André de Dienes

André de Dienes (born December 13, 1913 in Torja near Kézdivásárhely , † April 11, 1985 in Hollywood , California ) as Andor György Ikafalvi-Dienes was an American photographer of Hungarian descent.

Life

After his mother's suicide, he left his homeland at the age of 15 and traveled around Europe, mostly on foot, until he settled in Tunisia , where he worked in various odd jobs, learned to paint and bought his first camera, a 35mm retina . In 1933 he came to Paris to study art and bought his first Rolleiflex camera.

Fascinated by the taking of pictures, he began selling photos to publishers, including L'Humanité , the newspaper of the French Communist Party ( PCF ). He also worked for the Associated Press (AP) news agency . In 1936, the famous Parisian encouraged him couturier Edward Molyneux , a fashion photographer to be.

With the help of the editor of the magazine Esquire , Arnold Gingrich , emigrated de Dienes in 1938 in the United States and settled in New York down in order for Esquire , Vogue , Life and Montgomery Ward to work. He spent his vacation traveling through the country and photographed the grandiose scenery of the western states as well as Indians of the Hopi , Navajo and Apaches .

Unsatisfied with the limitations of fashion photography, de Dienes moved to Hollywood in 1944 , where he discovered his true passion, nude and outdoor photography. As an emotional and passionate photographer, he wanted to use his lens to make the beauties of nature visible. In an effort to make his photographs as true as life, he never retouched them. He believed that for good photography, one should have great patience, imagination, and steadfastness, and the ability to reveal truth and beauty at the same time.

André de Dienes worked as a freelancer for various film studios and photographed numerous stars, including Marlon Brando , Elizabeth Taylor , Henry Fonda , Shirley Temple , Fred Astaire , Ingrid Bergman , Ronald Reagan , Jane Russell and Anita Ekberg . He soon became known as one of the finest glamor photographers. Several articles document his pioneering achievements in areas such as darkroom technology and photomontage, published in US Camera , Figure Quarterly , Figure Annual , Classic Art Photography and many others.

In 1945, through the mediation of an agent, he met the then 19-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty, later Marilyn Monroe , and was immediately fascinated by her youthful freshness and her photogenic sex appeal . André de Dienes becomes the first to hire her for a modeling job. A five-week photo tour through California, Nevada and New Mexico ends with a love affair and numerous covers for magazines around the world that will soon turn the pin-up girl into a superstar . Even after their romance ended, they both continued their work together until the end of 1960. Today de Diene's studies of Monroe are considered the best that there are of her.

André de Dienes' nudes have been published in 24 books in the US, England and Germany. Posthumously in 1985 Marilyn mon amour appeared with the memoirs of de Dienes and in 2002 the luxurious photo book Marilyn . Newsweek presented the work in a six-page cover story.

André de Dienes was married twice; both marriages remained childless. In 1985 he died of cancer . His second wife, Shirley T. Ellis de Dienes , managed the legendary picture archive of her deceased husband until her death (2009).

Publications (selection)

• The Nude . The Bodley Head, London 1956.
• Nude pattern . The Bodley Head, London 1958.
• Best nudes . The Bodley Head, London 1962.
• Natural nudes . Amphoto, New York 1966.
• The Glory of de Dienes Women . Elysium, Los Angeles 1967.
• Naked women . Lyle Stuart, New York 1968.
• Western nudes . Bell, New York 1968.
• Nude variations . Amphoto, Garden City 1977.
• Marilyn, mon amour. The private album of André de Dienes, her preferred photographer . St. Martin's Press, New York 1985 (German Schirmer / Mosel, Munich 1986).
• Marilyn . Edited by Steve Crist and Shirley T. Ellis de Dienes. Taschen, Cologne 2002, ISBN 3-82281467-9 .
• Studies of the Female Nude . Twin Palms Pub, Santa Fe 2005, ISBN 1-931885-39-7 .

Web links

• Andre de Dienes on the website "Ten Glamor Photographers of the 50s and 60s"
• Short biography and numerous photos on the "Cursum Perficio" website