New Paris Exhibition Shows Striking Photos Of Marilyn Monroe, Louis Armstrong & Andy Warhol

This is where the 'jumping' photo comes from...

As if we needed another reason to go to Paris (amazing food, beautiful people, incomparable shopping, plus countless sightseeing opportunities), now we've just been given one more: a beautiful new exhibition celebrating the works of legendary photographer Philippe Halsman.

Featuring incredible photos of icons from Marilyn Monroe and Louis Armstrong to Salvador Dali and Muhammad Ali, the exhibition celebrates Halsman's 40-year career, that took him from Paris to New York with several stops in between.

In fact, even if you've never heard of Halsman, you should thank him - because he invented 'jumpology', the art of jumping as a way of obtaining 'more natural and spontaneous pictures of his subjects'.

No, that's not the same as the beach jumping pose you try to recreate for your Instagram every summer holiday. If you look through the gallery above, you'll see everyone from Marilyn Monroe to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor jumping for Halsman's lens - and we dare say they look a damn sight more stylish than our futile attempts at jumpology.

There are also remarkable photos of Alfred Hitchcock, a bird perching on his cigar, striking self-portraits of Philippe Halsman, and images of French icons André Malraux and Jean Cocteau, not to mention fabulous shots of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, as well as one unique picture of Salvador Dali face-to-face with a rhino.

The exbition will show 300 exclusive Halsman images at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume until January 24, 2016.

Scroll through the gallery above to see some of our favourite images...