20th Century Photography: Museum Ludwig Cologne

by Marianne Bieger-Thielemann, Museum Ludwig Cologne

Images of the century (TASCHEN's 25th anniversary special edition) The history of photography began some 150 years ago, but only relatively recently has it been fully recognised as a medium in its own right. Cologne's Museum Ludwig was the first museum of contemporary art to devote a substantial section to international photography. The L. Fritz Gruber collection, from which this book is drawn, is one of the most important in Germany and one of the most representative anywhere in the world, constituting the core of the museum's holdings. This book provides a fascinating insight into the collection's rich diversity; from conceptual art to abstraction to reportage, all of the major movements and genres are represented via a vast selection of the century's most remarkable photographs. From Ansel Adams to Piet Zwart, over 850 works are presented in alphabetical order by photographer, with descriptive texts and photographers' biographical details.

Genres: Photography, Art, Nonfiction, Reference, History, Biography, Art and Photography

760 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Dewayne Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am giving this 5 stars, not because of the photography that’s displayed in this book as much as for it exposing me to a number of photographers who I have begun to follow ever since. In some instances, this book shows some of the more famous works by the various photographers, but not in many. I don’t know if it’s a copyright thing or what, but the book does provide the reader/viewer with a good notion of who’s work you may want to further look into, and for that I love the book. Lastly, I really appreciated how it truly is 20th century photography and not photography of one genre…this book covers the entire spectrum of photography over the entire century. Loved this book and still reference it often.

[Glen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful book profiling various photographers and showing lots and lots of their pictures.

[Lotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

The compilation of photographers is excellent, but the biographies were far too factual and could have explained the purposes of the artist better, rather than drily mentioning place of birth, schooling and place of death.

[Alejandro Teruel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente recopilación de fotografías representativas que forman parte de la destacada colección del Museum Ludwig de Colonia (museo fundado en 1976 y dedicado a las artes del siglo XX y XXI), organizadas alfabéticamente por apellido del fotógrafo. Se incluye una breve biografía de cada fotógrafo. La mayor parte de las fotografías son en blanco y negro y aunque predominan los fotógrafos nacidos en Alemania (109 de los casi 300 incluidos), se nota que el museo ha hecho importantes esfuerzos para incluir obras de fotógrafos internacionales de otros países como Estados Unidos, el resto de Europa (Reino Unido, Francia, Holanda, Italia, la República Checa, Rusia, Ucrania, Italia, Hungría, Polonia, Austria) y Japón entre otros. Hay poca o nula representación de fotógrafos africanos, latinoamericanos o asiáticos (fuera de Japón), al parecer a menos que hayan desarrollado parte de su carrera profesional en Alemania. Las fotografías incluidas son del siglo XX, salvo por la errónea inclusión de fotografías del escocés David Octavius Hill, quien murió en 1870.

Importante libro de referencia, sobre todo para la fotográfica en blanco y negro del siglo XX, a precio muy asequible.

[brian tanabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amateur's survey of last century's greatest photographers -- perfect for one such as myself who has a passion but no expertise in this field. Some phtograhpers that define the era for me are Lewis Hine, Erich Salomon, August Sander, Steichen, and Stieglitz. Yousuf Karsh and Richard Avedon are clearly masters of their art. And then there is Cartier-Bresson, who holds a special place in my heart as "Rue Mouffetard" is one of my absolute favorite photographs. And of course, Mr. Newton. Yummy.

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who would I recommend this to: Especially those who may be interested in German photography.

But don't get me wrong, there is many others from other countries; it's just that this museum is in Germany, so donations etc. of German photographers might be slight majority. This book has works from 278 artists, at least one from each - some getting many for good reasons - and the artists are arranged by surname (or artist-name in some cases, like Weegee).

Most of the pictures are in black and white, but some colour ones are included. Of course some artists here, who have been mentioned as still alive, no longer are. Each, still, gets a short biography and maybe commentary on photo(s) included. With each photos came name, year, type, size, if it was a donation and such.

