DRYANSKY (Larisa). - Lot 91

DRYANSKY (Larisa). Josef Breitenbach. Chalon-sur-Saône, Musée Nicéphore Niépce / Les Éditions de l'Amateur, 2000. Large quarto, paperback, illustrated cover. A major monograph devoted to Josef Breitenbach (1896–1984), a German photographer whose work—rediscovered relatively late—occupies a unique place in the history of 20th-century photography. Published to coincide with the exhibition organized by the Nicéphore Niépce Museum, this book traces his entire career, from the photographs he took in Germany during the 1920s to his exile in France and then in the United States. Richly illustrated, the volume features reproductions of the main aspects of his work: urban scenes, landscapes, portraits, nudes, surrealist experiments, and photographic compositions. Larisa Dryansky’s essay situates this body of work within the context of the European avant-garde, highlighting Breitenbach’s connections to the Bauhaus, the Nouvelle Vision, and modernist photography, while emphasizing the originality of his vision and the diversity of his output. Extensive black-and-white illustrations featuring some of the artist’s most representative prints, accompanied by a bibliography and a chronology. Very good copy.