Fotografen sehen Köln

Background information

"Since the first 'photographers' opened their studios in Cologne, they have accompanied the city's transformation into a modern metropolis with their specific view. The volume 'Photographers See Cologne. Glass Negatives 1875-1960 from the Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln' illustrates the upheavals of the Wilhelminian period, the advent of modernity and the bitter break that the Second World War meant for Cologne. At the same time, the photographs by well-known photographers such as Theodor CREIFELDS, Werner MANTZ, August KREYENKAMP, August SANDER and Hugo and Karl Hugo SCHMÖLZ, among others, who played a decisive role in the history of photography in the cathedral city, illustrate the rapid development of the medium of photography - and how strongly it has shaped the image of the city in our minds.
The publisher of the volume, the Rheinisches Bildarchiv (RBA) of the city of Cologne, has been producing, collecting and communicating photographs in a wide variety of formats and materials since 1926. With a stock of 5.5 million photographs, it is one of the largest art historical archives in Germany.

Contents

In large format (29.5 x 30 cm.) and on over 300 pages, the photo volume 'Photographers See Cologne. Glass Negatives 1875-1960' shows the metropolis on the Rhine from the point of view of its photographers and brings together in three parts - 'Cityscapes from the Early Years of Photography', 'Images of Cologne on the Way to Modernity' and 'Aftermath' - works by Cologne photographers who portrayed their city on glass plates.
The book author Katja Hoffmann does not limit herself, however, to the mere stringing together of the shots, but assigns the photographers areas and subjects: 'The Cathedral and Photography. Theodor CREIFELDS junior', 'Cologne Monuments. Anselm SCHMITZ', 'Art in Cologne. Emil HERMANN', 'City life. Peter GAUS & Sons', 'Cologne in Color. Heinrich EWERTZ', 'As painted. Carl RÜDELL', 'The sea of houses. Fritz ZAPP', 'A life in pictures. Ernst ALTMANN', 'In upheaval. August KREYENKAMP', 'The old and the new Cologne. Werner MANTZ', 'Cologne as it was. August SANDER', 'Architectures and urban spaces. Hugo SCHMÖLZ', 'The second cathedral completion. Margarita NEITELER', 'Cologne, zero hour. Karl Hugo SCHMÖLZ', 'Departure with war gaps. Josef JASUWECK', as well as 'Fortschritte-Ansichten. Paul SPRENGER.
In addition, the texts 'Photographers and a photographer see Cologne' by Johanna Gummlich (RBA, ed.) and 'Pictures of Cologne, painted with light' and 'In the core of the new metropolis. Glasplatten aus den frühen Konservatorbeständen' by the book author Katja Hoffmann introduce the works and authors as well as the image carrier glass plate into the photographic history of (not only) Cologne. The volume 'Photographers See Cologne. Glass Negatives 1875-1960 from the Rheinisches Bildarchiv Köln' is a worthwhile volume for anyone interested in Cologne and photography.

About the photographers represented in the volume

• Theodor CREIFELDS jr., Anselm SCHMITZ, Emil HERMANN, Peter GAUS & Söhne, Heinrich EWERTZ, Carl RÜDELL, Fritz ZAPP, Ernst ALTMANN, August KREYENKAMP, Werner MANTZ, August SANDER, Hugo SCHMÖLZ, Margarita NEITELER, Karl Hugo SCHMÖLZ, Josef JASUWECK, Paul SPRENGER
  

Photo volumes by and with works by the participating photographers

• ALTMANN, Ernst
  CREIFELDS, Theodor
  EWERTZ, Heinrich
  GAUS, Peter
  HERMANN, Emil
  JASUWECK, Josef
  KREYENKAMP, August
  MANTZ, Werner
  NEITELER, Margarita
  RÜDELL, Carl
  SANDER, August
  SCHMITZ, Anselm
  SCHMÖLZ, Hugo
  SCHMÖLZ, Karl Hugo
  SPRENGER, Paul
  ZAPP, Fritz