Christoph von Wangenheim (21 February 1942 – 9 March 1981) was a German fashion

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

of the late 1960s through the early 1980s.

Biography

Wangenheim was born in Brieg, during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the son of

Konrad Freiherr von Wangenheim Konrad Freiherr von Wangenheim (20 August 1909 in Hanover – 28 January 1953) was a German army Cavalry officer, a horse rider who competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, securing a gold medal for the German Equestrianism, equestrian ...

, an aristocratic German

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

officer who became a well-known horse rider at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, winning a gold medal in Team Eventing. In 1944, while serving on the Eastern Front, his father was taken prisoner and held in a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, and military prisons. P ...

located in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. He remained imprisoned for almost ten years and was found hanged days before his intended release. After studying architecture for a period of time, Wagenheim decided to pursue his interest in photography. In 1965, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he worked as a photographer's assistant for David Thorpe and James Moore until 1967. He started his own studio the following year and began working for the American edition of ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'', and for the Italian edition of ''

'' in 1970. American ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' became his primary outlet in 1972, but he also worked for its German, French and Italian editions, as well as for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'', ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

'', and ''

Viva Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * ...

'' magazines. Wangenheim is also well known for his advertisements for

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc., in 1968. In addition to clothing, he also has given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and ...

, and

Revlon Revlon, Inc. is an American multinational company dealing in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance, and personal care. The headquarters of Revlon was established in New York City on March 1, 1932, where it still remains. Revlon was founded by brothe ...

. Supermodel

Gia Carangi Gia Marie Carangi (January 29, 1960November 18, 1986) was an American model, considered by many to be the first supermodel. She was featured on the cover of many magazines, including multiple editions of ''Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan'', and appea ...

did her first major fashion shoot with him in October 1978. He took the notorious photographs of Carangi standing naked behind a chain-link fence. Carangi became one of Wangenheim's favorite models and worked with him on several fashion photographs throughout her career. On 9 March 1981, Wangenheim was killed in a single-car crash while on holiday in Saint Martin. At the time of his death, he was in the process of divorcing the former model Regine Jaffry, with whom he had one child. On September 15, 2015, Rizzoli published a book on Wangenheim's work and life by Roger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha entitled '' Gloss: The Work of Chris von Wangenheim,'' with a foreword by the photographer Steven Klein.http://www.rizzoliusa.com/book.php?isbn=9780847845002; http://www.thechrisvonwangenheimbook.com/

References

External links

Chris von Wangenheim
at Staley-Wise Gallery
The Chris von Wangenheim Book by Roger Padilha and Mauricio Padilha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wangenheim, Chris von 1942 births 1981 deaths Fashion photographers German expatriates in the United States Photographers from Berlin Road incident deaths in the Netherlands People from Brzeg