This collection's started was created soon after founded (in 1976), and at the time this book came out was at about 9300 photos). Here are 860 of them. Of course not all will be of everyone's tastes, but there's something for everyone. It's nice to pause and appreaciate photos here; though in my case I was hurrying a bit so I will probably rewatch some later. (I do appreciate getting to know German photography a little...)

[The Creative Society · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book for almost 20 years therefore it is very dear to me. At the time, I was only a teen and madly in love with photography.
This edition is a great archive for those who seek to start their photographic journey, to learn more about History of Photography and become acquainted with an array of genres and some of the most remarkable photographers of the 20th century such as Brassaï, Newton, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Richard Avedon, Ansel Adams, Ernst Haas and many others.
100% recommended for everyone who loves art in general and as the starting point to research more about each photographer presented in this collection.

[Ljubomir · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photos in the book, accompanied by brief biography details and commentary on each of the presented photographers, are a selection taken from the collection of Cologne's Museum Ludwig, which means that German (and in particular Cologne) photographers are overrepresented, so it is not an entirely objective overview of 20th century photography. Nevertheless, the collection is still extremely impressive and extensive, and the book is an absolute beauty.

[Raquel C. Arco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnífica selección de fotografías la que Taschen presenta en esta cuidada edición sobre el Museum Ludwig. Lo que más me ha gustado de este libro ha sido descubrir en la selección, entre tantos artistas, a autoras tan interesantes como Charlotte March, Louise Lawler, Lucía Moholy, Evelyn Richter... ¡Extraordinarias!

[Ray Dunsmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting overview of the major artists in the contemporary photography collection of the Museum Ludwig Cologne. The biographies are incredibly dry and the selections often border on the "well, this is only here because it's a naked woman" but it's still a fairly good overview of the state of contemporary art photography at the end of the 20th century.

[Spiros Kakouris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of photos and even better collection of biographies that illuminate how photography progressed in the 20th century.

However:
1) almost no photo after the mid80s
2) frequently the biography talks about an artist's most recognisable and renounned series but the museum's collection might be completely off...

[Balsam Awlad Wadair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for those trying to seek inspiration. Impressive list of photography pioneers of the 20th century. Personal favorites include Cecil Beaton, helmet newton and of course the legendary Richard Avedon.

[John Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief histories of every "important" photographer of the 20th century. Obviously no deep coverage here, but a good synopsis with photos for each.

[MaxKender · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una pubblicazione molto interessante e a tratti affascinante. Molte foto sono davvero belle ed importanti.

[Achi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to learn more about great photographers from the 20th century.

[Sandro Helmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coleção de fotografias do século passado, dos mais variados estilos, com descrições de alguns de seus autores mais representativos.

[burgos · Rating 3 out of 5]

good table side book to read every once in a while! concise but clear descriptions.

[Bert Huisman]

28a t5

[Belem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genial 😌♥️📸

[Ray Dunsmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting overview of the highlights of the vast photography collection held by the Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Germany since the 1970s. Containing everything from the turn of the century daugerrotype-esque heliogravures of Steichen and co. to the more abstract modern color prints, this collection seems to leave almost nothing out of its sweep. Since this functions as a compilation of photography, I'll give you my list of the artists that stood out to me above all else: a best of a best-of.

Ansel Adams / Richard Avedon / Bill Brandt / Brassaï / Marlo Broekmans / Henri Cartier-Bresson / Chargesheimer / Rosemarie Clausen / Serge Moreno Cohen / Erwin von Dessauer / Jean Dieuzaide / Harold E. Edgerton / Erwin Fieger / Franco Fontana / Peter H. Fürst / Hideki Fuji / Marc Garanger / Ernst Haas / Robert Häusser / Philippe Halsman / Heinz Held / Gottfried Helnwein / Fritz Henle / Horst P. Horst / Dmitri Jermakov / Burkhard Jüttner / Birgit Kahle / Yousuf Karsh / Erika Kiffl / Herlinde Koelbl / Michel Szulc Krzyanowski / Robert Lebeck / Herbert List / George Platt Lynes / Mary Ellen Mark / Robert Mapplethorpe / Martin Munkacsi / Angela Neuke / Hajime Sawatari / Hugo Schmölz / David "Chim" Seymour / Kishin Shinoyama / Alice Springs / Edward Steichen / Bert Stern / Dennis Stock / Wolf Strache / Helfried Strauß / Carl Strüwe / Josef Sudek / Karin Székessy / Ulrich Tillman & Wolfgang Vollmer / Shoji Ueda / Christian Vogt / Gerhard Vormwald / Pan Walther / Weegee / Edward Weston / Charles Wilp / Joel Peter Witkin / Reinhard Wolf / Wols / Renate Zeun

