Sebastião Salgado, Renowned Brazilian Photographer, Passes Away at 81
Salgado's impactful career spanned global humanitarian crises and nature conservation efforts.
Sebastião Salgado, a distinguished Brazilian photographer acclaimed for his striking black-and-white imagery depicting the Amazon rainforest and various global conflicts, died on Friday at the age of 81. His family and the French Academy of Fine Arts announced his death, with the Academy, where he had been a member since 2016, recognizing him as a “great witness to the human condition and the state of the planet.”
The French Academy of Fine Arts expressed its condolences through a statement shared on X, indicating that Salgado passed away after suffering complications from a severe form of leukemia, which developed years after he contracted malaria in Indonesia during his extensive Genesis project in 2010. His family confirmed the events leading to his passing, stating that the malaria exposure led to long-term health issues.
Born on February 8, 1944, in Aimorés, a small town in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Salgado faced political upheaval during his early years, leading him into exile in France in 1969 due to the military dictatorship in Brazil.
He emigrated alongside his future wife, Lélia Wanick, with whom he had two children.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva paid tribute to Salgado, expressing deep sorrow over the loss and acknowledging his significant contributions to photography, stating that Salgado was one of the greatest photographers in the world.
Throughout his career, Salgado documented critical humanitarian issues across various nations, including famines, wars, and labor injustices in places such as Rwanda, Guatemala, and Bangladesh.
His later works increasingly centered on nature conservation, highlighted by the establishment of Instituto Terra in 1998, a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental restoration in Brazil.
Salgado’s photographic works gained recognition through numerous international publications, including revered magazines like _Life_ and _Time_, as well as in several exhibitions, especially in Paris.
He held a distinct view of photography as a language capable of fostering improved interactions between humanity and nature, as highlighted by the French Academy in commemorating his legacy.
He consistently maintained that photography served as “the mirror of society,” reflecting both its struggles and triumphs.
A trained economist, Salgado predominantly employed black-and-white photography, which he believed represented a profound interpretation of reality, aiming to capture the intrinsic dignity of the human experience.
The French Academy of Fine Arts expressed its condolences through a statement shared on X, indicating that Salgado passed away after suffering complications from a severe form of leukemia, which developed years after he contracted malaria in Indonesia during his extensive Genesis project in 2010. His family confirmed the events leading to his passing, stating that the malaria exposure led to long-term health issues.
Born on February 8, 1944, in Aimorés, a small town in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Salgado faced political upheaval during his early years, leading him into exile in France in 1969 due to the military dictatorship in Brazil.
He emigrated alongside his future wife, Lélia Wanick, with whom he had two children.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva paid tribute to Salgado, expressing deep sorrow over the loss and acknowledging his significant contributions to photography, stating that Salgado was one of the greatest photographers in the world.
Throughout his career, Salgado documented critical humanitarian issues across various nations, including famines, wars, and labor injustices in places such as Rwanda, Guatemala, and Bangladesh.
His later works increasingly centered on nature conservation, highlighted by the establishment of Instituto Terra in 1998, a non-profit organization dedicated to environmental restoration in Brazil.
Salgado’s photographic works gained recognition through numerous international publications, including revered magazines like _Life_ and _Time_, as well as in several exhibitions, especially in Paris.
He held a distinct view of photography as a language capable of fostering improved interactions between humanity and nature, as highlighted by the French Academy in commemorating his legacy.
He consistently maintained that photography served as “the mirror of society,” reflecting both its struggles and triumphs.
A trained economist, Salgado predominantly employed black-and-white photography, which he believed represented a profound interpretation of reality, aiming to capture the intrinsic dignity of the human experience.
