August Sander, Lifetime prints
'In documentary photography it is less important to fulfil aesthetic rules of form and composition than it is to render the importance of the subject'-August Sander (1931)
August Sander (b. 1876) is well-known for his portrait, architecture and landscape photography spanning from the turn of the century to the post-war era in Germany. He aimed to create a 'cultural work of photographs' titled, People of the 20th Century, which went on to become his most esteemed body of work. Seeking to hold a mirror up to society at a particular moment in German history, Sander captured city dwellers to bohemians, farmhands to the aristocracy. At the heart of each photograph is a persistent search for the truth; illuminating the inner essence of his subject.
Highlights from our presentation include: Handlanger (Bricklayer) 1928 (printed 1960), one of August Sander's most famous photographs, taken in Cologne, and Sekretärin beim Westdeutschen Rundfunk in Köln (Secretary at West German Radio in Cologne) 1931, a striking portrait in the portfolio entitled Occupation within the group The Woman in his photographic opus, who may be seen as representing the 'new' woman of the day.