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This article is about the famous photograph and poster-art image of Che Guevara.
Alberto Korda's famous photograph of Che Guevara was taken in March 1960 at a Cuban funeral service, but was published seven years later. The Maryland Institute College of Art called Korda's photo, "The most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century."
A modified version of the portrait has been reproduced on a range of different media, though Korda never asked for royalties from most of those who reproduced the image because of his belief in Guevara's ideals. However, Korda at least once claimed copyright over the image to prevent it being used in an advertisement for vodka. Korda was a lifelong communist and only wanted to cut down on blatant commercialization of the image, telling reporters:
- "As a supporter of the ideals for which Che Guevara died, I am not averse to its reproduction by those who wish to propagate his memory and the cause of social justice throughout the world."
There was previously an image in this space. It was removed due to a lack of a free license. The image is pending deletion, and this notice will be removed once the image is deleted. You can still view the image, which was called Che.jpg. The caption displayed for this image was "Uncropped original image".
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The most famous image of Che Guevara is the high contrast bust drawing that is based on the photo. This image was made in several variations: some in red and black, others in black and white, and some in black and white with a red star by Irish artist Jim Fitzpatrick, an artist most known for his depictions of Irish mythology.
It is interesting to note the direction of Che's gaze in the original photograph, as Fitzpatrick's version contains a small but significant modification. In the original, the eyes are focused on the area in front of Guevara, whilst in the drawing, the eyes are gazing towards the distant horizon. There is an epic, heroic significance in Che's pose; in the original image Che appears worried, tense, whilst in the interpretation his face is set in an pose of defiant pride. He appears to be looking towards the future. With this simple alteration the image of Che has come to overshadow the reality, becoming an impression, a mass-produced symbol.
Fitzpatrick's graphic was later used by Andy Warhol with the same graphic processes that he used on Marilyn Monroe pictures.
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