Chris von Wangenheim
Chris von Wangenheim , actually Christoph Freiherr von Wangenheim (born February 21, 1942 in Brieg , Lower Silesia; † March 9, 1981 on the island of St. Martin , Caribbean) was a German photographer who gained fame in the 1970s as a sought-after fashion photographer .
Life
Wangenheim came from the old noble family Wangenheim and was born in Silesia. His father, the lieutenant colonel of the cavalry Konrad Freiherr von Wangenheim , became Olympic champion in eventing with the German team in 1936. He did not return from a Soviet captivity.
Wangenheim grew up in Bavaria after the Second World War . After graduating from high school, he attended the Bavarian State College for Photography (today the State Academy for Photo Design) in Munich and graduated in 1964 with the journeyman's examination.
In 1965 he emigrated to New York , where he worked as an assistant to fashion and advertising photographers David Thorpe and James Moore until 1967 . In 1968 Wangenheim founded his own studio, CvW , in Washington Square and began working for the US edition of Harper's Bazaar , and from 1970 also for the Italian edition. From 1972 onwards, he primarily photographed for the American edition of Vogue , but also for their German, French and Italian editions. He has also worked for magazines such as Esquire , Playboy , Interview and Viva .
Chris von Wangenheim also became known for successful advertising shoots for Christian Dior , Calvin Klein and Revlon .
The supermodel Gia Carangi produced her first big fashion shoot in October 1978 with Chris von Wangenheim and worked with him frequently. Von Wangenheim also took the famous nude photos of Carangi on a chain link fence.
His name is often mentioned next to that of Helmut Newton , as the two friends share an erotic style of fashion photography that was characteristic of the 1970s and 1980s.
Chris von Wangenheim died at the age of 40, at the height of his success, in a car accident in March 1981 on the Caribbean island of St. Martin .
Web links
- Chris von Wangenheim at the Staley-Wise Gallery
Individual evidence
- ↑ Photo gallery Karin Schneider-Henn, Wasserburg
- ^ Fashion Theory , edited by Carol di Grappa, Lustrum Press, 1980
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wangenheim, Chris von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wangenheim, Christoph von (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German fashion photographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 21, 1942 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brieg , Lower Silesia |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 9, 1981 |
| Place of death | St. Martin , Sint Maarten |