Peter Lindbergh, the unretouched portrait
« German photographer (1944-2019), who refused retouching and made black-and-white the signature of the supermodels. »
Peter Lindbergh was born in Poland under bombardment, raised in post-war Germany. A painter by training, he switched to photography at 27. Vogue opened its doors to him in the early 1980s. His cinematic black and white would impose a new fashion aesthetic.
The January 1990 Vogue UK cover — Naomi, Linda, Tatjana, Christy and Cindy in white T-shirts, no makeup, in New York's SoHo — invented the "supermodel" image. His trademark: no retouching, no Photoshop, warm light, attitude rather than pose. Women finally looked like themselves.
Refusing the smoothness of the 2000s, Lindbergh kept photographing Charlotte Rampling, Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau as they were. The 2017 Pirelli Calendar would be his testament. He died in 2019; his fight against retouching set off a current that today extends well beyond fashion.