sojourn. He also traveled to France, Germany, and
Holland to capture the devastation caused by the
war. In his candid photographs Bischof demon-
strated that this technique, more than any other
type of war photography, is best able to describe the
inconceivable consequences of war. In December
1945 and May 1946, some of these pictures appeared
inDu, shocking many with a photograph showing
the mutilated face of a Dutch boy on the title page.
There was public consternation at this imagery, and
as a result, Bischof’s projected book about the con-
sequences of the war was never realized.
After the war Bischof became increasingly in-
volved in the making of photographs and picture
stories for the international press. From 1946 to
1948 he worked as a photographer for Schweizer
Spende, a Swiss relief organization for war-disabled
in Italy, Greece, Austria, and Eastern Europe (Ru-
mania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Poland),
then in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. In 1949
his photos were published inDuand in a special
edition ofAtlantic.In 1948 Bischof photographed
the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz forLifeand in
1949 he worked for the British magazinesPicture
PostandThe Observerfollowing his move to Eng-
land. In the same year he became a founding mem-
ber of Magnum Photos, New York and Paris, which
with help from other members such as Robert Capa,
David ‘‘Chim’’ Seymour, and Henri Cartier-Bres-
son, became one of the most important organiza-
tions of socially engaged photographers in the post
WWII period. Trips to Italy, Sardinia, Paris, and
Iceland followed. In the Italian magazineEpoca,a
feature onLe Piazze d’Italia(Italian Plazas) ap-
peared. ForLife, in 1951, Bischof photographed
probably his most famous reportage,Famine in
Bihar(Hunger in Bihar), which covered the famine
in the Indian province. Stunned by the bitter poverty
of the Indian people, he captured striking images
without exploiting or sensationalizing his subjects,
including, for example, a worm’s-eye view photo of a
begging mother with a child in her arms. The sym-
bolic communication of pictures such as these were
particularly powerful.
From 1951 to 1952, Bischof was sent byLifeto
Tokyo. There he rediscovered himself as an artist,
increasingly choosing tranquil, well-balanced com-
positions that avoided dramatic effects. He reflected
on this period of personal transition in his book,
Japan, which appeared in 1954 and for which he
received the Prix Nadar (France) in 1955. Outstand-
ingexamplesofpicturesfromthistimeincludeSchla-
fender Priester im Ryoanji-Tempel(Sleeping Priests
in the Ryoanji-Temple), Kyoto, Japan (1951) and
Steinweg durch den Teich im Heiangarten Kyoto
(Stone Path Through the Pond in the Heian Garden
of Kyoto) (1952). Thus it was with reluctance that he
accepted an assignment in Indochina as a war corre-
spondent forParis Match. Doubting more and more
the capacity of photojournalism to change society,
Bischof had sought independence from magazine
work and wanted to remove himself from war corre-
spondence since 1951. He was able to move more
toward creating photoessays that depicted the cul-
ture and lifestyles of various nations. In Finland,
Bischof worked on an international documentary
aboutWomen Today. That same year he wrote a
feature on British Columbia forFortunemagazine.
ViaCaliforniaandMexicoheandhiswifetraveledto
South America for an extended photo tour.
In 1954 Bischof worked on a photo story in Lima,
Peru, and Santiago, Chile, after working for a period
in Panama on assignment forLife. When his wife
returned to Switzerland, Bischof flew to the Inca
city, Machu Picchu. Returning to Lima he met the
geologist, Ali di Szepessy, who was on an Amazon
expedition, and decided to accompany him. On 16
May, 1954, their wrecked car was found in a gully.
Just a few days before the accident Werner Bischof’s
undeniably best known photograph,Flo ̈te spielender
Junge bei Cuzco(Boys Playing Flutes in Cuzco) had
appeared. It was a poignant and impressive ending
to Bischof’s career in which he had been able to
reduce situations to their essentials: parents and
children, hunger and war, loneliness—all timeless,
universal themes. Through the unification of ambi-
tious aesthetics and ethics, Bischof’s works have be-
come classics that convey the misery of our world in
a dignified and enduring manner.FRANZ-XAVERSchlegel
Seealso: Capa, Robert; Cartier-Bresson, Henri;
Finsler, Hans; Life; Magnum Photos; Picture Post;
Seymour, David ‘‘Chim’’; War PhotographyBiography
Born in Zurich, April 26, 1916. Basic education, 1922–1931.
Childhood and youth in Waldshut, Germany. Higher
education: studied drawing and sports at a teaching
school in Schiers/Graubu ̈nden (Switzerland), 1931–- Studied at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich (Zur-
ich School for Applied Arts), 1932–1936 under Hans
Finsler. From 1936 on, worked as an independent photo-
grapher and technical drawer (fashion, advertisement) in
Zurich-Letten. Employed by Graphis-Verlag (publishing
house), Zurich, 1938. Employee and later chief editor of
the newspaperDu. Publication of his photos of devasta-
tion of war in Europe in the illustrated newspaperDu,
1942–1944. War reportages covering France, Germany,
The Netherlands, Italy, and Greece, 1945. Official repor-
ter forLifeat the Winter Olympic Games in St. Moritz,
BISCHOF, WERNER