ALBERT RENGER-PATZSCH. RUHR LANDSCAPES

In the years 1927–1935, Albert Renger-Patzsch, one of the most important photographers of the New Objectivity school, took a comprehensive series of photographs in the Ruhr area depicting the outskirts of towns, landscapes of spoil pits, country roads, back yards and suburban houses, allotments and coal mines. The result is the only body of work by Renger-Patzsch that was not commissioned. With reserved emotionality and clear compositions, the photographs mark a significant position in the genre of landscapes that was, for instance, seldom found in painting at that time. Now, around 80 years after they were taken, Albert Renger-Patzsch’s Ruhr photographs are more relevant than ever; they serve as a visual commentary on current discussions related to urbanity, urban sprawl and the rehabilitation of post-mining landscapes. This group of Ruhr landscapes from the collection of the Ann and Jürgen Wilde Foundation is being presented to the public for the first time with a comprehensive exhibition of over 100 photographs.