Peter Lindbergh, a pillar of contemporary fashion photography who played a key role in inaugurating the supermodel era in the 1990s, died on Tuesday in Paris, where he lived. He was 74.

His death was announced on Wednesday on his official Instagram account. No cause was given.

In a career of more than four decades, Mr. Lindbergh became one of the best-known names in fashion photography, propelling the careers of supermodels like Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington Burns and Linda Evangelista with his alternately cinematic and naturalistic portraits in black and white, his preference.

His work appeared regularly on the covers of magazines like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar, and it has been shown in museums worldwide, among them the Victoria & Albert in London and the Centre Pompidou in Paris. He also published several books of his photographs.