--- description: Burri is best known for his portraits of Che Guevara, Picasso and Le Corbusier. title: Magnum Photographer René Burri Dead at 81 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt504e0ac82ab51a01/698769308e0601046f4589ef/par62798.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # René Burri, Photographer of Picasso and Che Guevara, Dead at 81 by [Richard Conway](/author/richard-conway/) ## Richard Conway Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 20, 2014 4:58 PM CUT  Che Guevarra, Cuba, 1963. Che Guevarra, Cuba, 1963.René Burri—Magnum by [Richard Conway](/author/richard-conway/) ## Richard Conway Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 20, 2014 4:58 PM CUT **Updated Oct. 20, 2014\. 3.30 EST.** [Magnum photographer René Burri has died aged 81](http://www.bjp-online.com/2014/10/magnum-photographer-rene-burri-dies/ "undefined"). Burri — who began working with Magnum as an associate in 1955 before becoming a full member in 1959 — is best known for his portraits of Che Guevara, Picasso and Le Corbusier. “Not only was he one of the great post war photographers, he was also one of the most generous people I have had the privilege to meet,” Martin Parr, President of Magnum Photos [said in a statement](http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31%5F4&VBID=2K1HZOQ8FP3TIR&IID=2K1HRG6CUHQJ&PN=1 "undefined"). “\[His\] contribution to Magnum and his unrivalled ability to tell stories and entertain us over this time will be part of his enormous legacy. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to his family.” “With René Burri, the world of photography loses one of its most powerful artists, a true humanist, who skillfully documented from behind-the-scenes the suffering and joy of human kind,” Burri’s family added in a separate statement. Born in Zurich in 1933, he was a contributor to publications such as _LIFE_, The New York _Times_ and _Paris-Match,_ and traveled frequently throughout his career, filing dispatches from the Middle East, Europe and Latin America_._ In 1965, [he helped create Magnum Films](http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31%5F9%5FVForm&ERID=24KL5350UE "undefined") and afterward spent six months in China where he made the BBC-produced film _The Two Faces of China_. In 1962, he opened the Magnum Gallery in Paris and produced [drawings and collages](http://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=MAGO31%5F9%5FVForm&ERID=24KL5350UE "undefined"), while continuing to work as a photographer. “A photograph is a moment,” Burri said in a [2010 interview](http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/mar/24/photographer-rene-burri-best-shot "undefined") with The _Guardian_ “when you press the button, it will never come back.” --- **_Richard Conway_** _is reporter/producer for TIME LightBox_  Che Guevarra, Cuba, 1963. René Burri—Magnum  Sao Paulo, 1960. René Burri—Magnum  British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Zurich, Nov. 20, 1946. René Burri—Magnum  Women entertaining GIs, village of Yon Sul Gol, South Korea, 1961. René Burri—Magnum  Le Corbusier at his apartment, Paris, 1959. René Burri—Magnum  Local wine producers gathered at an auction. René Burri—Magnum Photos  Pablo Picasso, Cannes. 1957. René Burri—Magnum  Dead lotus flowers on Kunming Lake at the former Summer Palace, Beijing. 1964. René Burri—Magnum ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3590336/rene-burri-photographer-of-picasso-and-che-guevara-dead-at-81/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3590336/rene-burri-photographer-of-picasso-and-che-guevara-dead-at-81/"},"headline":"René Burri, Photographer of Picasso and Che Guevara, Dead at 81","datePublished":"2014-10-20T16:58:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:49.818Z","description":"Magnum photographer René Burri has died aged 81. Burri is best known for his portraits of Che Guevara, Picasso and Le Corbusier.","url":"https://time.com/3590336/rene-burri-photographer-of-picasso-and-che-guevara-dead-at-81/","keywords":["LightBox","Life","photography","Magnum","Behind the Photos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt504e0ac82ab51a01/698769308e0601046f4589ef/par62798.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Richard Conway","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/richard-conway/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt504e0ac82ab51a01/698769308e0601046f4589ef/par62798.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"par62798","caption":"Havana. Ministry of Industry. Ernesto GUEVARA (Che), Argentinian politician, Minister of industry (1961-1965) during an exclusive interview in his office.","creditText":"René Burri—Magnum","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3590336/rene-burri-photographer-of-picasso-and-che-guevara-dead-at-81/","name":"René Burri, Photographer of Picasso and Che Guevara, Dead at 81"}}]}] ```