Christian von Alvensleben
Encyclopedia
Family background
Christian von Alvensleben is the son of Anna Caroline von Alvensleben, cousin of Heinrich Graf von Lehndorff-SteinortHeinrich Graf von Lehndorff-Steinort
Heinrich Ahasverus Graf von Lehndorff-Steinort was a member of the July 20 Plot against Adolf Hitler.- Biography :...
who was executed because of his involvement in the attempted assassination of Hitler on 20 July 1944. His daughter, Vera Gottliebe Anna Gräfin von Lehndorff, is the famous model Veruschka von Lehndorff and cousin to Christian von Alvensleben. Christian von Alvensleben’s grandfather, Werner von Alvensleben
Werner von Alvensleben
Werner von Alvensleben was a German businessman and politician.He was the second son of Werner Graf von Alvensleben-Neugattersleben and Anna von Veltheim...
, was a political prisoner who was incarcerated in the Buchenwald concentration camp and also in Magdeburg prison until 1945. Christian von Alvensleben has two sons from his divorced marriage to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Cathrin Kimbel. He now works and lives close to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
together with his wife Helga.
Life and work
Christian von Alvensleben took his first photos with a Kodak box cameraCamera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
from a US care parcel when he was 11. These were followed by photos for the school newspaper. As an 18 year old schoolboy he travelled to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in order to improve his language skills in preparation for his school-leaving examinations. In Montjustin in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
he met the young German author Hubert Fichte. The photos taken on that one day were exhibited in the Deichtorhallen
Deichtorhallen
Deichtorhallen, in Hamburg, is one of Europe's largest art centers for contemporary art and photography. The two historical buildings dating from 1911-13 are iconic in style, with their open steel-and-glass structures. It's architecture creates a backdrop for spectacular major international...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in 2005 and are now part of the Hubert-Fichte Foundation.
In 1962 he travelled to Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
where he stayed with the brother of his mother his uncle Werner von Alvensleben
Werner von Alvensleben
Werner von Alvensleben was a German businessman and politician.He was the second son of Werner Graf von Alvensleben-Neugattersleben and Anna von Veltheim...
(Author Brian Marsh: 'Baron in Africa'), he took photographs of big game and the respective hunters. The work titled ‘Die Spur des Leoparden / Kaliber .378’ was shown at the Photokina
Photokina
The photokina is the world's largest trade fair for the photographic and imaging industries. The first photokina was held in Cologne, Germany, in 1950, and it is now held biannually in September at the koelnmesse Trade Fair and Exhibition Centre...
exhibition in 1993. He attended the London Polytechnic from 1964 onwards. After this he became assistant to the photographer Karl-Heinz von Ludwig/Ali Khan in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. Since 1968 he has been working as a freelance photographer with his own studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. The pictures for the social democrat party’s print media advertisements for the election campaign were among his first major works. His photograph ‘Der Sonnenschein’ of a nude lady with a full figure and a sunshade on the beach for an advertisement for the film manufacturer Fuji
Fuji
-People:* Mr. Fuji, ring name of wrestling and manager Harry Fujiwara* Keiko Fuji, a Japanese singer of the 1960s and 1970s, and mother of Hikaru Utada* Sumiko Fuji, a Japanese actressFictional characters* Fuji , a character in the Stormwatch series...
became world famous in 1972. Time devoted a whole page to the photo, and today the motif is one of the ‘Bilder im Kopf’ (Images in the mind’s eye) (Deutsches Presse-Museum, Deutsches Zeitungsmuseum).
This was followed by international editorials and advertising productions in architecture, interior design, fashion, beauty, food, people, still-life and transportation.
Christian von Alvensleben portrays industrial managers, actors, sportsmen and women, musicians, politicians, fashion designers and TV stars. In addition to numerous photo illustrations for the books of chefs and bon vivants such as Alfons Schuhbeck
Alfons Schuhbeck
Alfons Schuhbeck born on May 2, 1949 in Traunstein, Upper Bavaria, Germany is one of Germany’s top chefs, as well as being a restaurateur, celebrity chef, author and businessman.-Biography:...
, Alfred Biolek, Christiane Herzog, Bruno Bruni and ‘Food in Vogue’ / Condé Nast, Christian von Alvensleben created a work in 1992 entitled the ‘Apocalyptic Menu’ for which he received several renowned prizes. Many of his almost always avant-garde works appear in magazines including Architektur & Wohnen, Dance Magazine N.Y., Der Feinschmecker, FAZ, GEO, MAX, Merian, Der Spiegel, Stern, Vanity Fair US, Vogue Braut, Vogue Casa, Vogue Deutsch, Vogue Pelle, Die Zeit.
The editorial team of ‘Der Feinschmecker’ nominated Christian von Alvensleben as a ‘Hall of Fame Member’ in commemoration of its 30th anniversary; Designers Digest awarded him the title ‘(Photo) Designer of the Year’ in 2002 and ‘novum’ reports that Christian von Alvensleben is one of the most constant dimensions in German photo design and one of the most universal. In 2005 a work already awarded a prize by the Art Directors Club (ADC) was nominated for the ‘Designpreis der Bundesrepublik Deutschland 2006’. In over 35 years of photographic work, the ADC alone has donated over 80 awards to Christian von Alvensleben for individual works, including several gold medals and even the Grand Prix in 1993, something very unusual for a photographer. In 2009 the Art Directors Club (ADC) awards his Lifetime Achievement. His competence is often highly esteemed in juries.
Since 2006 Christian von Alvensleben has been working exclusively on his own photography projects.
Memberships
- Art Directors Club (ADC), 28 years
- Bund Freischaffender Foto-Designer (BFF) and honorary member since 2009
- Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV), 35 years
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie (DGPh), vocation 1984, leaving 2004