Yesterday, another big name in the world of fashion left us. Esteemed fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh died at the age of 74, as announced in a post on his official Instagram account Wednesday with the above picture.
«It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Peter Lindbergh on September 3rd 2019, at the age of 74,» the post on his Instagram read. «He is survived by his wife Petra, his first wife Astrid, his four sons Benjamin, Jérémy, Simon, Joseph and seven grandchildren. He leaves a big void.»
Born in Poland in 1944, Lindbergh grew up in Duisburg, Germany, where he made his first steps as a photographer before moving to Paris in 1978 to pursue his career. I was lucky to work with Peter Lindbergh at an early stage in my career. Being a young editor at German MARIE CLAIRE magazine, he shot a lot for us under the creative helmet of our fashion director Florentine Pabst. Thanks to her, I was able to meet and observe the work of such amazing talented people, like him or Karl Lagerfeld.
This cover shoot for British VOGUE in January 1990 was one the reasons why I wanted to become a fashion editor. I was 14 at that time and was dreaming to pursue this career that thankfully became true. Thank you, Peter!
Renowned for his cinematic, elegant style, his iconic January 1990 cover shoot for British Vogue, featuring Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford, Lindbergh is considered to have launched the phenomenon of the supermodel. The creative photographer was also known for his firm stance against re-touching, something that is hard to imagine in today’s world of filters and photoshop.
Peter Lindbergh, IWC Schaffhausen campaign, 2011
Other high-profile works of his include the three Pirelli calendars, in 1996, 2002 and 2017, the advertising campaigns for IWC Schaffhausen and the portraits of actresses such as Lupita Nyong’o, Helen Mirren and Uma Thurman.
British Vogue’s September 2019 issue shares «Forces for Change» covers by Peter Lindbergh.
Before working on Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s guest-edited edition of British Vogue, he photographed her for the cover of Vanity Fair in 2017. Earlier this year, he shot musician Rosalía for the cover of Vogue España, as well as model Gigi Hadid for Vogue Arabia.
In the introduction to his 2018 photography book «Shadows on the Wall,» he wrote, «It should be a duty for every photographer working today to use his creativity and influence to free women and everyone from the terror of youth and perfection.» Amen to that!
Rest in peace, Peter! You will be missed…
LoL, Sandra
Peter Lindbergh, Vogue 1991
Peter Lindbergh, Vogue, August 1988
Iconic: Anna Winter’s first VOGUE cover photographed by Peter Lindbergh, November, 1988
One of my favorite photos: Nadja Auermann photographed by Peter Lindbergh for German MARIE CLAIRE, June 1996
Devon Aoki photographed by Peter Lindbergh for German MARIE CLAIRE, April 2001
Meghan Markte photographed by Peter Lindbergh for Vanity Fair, October 2017
Photos: Peter Lindbergh / Courtesy of Peter Lindbergh, Paris / Gagosian Gallery
Via VOGUE, © Sandra Bauknecht
