René Burri - Che Guevara, Cuba, 1963

René Burri, Che Guevara, Cuba, 1963.

Taken in Havana in 1963 for Look Magazine, this portrait of Ernesto “Che” Guevara by Swiss photographer René Burri has become one of the defining images of the 20th century. A member of Magnum Photos, Burri captured the revolutionary smoking a cigar, his gaze calm yet defiant —an expression that crystallized the duality of Guevara as both man and myth.

'Copyright 2011 René Burri / Magnum Photos / Contrasto' at the lower left corner.
Photolithography on semi-gloss paper.
Total dimensions: 42,0 x 29,7 cm.
Fine condition (tiny imperfections).
Printed Lated, 2000's.

Unlike Alberto Korda’s iconic frontal image, Burri’s portrait is introspective and psychological. The Che here is not an icon but a presence —a thinker, a strategist, aware of the power of his own image. The composition’s restraint and the sculptural play of light and shadow make this photograph a timeless study of charisma and conviction.

René Burri stands among the giants of 20th-century photography, alongside Henri Cartier-Bresson, Elliott Erwitt, Josef Koudelka, Robert Capa, Sebastião Salgado, and Marc Riboud—artists who defined the moral and visual language of modern documentary photography.

An essential piece for collectors of historical and political photography: a portrait in which history, myth, and human intensity converge under the eye of a true Magnum master.