Photojournalist Rene Burri Dies

Magnum Photographer since 1959, a friend and a student of Henri Cartier-Bresson, former employer of Walt Disney films in Switzerland, photojournalist Rene Burri dies at his house in Zurich after a long illness.

His first project, “The German,” brought him high regard with professionals. He achieved broader fame for iconic portraits of Che Guevara, Picasso, Yves Klein, Fidel Castro and many others. Burri’s archive, which contains some 30,000 pictures, will be given to the Musée de l’Élysee in Lausanne according to the will of the photographer.

{ “img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PAR43759.jpg”, “alt”: ” “, “text”: “France, the Villa La Californie in Cannes, 1957. Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. ” },
{ “img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PAR62798.jpg”, “alt”: ” “, “text”: “Cuba, Havanna, Ministry of Industry, 1963. Argentinean politician Ernesto Guevara. ” },
{ “img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PAR59025.jpg”, “alt”: ” “, “text”: “France , Paris, 14th arrondissement. Rue Campagne Premiere, 1961. French artist Yves Klein” },
{ “img”: “/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/PAR218445.jpg”, “alt”: ” “, “text”: “Switzerland, Zurich, 1946. British prime-minister Winston Churchill. ” }

Martin Parr, president of Magnum Photos, said in a statement, “Not only was he one of the great postwar photographers; he was also one of the most generous people I have had the privilege to meet. [His] contribution to Magnum and his unrivaled ability to tell stories … will be part of his enormous legacy.”

Last year PORT Magazine made a documentary short featuring Rene Burri telling the stories of his six most famous photos and explaining why he always avoided image processing.