Editorial Reviews

A member of the prestigious Magnum photo agency, Burri is a photographer whose curiosity and humanity as a photographer have afforded him almost unrestricted access to the major events and personalities of the last fifty years. In this way, René Burri Photographs is a fascinating personal account of the major artists, politicians and personalities that Burri has made a part of his life. First achieving international recognition with the seminal photography book on post-WWII Germany Die Deutschen (The Germans) in 1962, René Burri has since become one of the most important figures in the history of photography, admired and respected by his peers for his sympathetic eye and his ability to capture larger-than-life personalities on film.

René Burri Photographs is the culmination of several years of scholarly research by distinguished writer Hans Michael Koetzle into Burri’s important contribution to reportage photography. In 21 thematically organized chapters, we accompany Burri across Europe to the Middle East, Vietnam, Brazil, Cuba and beyond: we visit Picasso, Le Corbusier, Yves Klein and Giacometti in their studios; we witness political figures such as Che Guevara in repose, and Fidel Castro at the helm. The book begins with an introduction that describes the history, politics and artistic influences that have coloured Burri’s work. Each of the 21 chapters is accompanied by colour-coded bands for easy reference (for example, Chapter 2 on Picasso is accompanied by blue bands; Chapter 14 on Germany, green bands). Each of the chapters begins with a 2-page essay which gives an overview of the images in that particular section, the time period and political climate, and the circumstances that drew Burri to ph! otograph the subject. In addition, each image in the book is accompanied by a caption detailing the place, year and event. The book is designed by prominent Swiss graphic designer Werner Jeker of ADN Design, Lausanne.

Customer Reviews

Valuable addition to Photo history library, 2005-04-09
by Mark D. Segal

I am surprised to be the first person writing a review of this major contribution to the history of photography. Rene Burri is one of the twentieth century's foremost photographers in league with notables such as Capa, Riboud and Bischof. He created some of the 20th century's defining images. He was trained under Finsler and Willimann in the 1950s at the renowned Kunstgewerbeschule Zurich, and the author makes frequent reference to the influence of these masters on Burri's photographic vision. It is not always easy to find certain published works of Burri; this book assembles a representative sample with a very well-written, informative commentary on the historical context, background to and photographic aspects of the images. The book is quite well printed with satisfactory layout, a minor annoyance being the need to turn the pages sideways to read the captions. This of course should not deter anyone from acquiring a copy of this important and enjoyable book.