Jean-Philippe Charbonnier
France
Jean-Philippe Charbonnier (1921-2004) was born in Paris in an artistic family. In 1939, his father gave him his first camera, and his neighbour, the cinema photographer Sam Lévin became his teacher and mentor. In de Second World War, he trained in the photo studio of Blanc et Demilly, before going to Switzerland in 1943. In Switzerland, he met Jean Manevy with whom he studied typography and lay-out design. In 1944, he returned to France and became a typesetter for the newspaper Libération, while working at the same time as a freelance photographer. In 1950, he joined the monthly magazine Réalités, where he stayed until 1974. Charbonnier was a photographic globetrotter who travelled the world to photograph major events and famous people, and ascendsfrom daily life. In 1975, he left the magazine to become a freelancer again. In 1996, he received the Grand Prix de la photographie de la Ville de Paris. He died in Grasse in 2004.
