Rene Burri Photographs

Known the world over for his iconic images of Che Guevara andBrasilia, Rene Burri is one of the world's greatest living photographers.Now, for the first time ever and featuring many never before publishedimages, Burri's remarkable and adventurous work is brought together in thiscareer retrospective of over 400 duotone photographs. Edited and compiledby distinguished writer Hans-Michael Koetzle in close collaboration withBurri, this unprecedented retrospective is a history book of the majorpolitical events and key personalities of the 20th century seen through theeyes of one photographer. Nothing like this book on Burri has ever beenpublished before, and it is a real coup for Phaidon to be the first topublish his entire career's work.A member of the prestigious Magnum photo agency, Burri is a photographerwhose curiosity and humanity as a photographer have afforded him almostunrestricted access to the major events and personalities of the last fiftyyears. In this way, Rene Burri Photographs is a fascinating personalaccount of the major artists, politicians and personalities that Burri hasmade a part of his life. First achieving international recognition with theseminal photography book on post-WWII Germany Die Deutschen (The Germans)in 1962, Rene Burri has since become one of the most important figures inthe history of photography, admired and respected by his peers for hissympathetic eye and his ability to capture larger-than-life personalitieson film.Rene Burri Photographs is the culmination of several years ofscholarly research by distinguished writer Hans Michael Koetzle intoBurri's important contribution to reportage photography. In 21 thematicallyorganized chapters, we accompany Burri across Europe to the Middle East,Vietnam, Brazil, Cuba and beyond: we visit Picasso, Le Corbusier, YvesKlein and Giacometti in their studios; we witness political figures such asChe Guevara in repose, and Fidel Castro at the helm. The book begins withan introduction that describes the history, politics and artisticinfluences that have colored Burri's work. Each of the 21 chapters isaccompanied by color-coded bands for easy reference (for example, Chapter 2on Picasso is accompanied by blue bands; Chapter 14 on Germany, greenbands). Each of the chapters begins with a 2-page essay which gives anoverview of the images in that particular section, the time period andpolitical climate, and the circumstances that drew Burri to photograph thesubject. In addition, each image in the book is accompanied by a captiondetailing the place, year and event. The book is designed by prominentSwiss graphic designer Werner Jeker of ADN Design, Lausanne.