Not coming from a cultured background, he set out to follow in the footsteps of Vincent Van Gogh in Arles, then attended evening classes at an art school in Düsseldorf where he experienced the beginnings of recognition. “He wanted to be an artist very early on. This first retrospective in France since his death in September 2019 not only focuses on the classics but also sheds light on his journey before photography. … It should be the responsibility of modern photographers to free women, and ultimately everyone, from the tyranny of youth and perfection,” he said. Against the grain of the fashion world which swears by bodily perfection, Peter Lindbergh advocated naturalness, both in his fashion work and his portraits, regardless of the age of the models: Charlotte Rampling, Jeanne Moreau, Kate Moss over the decades, etc. In 1997, his book Images of Women made a statement. His other great mark of distinction is the refusal of excessive retouching. Peter Lindbergh is also remembered for his 1993 close-up of Berri Smither and her freckles. Black and white penetrates the skin: for me, it’s not about beautiful or not beautiful, but about real or not real.” Helena Christensen and ET, Californie 1990 © Peter Lindbergh.īerri Smither, Californie 1993 © Peter Lindbergh. “He found his style very quickly,” says Simon, his son, who opened up the photographer’s archives and became very involved in the exhibition, “because he wanted to be faithful to the human being he was.” As Peter Lindbergh himself said: “With black and white, you don’t try to make things prettier, make things chic or make things agreeable, no, black and white is authentic… The color stops on the surface. Peter Lindbergh is also identifiable by his use of black and white, a constant in his work decade after decade: soft and deep, the shades of gray are timeless, as if covered with patina. Many of the German photographer’s icons are to be found in the exhibition: the beautiful and the extraterrestrial on a dirt road in California (1990), the views of a factory in Nancy (1988), Amber Valletta with her angel wings in the streets of New York (1993), and many others memorable compositions. “He did not treat women as an object but the subject of his photographs,” notes Gilles Morat, artistic director of the Pavillon Populaire.

By showing them move, blossom, and interact in front of the camera as a group of friends, Peter Lindbergh made them look like real people, like us.

This was indeed the first generation of models to reach star status. Marie-Sophie Wilson, Tatiana Patitz © Peter Lindbergh.

Peter lindbergh images of women ii