RENE
́
BURRI
Swiss
The work of Rene ́Burri continued the tradition of
engaged, documentary photography in the second
half of the twentieth century. Traveling with his
camera to a myriad of places around the world, he
is one of the most important representatives of ‘‘live
photography.’’ Born in 1933 in Zurich, Burri was
educated at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich (Zur-
ichSchoolforAppliedArts)between1949–1953.His
teachers included Johannes Itten who taught ele-
ments and color instruction and Hans Finsler who
taught photography. Burri’s initial interest was in
film. While still at the Kunstgewerbeschule, Burri
received a scholarship to create a documentary
about his school. In 1953, he also served as camera
assistant to Ernst A. Heininger for the Disney film,
Switzerland. His interest in film continued through-
outhislife,andin1964Burriwasafoundingmember
of Magnum Films.
Aftermilitaryservice,Burribegantoworkwithhis
35-mmLeica.Throughtheinterventionofhisfriend,
WernerBischof,whoalsomotivatedhim tocontinue
developing his style, Burri’s coverage of deaf-mute
children at the Zurich Institute for Musical and
Rhythmic Education appeared inLifemagazine (it
was previously printed inScience et Vie). This began
a significant career in international photojournalism
with world travels and numerous photographs pub-
lished inLook,Fortune,Paris-Match,Twen,Stern,
Geo,The New York Times, andThe Sunday Times.
Manyofhisbest-knownseries,however,appearedin
the Swiss magazineDu, includingGauchosof 1959
and a series on famed architect Le Corbusier.
Through Werner Bischof, Burri had become
acquainted in 1955 with Magnum Photos and its
founder Henri Cartier-Bresson. Bresson became a
friend and, following Hans Finsler, Burri’s second
great teacher. Whereas Finsler taught him to view
things in an austere manner, emphasizing graphics,
Burri was able, via Cartier-Bresson, to confirm his
ideas about photojournalism, that it should be
humane and has a moral obligation to inform. The
combination of these divergent tendencies is signi-
ficant. Burri is at base a storyteller, for whom pho-
tographic composition always plays an important
role. Even in the shots that sometimes appear to
be fortuitous, a specific moment can be found in
which elements such as the cropping, camera angle,
composition, and lighting harmonize with the con-
tent. Such pictures, therefore, sometimes appear to
be constructed.
I am conscious of my great facility in constructing images,
that probably comes from my knowledge and experience
of graphic arts. But technique should never impose itself,
know-how should never be distracting. The means are
made to clarify the end, not to obscure it.
(Burri 1984)
Portraits of artists such asPablo Picasso(1957
and 1960),Alberto Giacometti(1960), and actress
Ingrid Bergman(1960) or the icon-like portrait of
revolutionaryChe Guevara(1963) with a cigar ana-
lyze the character of the sitter despite the fortuity of
the foreground. With these portraits Burri demon-
strates a pronounced knowledge of human nature,
proving himself to be a meticulous observer, who
understands how to concentrate and imbue the sum
of his impressions into single, empathetic photo-
graphs. Burri described his procedure as follows:
There are a few ground rules: The photographer is the
clown. With his camera, he can induce something that a
journalist cannot. Although a person can tell a journalist
everything, a camera can cause the subject to be sud-
denly confronted with himself. To create intimacy with-
out being perceived is crucial, but not always possible.
Some people become too affected by the scene. Every-
one is vain, but some can transpose it better than others.
Only a very few manage to conceal the vulnerable
places.
(Ulmer 1999)
In 1962Die Deutschen(The Germans), Burri’s
first book, was published by Robert Delpire with a
forward by French cultural theorist Jean Beaudril-
lard. In this photoseries Burri explored his mother’s
nasince the end of the 1950s. On the one hand, he
analyzed himself in a sort of critical search for his
identity in the former Germany of his mother’s
time. Following the tradition set by Henri Cartier-
Bresson withDie Europa ̈er(The European), 1950–
1955 and his fellow Swiss, Robert Frank withDie
Amerikaner (The Americans) 1954–1958, Burri’s
photographs received considerable acclaim, while
the book itself (now a collector’s item) was not a
commercial success. His second book, Gauchos,BURRI, RENE ́