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René Burri 1933 - 2014
Représenté par:
Bildhalle
“René Burri was always driven by an irrepressible zest for life and a thirst for discovering the universe, but especially by an acute aware-ness of the ebb and flow of things, a tenacious desire to understand the workings of the world, and the certainty of then being able to share his experiences and his analyses with his peers. Two parallel approaches can be distinguished in René Burri: on the one hand the composition, the structure and the visual impact are of indisputable economy, precision and legibility, conferring on his work a symbolic character, universal and almost eternal; on the other, each sign, each shape, each frame within the image confers an original and personal perspective on what is portrayed. The uniqueness of Burri`s visual universe, whether in response to a commission or for more personal work, whether in black-and-white or in colour, is founded on the complementarity between these two approaches, their superposition and their osmosis, perhaps. His photographs also hold the page or the picture rails of a gallery like no others and have the unique power to reveal each situation to us in a single photogram.”
Marc Donnadieu, Co-curator with Mélanie Bétrisey of the exhibition at the Musée de l`Elysée, Lausanne (excerpt from the catalogue “René Burri, Explosion of Sight”, Musée de l`Elysée Lausanne/Scheidegger & Spiess)
René Burri (Swiss, 1933–2014) was a photographer, known for his images of important historical, political, and cultural events of the 20th century. Born in Zurich, Burri attended the School of Applied Arts, where he worked under renowned photographers Hans Finsler and Alfred Willimann, as well as Expressionist painter Johannes Itten. After graduating, Burri served in the military, and experimented with documentary filmmaking, briefly working in film production for Walt Disney in Switzerland. He became an associate of Magnum Photos in 1955, and received international attention for his series on deaf-mute children, Touch of Music for the Deaf, published in LIFE magazine that same year.
Between 1956 and 1959, he traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, and was published in LIFE, The New York Times, Stern, Paris-Match, and Look. During this time, he also photographed prominent artists, including Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti.
Burri became a full member of Magnum in 1959, and continued to build a reputation as a photojournalist. Burri published his first book, Die Deutschen, in Switzerland in 1962, and held his first solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1963. That same year, while working in Cuba, he photographed Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. His image of Guevara smoking a cigar became world renowned, and is arguably the most recognizable portrait of the famous revolutionary.
Burri opened Magnum Gallery in Paris in 1962, and continued to work as a photographer and made collages and drawings. He participated in the creation of Magnum Films in 1965, and then spent time in China, where he made the documentary The Two Faces of China, which was produced by the BBC in 1968.
Burri received numerous awards, including the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1991, a Dr. Erich Salomon Prize from the German Photography Society in 1998, a Canton of Zurich Cultural Prize in 1999, an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2006, and the Swiss Press Photo Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. A large retrospective of his work was held in 2004 and 2005 at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, and subsequently traveled to museums throughout Europe.
Burri died in Zurich after a long battle with cancer at the age of 81.
Marc Donnadieu, Co-curator with Mélanie Bétrisey of the exhibition at the Musée de l`Elysée, Lausanne (excerpt from the catalogue “René Burri, Explosion of Sight”, Musée de l`Elysée Lausanne/Scheidegger & Spiess)
René Burri (Swiss, 1933–2014) was a photographer, known for his images of important historical, political, and cultural events of the 20th century. Born in Zurich, Burri attended the School of Applied Arts, where he worked under renowned photographers Hans Finsler and Alfred Willimann, as well as Expressionist painter Johannes Itten. After graduating, Burri served in the military, and experimented with documentary filmmaking, briefly working in film production for Walt Disney in Switzerland. He became an associate of Magnum Photos in 1955, and received international attention for his series on deaf-mute children, Touch of Music for the Deaf, published in LIFE magazine that same year.
Between 1956 and 1959, he traveled extensively in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, and was published in LIFE, The New York Times, Stern, Paris-Match, and Look. During this time, he also photographed prominent artists, including Pablo Picasso and Alberto Giacometti.
Burri became a full member of Magnum in 1959, and continued to build a reputation as a photojournalist. Burri published his first book, Die Deutschen, in Switzerland in 1962, and held his first solo exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1963. That same year, while working in Cuba, he photographed Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. His image of Guevara smoking a cigar became world renowned, and is arguably the most recognizable portrait of the famous revolutionary.
Burri opened Magnum Gallery in Paris in 1962, and continued to work as a photographer and made collages and drawings. He participated in the creation of Magnum Films in 1965, and then spent time in China, where he made the documentary The Two Faces of China, which was produced by the BBC in 1968.
Burri received numerous awards, including the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1991, a Dr. Erich Salomon Prize from the German Photography Society in 1998, a Canton of Zurich Cultural Prize in 1999, an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society in 2006, and the Swiss Press Photo Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. A large retrospective of his work was held in 2004 and 2005 at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, and subsequently traveled to museums throughout Europe.
