German-born fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh, famed for his black-and-white shots of ’90s supermodels such as Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Linda Evangelista, died on Tuesday. He was 74.
News of his passing was first reported on Lindbergh’s official Instagram account, which read: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Peter Lindbergh on September 3rd 2019, at the age of 74.”
Linbergh’s work has appeared in countless magazines including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper’s Bazaar and The New Yorker. He most recently photographed Salma Hayek Pinault, Greta Thunberg, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for the September 2019 issue of British Vogue, which was guest-edited by Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
Oscar winner Charlize Theron was one of the first to pay tribute to Lindbergh on Wednesday morning. “My heart is broken. Peter Lindbergh was a genius and an absolute master of his craft. Beyond that, what made him truly one of a kind was his consistent kindness, warmth, and incredible sense of humor,” she wrote on Twitter. “One of the best human beings I have ever met. I will never forget you my friend.”
Born in German-occupied Poland in 1944, Linbergh grew up in Duisburg in North Rhine-Westphalia, where the vast beaches and the industrial settings strongly influenced his later work.
In the 1960s, he studied at Berlin’s Academy of Fine Arts then assisted German photographer Hans Lux for two years before opening his own studio in 1973 in Dusseldorf. Linbergh then moved to Paris to work for Vogue.
He went on to create fashion photography history with the January 1990 British Vogue cover with Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford, which was later credited with launching the supermodel era.
Linbergh is also known for his work on Pirelli calendars, capturing stars such as Lupita Nyong’o, Helen Mirren and Uma Thurman.