondation Cartier. This was followed by many others in various museums, galleries, and foundations worldwide. He is now universally recognized as the father of African photography and considered one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century.