René Burri, L’Explosion du Regard

Born in 1933 in Zurich, René Burri is everywhere history is made. A member of the Magnum agency since 1955, he has photographed the Middle East, the Six-Day War and the Vietnam War; he has travelled through Japan, China, Europe, North and South America. Many personalities have passed before his lens: Picasso, Le Corbusier, Niemeyer, Giacometti, Tinguely… In 1963, he took the famous portrait of “Che with a cigar” which made him known throughout the world.

The links between the Musée de l’Elysée and René Burri are long-standing and deep. In 1987, his exhibition “Les Ruines du futur” was presented there, followed in 2004 by a first retrospective. In 2013, René Burri created his foundation, which he attached to the institution. At the beginning of 2020, the Musée de l’Elysée will present a new retrospective from this exceptional collection. For the first time, the entirety of Burri’s multiple works – photos, travel diaries, collages, drawings and watercolors – will be on display, revealing the intimate side of one of the greatest photojournalists of our time. This book is a reflection of that.