Lucien Clergue "Arlesien pur jus"

The famous photographer described as being "thoroughly Arlesien" (ie from Arles) has died aged 80. He was befriended by Picasso at age 20 when he showed the painter some of his photographs of dead birds by the Rhone. His aim was to show that his work was an art form. His pictures of the bull fight, especially the killing of the bulls, were iconic, and his pictures of nudes, though daring at the time won acclaim. He was the first French photographer to be exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art, in 1961. His first book illustrated poems by Paul Eluard, with a foreword by Jean Cocteau and cover design by Picasso, but it was his 1965 book "Née a la vague" which made him famous throughout the world.

One of Clergue's stunning nudes

He founded the "Rencontres d'Arles" festival in 1969 themed around photographs and images, displayed in public buildings and churches and used his extensive network of artist and literary friends to make it into a must see festival.  He was a good friend of the guitarist Manitas de Plata who died last week.

An exhibition of his work can be seen at the Musee Reattu in Arles.
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