THE MYSTERY surrounding whose lips are seen in an iconic photo of a post-World War II kiss may have finally been solved.
French-American Marc de Mauregne claims to be the one caught puckering up on a Paris street in the mid-1940s, when he planted his lips on his pretty young girlfriend outside the city hall.
Photographer Robert Doisneau’s photo “The Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville,” which has graced thousands of postcards and posters, is synonymous with French romance.
But the identity of the couple on the other side of the camera has been a mystery and the subject of debate for more than 60 years.
“It was taken in probably ’45 or ’46 right after the war, in Paris, near the opera. It was a very popular corner and place,” de Mauregne told the Coleman-Rayner news agency in Los Angeles.
“I recognized myself, my hair. I think we were going to the movies. The lady was a friend who used to live in my street in Paris. Her name was Rolande Dupuis,” he said.
“She was a very good friend of my sister. They worked together and we were seeing each other for a couple of years. I was amazed to see the photo everywhere around the world.”
De Mauregne, 87, claims he had no idea the picture was being taken.
“You can see it is not posed,” he said. “We were just walking and kissing and somebody took the picture. It’s so popular in Paris. Everybody just kisses on the street. It’s a common thing over there.”
Doisneau’s photo was published in Life magazine in 1950 after Doisneau was assigned to get pictures of couples in Paris for a spread.
The picture’s popularity exploded years later, when Doisneau gave a publisher permission in 1986 to use it for a poster.
Another couple, Jean and Denise Lavergne, claimed to be the subjects of the photo in 1992, and even sued Doisneau for royalties before he died in 1994.
But Doisneau told court officials he staged the photo with another couple, a claim that could never be confirmed.
In late 2000, Paris Match magazine called on young couples to recreate the kiss in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the picture.
De Mauregne said he has no idea what happened to the girl he kissed — or if she ever saw the photo. He left Paris for the US a couple of years later, and only recently saw the picture himself.
De Mauregne has been back to Paris a number of times with his wife and children, and has made a point to show his family the place that he made famous. His last visit was five years ago.
“We had a wonderful time,” de Mauregne said. “It brings back great memories.” (By Leonard Greene)
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