ALBERT RENGER-PATZSCH. THE EARLY BOOKS

Albert Renger-Patzsch (1897–1966) ranks as one of the foremost pioneers of modern photography. His images from the 1920s and 1930s concentrated on the medium’s technical possibilities in objectively capturing and reproducing “the essence of things” as the guiding principle of photographic representation. His seminal photobook “Die Welt ist schön” (The World Is Beautiful) was released in 1928 and is widely regarded as a visual manifesto of New Objectivity photography. Thanks to its publication, his visual vernacular became a trend-setting style, not just in German photography but far beyond, too.

Marking the 125th anniversary of the photographer’s birth, the collection presents a selection of his images dating from the period prior to the publication of “Die Welt ist schön”, from the Albert Renger-Patzsch Archive at the Ann and Jürgen Wilde Foundation. The 50 or more photographs and numerous documents trace the emergence and development of his seminal style and his major contribution to the rise of the photobook as an art form.

Under the title Collection+, the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungene (Bavarian State Painting Collections) in the Pinakothek der Moderne will be presenting studio exhibitions within the context of the collection. Presentations of new acquisitions, loans and artist rooms reveal the laborious work involved in gathering, maintaining and researching the collections, shining a light on the scholarly investigations into them and their contemporary relevance.