Painter on the Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1953

Painter on the Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1953

Marc Riboud

Marc Riboud (1923-2016) was born in Lyon, France. He took his first photograph at the Great Exhibition of Paris in 1937 with a small Vest-Pocket camera.  From 1945 to 1948, Riboud studied engineering but eventually dropped his studies to devote himself full-time to photography. In 1953, Riboud created his now iconic photograph of the Painter on the Eiffel Tower, published in Life magazine and joined Magnum agency after meeting Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Capa.
 

In 1955, Riboud crossed the Middle-East and Afghanistan to reach India, where he remained for one year. He then travelled to China, the USSR, Algeria and Western Africa, photographing throughout his journey. Between 1968 and 1969 Riboud was one of the few photographers allowed to travel in South and North Vietnam.  In 1976, Riboud became president of Magnum, a position he held for three years.
 

Riboud published many books of his photographs including: The Three Banners of China, Journal,  Huang Shan, Capital of Heaven,  Angkor, the Serenity of Buddhism and Marc Riboud in China.
 

In 2004, a Riboud retrospective was held at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie.  He received many awards, among which two Overseas Press Club, the Time-Life Achievement, the Lucie Award and the ICP Infinity Award.