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Alberto Korda's photograph of Che Guevara

Alberto Korda's famous photograph of Che Guevara was taken on March 5, 1960 at a Cuban funeral service for victims of the La Coubre explosion,^[1] but was published seven years later. Guevara was 31 at the time the photo was taken. The Maryland Institute College of Art called Korda's photo, "The most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century."^[2]

Korda used a Leica M2 with a 90mm lens, loaded with Kodak Plus-X. On the same roll of film there were photos of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir that were, at that time, much more valuable for Cuban newspapers and the photo was not published. Yet Korda made a small cropped print for himself.

Jim Fitzpatrick's version of the photo

The photo became famous only seven years later after the death of Guevara in Bolivia, when Italian publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli obtained the rights to publish Guevara's Bolivian Diary and published the image as a large poster. Feltrinelli had obtained prints from Korda a few months before Guevara's death. It was originally planned to use the picture for the cover of the Italian edition of the diary.

The high contrast bust drawing that is based on the photo was made in 1968 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. Fitzpatrick had received a copy of a print of the photo from a group of Dutch anarchists in 1965. Some believe that the source of this print is Jean-Paul Sartre.

A modified version of the portrait has been reproduced on a range of different media, though Korda never asked for royalties as he reasoned that Che's image represented his revolutionary ideals. The more his picture spread the greater the chance Che's ideals would spread. It wasn't until the year 2000 that Korda took action. In response to a company using Che's picture to sell vodka, Korda sued advertising agency Lowe Lintas and Rex Features, the company that supplied the photograph. He was able to affirm his ownership of the photo and won an out-of-court settlement of $50,000. ^[3]

Korda was a lifelong communist and did not want commercialization of the image, telling reporters:

Another version of Korda's photograph

Fitzpatrick's graphic was later used in a painting attributed to Andy Warhol. The painting used the same graphic processes that he had used on Marilyn Monroe pictures. However this painting is allegedly a forgery, created by Gerard Malanga. When Warhol heard of the fraud, he shrewdly authenticated the fake, providing that all the money from sales went to him. Since then, the image has appeared on countless posters, t-shirts, and alike. It has become an icon for a new generation of youth in the counterculture. The image is now worn on the chests of a diverse group, from those who truly support the ideals that Che Guevara lived for (usually an image closer to the original picture), to those expressing a more generalized anti-authoritarian stance, to the apolitical. Third in the line of succession to the British Throne, Prince Harry, was photographed wearing the image on a t-shirt whilst socializing in London in 2005.^[4]

In 2007, the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam had a special exhibition about the photograph.

A modification of Jim Fitzpatrick's high contrast drawing.	Chicano poetry reading in front of Guevara mural at Colegio Cesar Chavez, circa 1981.	Image at National University of Colombia's Che Square. In 2005 it was controversially removed and later repainted by students (see Wikinews).	Huey Freeman stylized in the likeness of Che Guevara, from the opening credits sequence of The Boondocks tv show.
The image transferred onto a flag by ultra football fans of Derry City.

Cuba Portal

• Jim Fitzpatrick's site
• Che Guevara:¨Revolutionary & Icon at the Victoria and Albert Museum
• Guerrillero Heroico: a Brief History by Trisha Ziff
• The importance of being Ernesto by Joe Rayment.
• Che-Lives.com, the most popular website dedicated to Che Guevara.
• Che: The icon and the ad, By Stephanie Holmes, BBC News
• Korda Photograph