20th Century Photographers

7Patrick Demarchelier

Camera Arts, February 2000

Patrick Demarchelier (b. 1943) is a youthful fiftyish, tall and slender with a shock of black hair. As he walks out of the elevator and into the studio he has a gracious smile and a kind word for his assistants, who approach him one by one with an urgent phone call he has to make or take, a decision or an opinion they need immediately. He is friendly and has a relaxed way about him that puts people at ease.

Demarchelier was born near Paris in 1943 and grew up in Le Havre, which is located on the northern coast of France. He received his first camera when he was 17. His first job related to photography was retouching passport photographs in a small lab. He moved to Paris and worked in a lab printing ...