Burnier was born in a wealthy Swiss family, his grandfather was among the inventor of the condensed milk, later commercialized by Nestle. Most of his childhood was spent in a farm in Algeria.
Career
Burnier was very passionate about photography. He traveled to China, Japan, Indonesia, Afghanistan, the United States to finally settle in India in 1938.
A follower of the Leica, he was interested in Hindu sculpture from the medieval period (9th to 14th centuries). He revealed the beauty of the great temples of
Khajuraho Group of Monuments
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments are a group of Hindu and Jain temples in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh, India, about 175 kilometres southeast of Jhansi. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temples are famous for their nagara-styl ...
,
Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango trees (''ekamra'')). Bhubaneswar is ...
and
Konark Sun Temple
Konark Sun Temple is a (year 1250) Sun temple at Konark about northeast from Puri city on the coastline in Puri district, Odisha, India. He became a member of the Indian archaeological services and photographed a large number of sites and temples in central India.
Influenced by the work of
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as an Oscar–winning stage and costume designer for films and the theat ...
(that he receives in India), he inspired photographer Angelo Frontoni ( it) (1929-2002).
Personal life
In 1931 in
Cote D'Azur
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
he met
Alain Danielou Alain may refer to:
People
* Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name
* Alain (surname)
* "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein
* Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...
who would remain his lifelong companion, even if in the middle of their relationship Burnier married Radha Sri Ram.
Exhibitions
* Center Alain Daniélou, Zagarolo, Rome (more than 8,000 negatives realized between 1935 and 1955).
* In 1949 he was the first photographer exhibited at
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues.
It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York (prints made by Burnier)
* Museum of the Elysee, Lausanne.
Works
* Burnier illustrated several works by Alain Daniélou: ''L'Erotisme Divinisé'', ''The Hindu Temple: Deification of Eroticism'', ''Visages de l'Inde médiévale'', ''L'Inde traditionnelle. Photographies, 1935-1955''.
* ''Exploring India's Sacred Art: Selected Writings of
Stella Kramrisch
Stella Kramrisch (May 29, 1896 – August 31, 1993) was an American pioneering art historian and curator who was the leading specialist on Indian art for most of the 20th century. Her scholarship remains a benchmark to this day. She researched ...
''
* ''Alain Daniélou and Raymond Burnier, Faces of medieval India'', Paris, Hermann, 1985, 79 original photographs