Burri died in Zurich after a long battle with cancer at the age of 81.
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René Burri is the recipient of the Leica Hall of Fame award 2013. The prize is awarded to photographers who have rendered outstanding service to the Leica brand and to the genre of photography. In this video, we take a look at his work from 1956-2005 in Berlin.
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René Burri studied at the School of Applied Arts in his native city of Zurich, Switzerland. From 1953 to 1955 he worked as a documentary film-maker and began to use a Leica while doing his military service. Burri became an associate of Magnum in 1955 and received international attention for one of his first reportages, on deaf-mute children, «Touch of Music for the Deaf», published in Life magazine.
In 1956 he traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East, and then went to Latin America, where he made a series on the gauchos that was published by Du magazine in 1959. It was also for this Swiss periodical that he photographed artists such as Picasso, Giacometti and Le Corbusier. He became a full member of Magnum in 1959, and started work on his book «Die Deutschen», published in Switzerland in 1962, and by Robert Delpire the following year with the title Les Allemands. In 1963, while working in Cuba, he photographed Ernesto ‚Che‘ Guevara during an interview by an American journalist. His images of the famous revolutionary with his cigar appeared around the world. Burri participated in the creation of Magnum Films in 1965, and afterwards spent six months in China, where he made the film The Two Faces of China produced by the BBC. He opened the Magnum Gallery in Paris in 1962, while continuing his activities as a photographer; at the same time he made collages and drawings.
In 1998 Burri won the Dr Erich Salomon Prize from the German Association of Photography. A big retrospective of his work was held in 2004-2005 at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and toured many other European museums. In 2011 René Burri receives the Swiss Press Photo award in the Lifetime Achievement category at Berne (Switzerland).
In 2013 René Burri rediscovers his colour photos. He puts a new selection of colour photos together for”Impossible Reminiscences” (Phaidon, 2013) and his exhibition “René Burri – Doppelleben” (René Burri – Double Life) which will be presented at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich and the OstLicht Gallery in Vienna the following year. In July 2013 René Burri establishes his own foundation in Switzerland. It is now housed in the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne. In September 2014, René Burri opens his last exhibition, “Mouvement” in Paris, at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. It features a large number of unpublished photos for which he creates triptychs in black-and-white and colour, around the ‘image-movement’ theme. René Burri passed away at the age of 81 on October, 2014.
Under the curatorship of Marc Donnadieu and Mélanie Bétrisey, the Musée de l`Elysée offers, from January to May 2020, a new retrospective of all of his work entitled "René Burri, the explosion of sight".
In 1956 he traveled throughout Europe and the Middle East, and then went to Latin America, where he made a series on the gauchos that was published by Du magazine in 1959. It was also for this Swiss periodical that he photographed artists such as Picasso, Giacometti and Le Corbusier. He became a full member of Magnum in 1959, and started work on his book «Die Deutschen», published in Switzerland in 1962, and by Robert Delpire the following year with the title Les Allemands. In 1963, while working in Cuba, he photographed Ernesto ‚Che‘ Guevara during an interview by an American journalist. His images of the famous revolutionary with his cigar appeared around the world. Burri participated in the creation of Magnum Films in 1965, and afterwards spent six months in China, where he made the film The Two Faces of China produced by the BBC. He opened the Magnum Gallery in Paris in 1962, while continuing his activities as a photographer; at the same time he made collages and drawings.
In 1998 Burri won the Dr Erich Salomon Prize from the German Association of Photography. A big retrospective of his work was held in 2004-2005 at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris and toured many other European museums. In 2011 René Burri receives the Swiss Press Photo award in the Lifetime Achievement category at Berne (Switzerland).
In 2013 René Burri rediscovers his colour photos. He puts a new selection of colour photos together for”Impossible Reminiscences” (Phaidon, 2013) and his exhibition “René Burri – Doppelleben” (René Burri – Double Life) which will be presented at the Museum für Gestaltung in Zurich and the OstLicht Gallery in Vienna the following year. In July 2013 René Burri establishes his own foundation in Switzerland. It is now housed in the Musée de l’Elysée in Lausanne. In September 2014, René Burri opens his last exhibition, “Mouvement” in Paris, at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie. It features a large number of unpublished photos for which he creates triptychs in black-and-white and colour, around the ‘image-movement’ theme. René Burri passed away at the age of 81 on October, 2014.
Under the curatorship of Marc Donnadieu and Mélanie Bétrisey, the Musée de l`Elysée offers, from January to May 2020, a new retrospective of all of his work entitled "René Burri, the explosion of sight".
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