Magnum Poster: Lotus plants, Beijing, 1964

René Burri learned how to capture aesthetically pure, artfully composed and illuminated objects – in characteristically Swiss style– at the Zurich School of Art and Design, where he was taught by none other than Hans Finsler, the supreme master of subtle gray tones. The artistic climate of the early 1950s was incredibly conducive to this austere style that Burri would eventually come to perfect and make his own. Here, Burri captures the remarkable visual of dead lotus flowers reflected on the surface of Kunming Lake, the central lake on the grounds of the Summer Palace in Beijing.