BISCHOF, WERNER

born April 26, 1916, Zrich, Switz. died May 16, 1954, Peruvian Andes in full Werner Adalbert Bischof Swiss photojournalist whose photos are notable for their human understanding, strong sense of design, and sensitive use of light. From 1932 to 1936 Bischof attended the Zrich Arts and Crafts School, where, among other subjects, he studied photography. In 1942 he began a lifelong association with the Zrich picture magazine Du (You). Initially interested in still-life photography, he later turned more and more toward studies of people. In 1945 he photographed war-torn areas of France, Germany, and The Netherlands, and in the late 1940s he freelanced throughout Europe. In 1949 he joined Magnum, a photographers' cooperative that then included Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, David Seymour, and Ernst Haas. In the 1950s he freelanced in India, Japan, Southeast Asia, Korea, the United States, and South America. He was killed in an automobile accident in Peru. Collections of his photographs include Japan (1954), text by Robert Guillain; Incas to Indians (1956; also published as From Incas to Indios), with Robert Frank and Pierre Verger; The World of Werner Bischof (1959); and Werner Bischof (1966).