(...)
The photographer René Burri, famous for his architectural
photography and his portraits of the twentieth century's greatest
creative and political figures, died yesterday at 81.
The news was reported by the Magnum Photo agency, where Burri had
worked since 1956. "His contribution to Magnum and his unrivalled
ability to tell stories and entertain us over this time will be part of
his enormous legacy," said Martin Parr, President of Magnum Photos, in
a statement. Burri had donated his archives, containing some 30,000
photographs, to the Musée de l'Élysee in Lausanne.
The following article, published in our March 2004 issue, has been edited to reflect Burri's passing.
It would be difficult for young photographers today to recreate the
career of René Burri, who came of age in the 1950s—when being a
generalist was considered a sign of artistic strength. In a career
spanning more than 50 years and several genres, he has covered wars,
revolutions, and all manner of political upheaval; shot street scenes of
his beloved Paris and other world capitals; and created intimate
portraits of some of the twentieth century's most significant figures.
Born in Switzerland in 1933, Burri took his first photograph at age
13; it caught a regal Winston Churchill riding in the back of a
limousine. He joined the legendary Magnum photo agency at the age of 26
and soon after became a protegé of Henri Carton-Bresson.Burri also cultivated a lifelong interest in architecture. "In art
school I had a professor from the Bauhaus, Hans Finsler," he says.
"Finsler instilled in me what he called 'the new essential things' about
lines and buildings, and that seeped into my consciousness." The
photographer was present at the opening of Ronchamp and later became
friends with Le Corbusier, compiling a 1999 book on the master. Burri
collaborated with Luis Barragán on a kind of prose-poem book that combined his images with the mystic musings of the architect. His book, René Burri Photographs
(Phaidon Press, 2004), brought much of this impressive work into a
single volume, creating a memorable portrait of the second half of the
twentieth century.
Etiquetas: Fotógrafo, Photographer, René Burri
