Untitled (Otti Berger on a Balcony of the Bauhaus Studio Building in Dessau), 1930

Blatt: 8.5 x 6.1 cm
Passepartout: 40 x 30 cm

Physical Description: Silver Gelatin Print on baryta paper

Inventory Number: St.F.2839

Acquisition: Acquired in 2013 with support from the Kulturstiftung der Länder and the Hessischer Kulturstiftung, joint property with the Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V.

Status: Not on display

Texts

About the Work

Unexpected perspectives and bold compositions heralded a new pictorial aesthetic at the Bauhaus. The portrait is a rigorous composition in which the model Otti Berger serves as a focal point in the midst of the serially arranged balconies of the Dessau Studio House façade. Max Pfeiffer Watenphul staged the costumed Grete Willers in a role play. Both photographers had already been experimenting with photography before it was introduced as a teaching subject at the Bauhaus in 1929. The school had set out to dissolve the boundary between free and applied art by adopting creative approaches to various forms of artistic expression. Under pressure from the National Socialists, it would cease operations just three years later.

Work Data

Basic Information

Title: Untitled (Otti Berger on a Balcony of the Bauhaus Studio Building in Dessau)

Photographer

Gertrud Arndt

Period Produced

20th century

School

Object Type

photograph

Physical Description: Silver Gelatin Print on baryta paper

Material

Technique

silver gelatin print

Label at the Time of Manufacture: Bezeichnet verso oben Mitte auf dem Trägerkarton: Handschriftlich: (- unleserlich -)
Bezeichnet verso Mitte auf dem Trägerkarton: Handschriftlich: Otti Berger; 1930
Bezeichnet verso Mitte rechts auf dem Trägerkarton: Handschriftlich: 34
Bezeichnet verso unten Mitte auf dem Trägerkarton: Handschriftlich: aufgenommen; dessau, den 1. Okt.; 1930

Captions Added Later: Bezeichnet verso unten Mitte links auf dem Trägerkarton: Handschriftlich: HYZ120830

Property and Acquisition

Institution

Städel Museum

Departement

Photographic Collection

Collection

Städelsches Kunstinstitut

Creditline: Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Gemeinsames Eigentum mit dem Städelschen Museums-Verein e.V.

Picture Copyright: © VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2024

Acquisition: Acquired in 2013 with support from the Kulturstiftung der Länder and the Hessischer Kulturstiftung, joint property with the Städelscher Museums-Verein e.V.