Werner Bischof Swiss, 1916-1954

Born in Zürich, Switzerland, on April 26, 1916, Werner Bischof began his artistic studies by attending drawing courses at the Normal School of Schiers.  One year later, he enrolled in the School of Art of Zurich, where he studied under Hans Finsler. Mr. Finsler concentrated on “New Objectivity,” an approach to photography in which the close-up served as the objective presentation of fact - drawing analogies between manufactured objects and natural form.  While Bischof’s early body of work exudes crisp details, strong design elements, and great attention to geometric forms, it is there where his humanistic approach to photography is first revealed.

An early member of Magnum Photos, Bischof traveled the world producing many of the medium’s most expressive images.  In September-November 1953, Werner Bischof left Europe for the U.S., where he worked in different cities for a publication of Standard Oil.  In March-May 1954, Bischof traveled to Mexico City, Panama, Chile, and Peru.  Bischof’s numerous landmark photo essays in such publications as Life and the Swiss periodical DU have established him as an accomplished journalist.  Still, his highly refined aesthetic and his photographs are the ultimate legacy of his artistic genius.  On May 16, 1954, Werner Bischof died shortly after his 38th birthday in a car accident in Peña de Aguila in the Andes.  Soon after Werner Bischof’s death, their son Daniel was born in Zürich, and the book “Japan” was published in Zürich and Paris.