Early Photo Art

Museum Folkwang of Essen/Germany sheds light on Heinrich Kühn, one of the most important exponents of European art photography around 1900. Through 21 August, 2016.

Heinrich Kühn (1866–1944) is one of the most important exponents of European art photography around 1900. Through his studies on the artistic transposition of the photographic image onto paper, Kühn made a fundamental contribution to the development of this early style of photography. To mark the 150th anniversary of his birth Museum Folkwang is showing an exquisite selection by this German/Austrian artist.

Kühn looked for new dimensions in the photographic image which allowed this technical medium to very much mirror the artistic trends of its day – Impressionism, Jugendstil and Symbolism – on an equal footing with painting and graphic art.

This selection of works provides insights into the textile, material and sensory quality of the various techniques, as well as explaining to visitors Kühn’s way of looking at things and the photographic genres that he favoured – from his early landscapes to private portraits and scenes showing his family and friends, portraits of his colleagues and other artists and finally still lifes referencing the formal vocabulary of Modern art and its focus on detail sections.

Please find more information at Museum Folkwang