He contributed to the emergence of super-models in the 90s and marked the world of fashion with his portraits without makeup, often in black and white, stars and models: at 74, the German photographer Peter Lindbergh is dead. "I edit very little my images, I do not want to deform or massacre women," explained the photographer fascinated by the "geography" of faces, in front of students destined for the fashion trades a few years ago.
And the women did it well: Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Milla Jovovich models, Nicole Kidman, Isabelle Huppert or Julianne Moore gave him full confidence, surrendering to his goal. "Considered a pioneer in his art, (Peter Lindbergh) was able to redefine contemporary fashion photography and its beauty standards by sublimating women of all ages," said Wednesday the release of his family announcing his death on Tuesday, without giving more details about the place or circumstances.
A certain look ... # PeterLindberghpic.twitter.com/PiV0Aql3SF
- Anne Mortier (@ AnneMortier1) September 4, 2019He participated in many advertising campaigns
German-born Lindbergh, born in November 1944 in Leszno, Poland, gained fame by collaborating with numerous magazines ( Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar ...), participating in a large number of advertising campaigns as well as 'to the famous Pirelli calendar. He had just joined the September issue of Vogue UK , with the Duchess of Sussex as editor-in-chief. A number for which he has immortalized a series of strong women, from New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to young Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
In black and white, as usual. "The black and white film has another way of reflecting the skin, so we notice the slightest detail, and the photo quickly becomes a portrait," he said in an interview with Paris Match .
"The responsibility of photographers must be to free women from obsession with age and perfection."
Fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, black and white cliché master, just left us at the age of 74. Tribute with this topic of 1997 # PeterLindberghpic.twitter.com / oUKe7R5kDo
Black and white photos that brought out a generation of supermodels
His portraits in black and white, against a backdrop of industrial landscapes or beaches, had become the trademark of the photographer who had contributed to the emergence of the phenomenon of super-models in the 90s by photographing "natural" young stars podiums: Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Linda Evangelista or Kate Moss. It was in 1988 that Peter Lindbergh had taken the careers of a new generation of models, with an image representing them all in white shirt on the beach of Malibu, in the United States.
But the publisher of Vogue who ordered the photos was not satisfied with this look without artifice. The image ends in the trash until the famous Anna Wintour takes over the reins of the magazine and uses him for his first cover. Among the models on the beach were Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Tatjana Patitz.
Peter Lindbergh, realistic fashion photographer and Giacometti fan. (1944-2019)
Thousands of photos, portraits, including one of the most emblematic of the 90 '. pic.twitter.com/bQPf2jXfRg
Easily recognizable, his highly expressionist style owes a lot to his love of the 7th art, German films before the war ("The Blue Angel", "Metropolis") to the cinema of his compatriot Wim Wenders ("Wings of Desire" ) through "Stranger than paradise" Jim Jarmusch, also in black and white. Married to German photographer Petra Sedlaczek, Peter Lindbergh was the father of four sons.