American photographer William Klein, who established himself in fashion photography and urban photography, died Saturday evening in Paris at the age of 96, his son Pierre Klein announced in a statement on Monday.
Died
"peacefully"
, William Klein revolutionized photography with his punchy images reflecting the feverishness and violence of cities, during a long career also devoted to fashion and cinema.
Born on April 19, 1928 in New York, into an Orthodox Jewish family, the young American had discovered Europe while doing his military service.
He was the beautiful character of the photograph, all in presence and scathing formulas.
This son of Hungarian Jewish refugees who studied sociology, then painting in Paris in the studio of Fernand Léger, cultivated his reputation as a charming "bad boy" with a talent always on the move.
Deframing, blurs, grains, movements and shifts, strong contrasts, his
New York (1954-1955)
marked a break in photographic codes and aroused lively reactions.
The Tate Modern recalled him in its formidable “William Klein + Daido Moriyama” exhibition a year ago, where his graphic vitality and invention exploded in very large format.
Guest very "rock star" of Visa pour l'Image in Perpignan in 2010, he shook his audience with his harsh frankness.
Reputed to be
"untenable"
and dangerously cur, the photographer, director, documentary filmmaker has always lived in Paris.
The photographer, who rubbed shoulders with characters hunted down by the paparazzi (he made the film
Mister Freedom
with the inimitable Delphine Seyrig, to music by Serge Gainsbourg in 1969), has kept a healthy virulence, despite his age and his worries. .
A protean artist, he tackles other film productions (
Muhammad Ali the Greatest
,
The Witness Couple
, etc.) for which he also creates posters.
With Robert Delpire, he signs
Who are you Polly Maggoo?
, of very new wave inspiration.
William Klein lived in France since he met his future wife Jeanne Florin, with whom he shared his life until her death in 2005. Created in 2019, a grand prize for photography from the Academy of Fine Arts bears the name of this artist who was for many an example of independence and creativity to follow.
"In accordance with his wishes, the funeral will take place in the strictest privacy
," said his son, indicating that a public tribute would be paid to him later.
