Sebastião Salgado, the humanist who sought “dignity where the common eye saw ruin”
The Franco-Brazilian photojournalist died at the age of 81 this Friday, May 23, in Paris. The Brazilian press unanimously praised the unique perspective of this “master of black and white,” a tireless witness to the human condition, committed to the environment and the defense of indigenous peoples.
“Icon”, “master” or “genius” of photography, “great pioneer” and “inspiration” for generations of photographers , “great Brazilian”, “monumental legacy” in his own right … Praise has been pouring in from the Brazilian press since the announcement of the death of Sebastião Salgado, this Friday, May 23, at the age of 81. The Franco-Brazilian photojournalist died in Paris, where he resided, from leukemia, a sequelae of malaria contracted in 2010 in Indonesia.
Folha de São Paulo traces the career of a man who was not predestined for photography. Born in 1944 in a small village in Minas Gerais (southeast Brazil), he first studied law, then economics at the University of São Paulo, before joining the Ministry of Economy. A left-wing activist, he fled persecution under the military dictatorship (1964-1985) in 1969 and obtained political asylum in Paris, where he eventually became a naturalized French citizen.
An employee of the International Coffee Organization, Salgado traveled frequently to Africa, where he began taking photographs with a camera given to him by his wife in 1970. “I realized that snapshots gave me more pleasure than financial reports,” he told the newspaper.
Three years later, he decided to devote himself entirely to his passion. A freelance photojournalist, he notably covered the Carnation Revolution in Portugal and the Mozambique War of Independence, before joining the prestigious Magnum agency in 1979.
Courrier International