To be honest, a cursory googling of all of those names would elicit a better photographic introduction than this book would be, but the book is great anyway. Recommended for anyone just starting to notice art photography.

[Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

When buying photography books on the cheap, one generally gets what one pays for. But Taschen's budget editions break the mold. This fat little hardcover (760 pages) is both a handy reference work and an inspirational launching point for further exploration, perfect for people like me who love photography but don't yet have a deep historical grounding.

The material is wonderfully diverse. 278 artists — from Ansel Adams to Piet Zwart — are presented alphabetically, covering the whole of the 20th century and ranging widely across genres and styles. There are nudes and abstracts, portraits and architectural studies, studio still life and "decisive moment" street scenes. The 860 photographs are all drawn from the collection of the Museum Ludwig in Köln, so German photographers are particularly well represented.

The book is a joy to browse despite the small reproductions, and the biographical sketches, although dry, are informative. I'm sure I'll refer to this book often as I continue my photographic education.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not exactly a reading book but a wonderful archive of portraits of people and life in the troubled last century.

All the great names are there. Bresson, Man Ray and hundreds of others. The book is nearly 800 pages so will not be cheap but is beautiful with photos ranging from grainy early 20th century images to a few colour at the end. What sticks in the memory most are the images of war and refugees and their haunted faces....and that the same things are still happening today.

It's not all doom and gloom as there are beautiful models (male and female) and quite a few erotic photos too. Something for everyone! I have a paperback copy so maybe it can be found at not too high a price?

[Ziyad Khader · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب توثيقي وتاريخي جميل .. يستعرض أهم المصورين الفوتوغرافيين في القرن العشرين (سيرتهم وابرز اعمالهم)
كتاب ممتع وجميل واضافة لأي مكتبة.

الأسماء الفوتوغرافية أو التجارب التي استعرضها هذا الكتاب اعتقد انها اجتهاد كبير من المؤلف لا يخلو من النقص
اجد في هذا الكتاب من رأيي ميول لحد ما لاختيار الأعمال الفوتوغرافية المعاصرة أكثر من الأعمال التقليدية أو الأصيلة مثل أعمال الفنان أنسل آدم

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

The collection of photographs is quite impressive and inspiring for just about anyone interested in photography... personally i would have preferred to have more details regarding each photograph added... but that's just being picky...

[Benji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Ansel Adams' Rose on Driftwood



Lucien Clergne's Nudes of the Sea

Gibson's Somnambulist, and and of course Alfred Cheney Johnson

and the Grad Prix 12 photos,

Shinoyama's nude over a a fence




Ray Man

and the fish in jar by the sea

[Ernest Junius · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic introduction to modern photography. The book features a great range of photography masters from Henri Cartier Bresson to Norman Parkinson.

The image quality was great and such it looks nice in the shelf.

A must have for every photography enthusiast.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taschen books rock! This is an excellent look at the history of Photography in the 20th Century. An amazing book for only $12.99. Did I mention that Taschen books rock...?

[LaLa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was hoping this would be all images. Or images and interesting facts. Or how the pictures were taken. Instead it was images and like where the photographer was born. Boo

[Sebastián Bustos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Material de estudio durante muchas clases

[LocoErasmo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy bueno para saber el por qué de las fotos y sus autores.