Icons of Photography: The 20th Century

by Peter Stepan

Ninety seminal images by the world's greatest artists provide a stunning tour of the twentieth-century's greatest photographs. From the first image, Heinrich Zille's "Nine Boys Practising Handstands" to the final, Nan Goldin's backstage portrait of transvestite performers, this generously illustrated volume explores photography's impact on the way we experience the world. Every major photographer is represented in double-page spreads, which feature one full-page image, a brief essay on the artist, and additional images of note. Presented chronologically, photographs testify to the evolution of an art form that is continually reinventing itself. From portraiture, photojournalism, and abstraction, to landscape, fashion, and works that transcend genre labels, the selection of masterworks presented here demonstrates the beauty of photography in all its variety.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art and Photography, Art

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I feel about the criterion, mentioned in the introduction, that In the history of photography there naturally have been many anonymous masterpieces or less extensive bodies of work, but these were not taken into consideration for this volume. Only individuals with an impressive corpus were eligible, and this is not a "photos of the century" collection. On the one hand -- fine, I get that, although maybe they should've titled it Iconic Photographers instead. On the other hand, the result of this criterion seems to be the inclusion of many individuals and images that are so well known as to be redundant. Stieglitz? Mapplethorpe? Ansel Adams? Diane Arbus? Anyone with any interest in photography knows who they are and what they did. Probably almost everyone even without a particular interest in photography has seen Bourke-White's portrait of Gandhi and Korda's of Che Guevara. Anyone who has been to a poster sale has seen the lovers kissing in Paris. If we're collecting photos to save in a time capsule for a post-apocalyptic future world, I'm fine with those being included, but as it stands they seem like a waste of very limited page space.

[Danice · Rating 4 out of 5]

More than 160 beautiful photographs selected from the works of ninety 20th century photographers. I like how this book includes both male and female photographers, from various countries, faiths, ethnicities and backgrounds.

[Malika-Liki · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book wa interesting as it gave infos about some famous photos , and/or photographs. I agreed with most but founf that some weren't icons to br chosen in ths book.
A beautiful journey through the 20th century.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hele mooie introductie op de fotogeschiedenis van de 20e eeuw.