Photography legend Gian Paolo Barbieri dies at age eighty-nine

The photographer behind Vogue Italia’s first cover turned fashion editorials into art.

Gian Paolo Barbieri – the fashion photographer behind the first Vogue Italia cover – has died at the age of eighty-nine. One of the twentieth century’s most groundbreaking photographers, Barbieri was a major player in all the biggest fashion maisons from Versace to Vivienne Westwood. His portrait work was equally star-studded with A-listers like Naomi Campbell and Audrey Hepburn filling up his roster. 

Through his half-century career, the Milan-born photographer made a name for himself by blending cinema, art and fashion. It sort of makes sense — after all, he was born into a family of textiles wholesalers, before working in the theatre as a costume designer. The result? A trademark style that, probably, makes Barbieri’s photos some of the most recognisable in history. That photo of Eva Herzigova eating spaghetti in Rome? Him. Monica Bellucci smoking a cig in a sheer Dolce & Gabbana dress? Also him. 

Image Credit: Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri
Image Credit: Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri

As well as his photos, though, Barbieri leaves a hefty dose of legacy behind him — the notion that you can make a name for yourself as a creative without formal training for one. Equally, the idea that you don’t need all the gear to have an idea when it comes to photography — Barbieri lore says that, during his stint assisting at Harper’s Bazaar in the ’60s, he experimented with lighting in his basement by popping light bulbs into the pipes from his stove.

The most important part of the photographer’s legacy, however, is his namesake foundation, Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri. Not only does the non-profit commemorate the photographer’s own work, but it supports young talents, too. After all, Barbieri wanted more than anything to preserve the value of photography as an artform. And that, he undoubtedly achieved.

  • WriterScarlett Coughlan
  • Listing Image CreditMax Martino, courtesy of Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri
  • Banner Image CreditEmiliano Scatarzi, courtesy of Fondazione Gian Paolo Barbieri