Descriptive Summary
Administrative Information
Biographical Historial Note
Scope and Content of Collection
Indexing Terms
Descriptive Summary
Title: Albert Renger-Patzsch papers
Date (inclusive): 1890-1980
Date (bulk): 1924-1966
Collection number: 861187
Creator:
Renger-Patzsch,
Albert
Extent:
ca. 12 linear ft.
(23
boxes, 1 flat file folder)
Repository:
Getty Research Institute
Research Library
Special Collections and Visual Resources
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688
Abstract: German photographer associated with the art
movement Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity). The archive documents
Renger-Patzsch's professional life, especially his work on book projects and
commissions for industrial firms. It also includes technical details of his
photographic workshop, and provides insight into his artistic views on
photography as an independent art form, and on the aesthetic trends in
photography in economically prosperous postwar Germany.
Language: Collection material in
German
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Albert Renger-Patzsch papers, 1924-1966, Accession no. 861187, Getty
Research Institute, Research Library.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the repository in 1986.
Processing History
Isabella Zuralski processed the collection and wrote the finding
aid.
Alternate Form Available
Pre-war press clippings filed within Series V.A. are available on
microfiche.
Related Material
Albert Renger-Patzsch correspondence and poem,
1918-1948
, Accession no. 2006.M.25.
Correspondence between Albert and Agnes Renger-Patzsch and Hugo
Hertwig, and letters from Albert Renger-Patzsch to Martha Buttmann and her son
Walter.
Biographical Historial Note
The German photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch (1897 -1966) was born in
Würzburg, Bavaria, and died in Wamel near Soest, Westphalia. Son of amateur
photographer Robert Renger-Patzsch, he learned the techniques of photography
early. Following primary education in Sondeshausen in Thuringia, Albert
Renger-Patzsch attended the renowned Kreuzgymnasium in Dresden. After service
in the German Army between 1916 and 1918, he studied chemistry at the
Technische Hochschule in Dresden from 1919 to 1921.
His professional career as a photographer began in the early 1920s at
the Folkwang Verlag in Essen, and at the Folkwang and Auriga Archiv in Hagen,
where he was the head of photographic services. In 1923, he served as head of a
photographic service agency in Berlin. In that same year, he married Agnes von
Braunschweig and moved briefly to Kronstadt (Brasov) in Romania. His daughter
Sabine was born in 1924, his son Ernst Normann in 1926. In 1924 Renger-Patzsch
returned briefly to Darmstadt to work at the Auriga Verlag, the successor of
the Folkwang Verlag. In 1925 he left the Auriga Verlag to become a freelance
photographer, joined the Deutscher Werkbund, and moved with his family to Bad
Harzburg, near Braunschweig. His first exhibition was mounted in his studio.
Between 1924 and 1937, Renger-Patzsch collaborated on several book
projects, including the series
Die Welt der Pflanze, conceived by Ernst Fuhrmann (volumes
Crassula and
Orchideen, both 1924). Other project partners included
Rudolf Schwarz (
Wegweisung der Technik, 1928), Carl Georg Heise (
Lübeck, 1928), and the Auriga Verlag (
Das Chorgestühl von Kappenberg, 1925). His influential
book
Die Welt ist schön appeared in 1928, published by Kurt
Wolff Verlag in Munich; the Einhorn Verlag edition followed in the same year.
In 1927, Carl Georg Heise organized an exhibition of Renger-Patzsch's
photographic work at the Behnhaus in Lübeck. In 1928, Renger-Patzsch
participated in the exhibition
Kunst und Technik at the Museum Folkwang in Essen; he also
held two individual exhibitions, one at the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Zurich and
another at the Grafisches Kabinett in Munich.
In 1929 Renger-Patzsch moved with his family to Essen, where he had a
studio and office at the Museum Folkwang. During this time he worked
intensively with the industrial architect Fritz Schupp, and made architectural
photographs for the architect and director of the Kunstgewerbeschule Aachen,
Rudolf Schwarz. The first retrospective exhibition of his work took place in
1931 at the Museum Folkwang in Essen. His industrial photographs, published in
the book
Eisen und Stahl (1931), won a silver medal at the Milan
Triennale in 1933. During 1933, Renger-Patzsch lectured at the Folkwang School
in Essen, and took over the chair of photography from Max Burchartz.
Between 1938 and 1940, Renger-Patzsch received his first commissions
from the chemical concern C. H. Boehringer Sohn in Ingelheim:
Hospitalbauten in Europa aus zehn Jahrhunderten (first
issued in 1967), a book about hospital buildings in Europe with text by
Dankwart Leistikow, and
Historische Apotheken Deutschlands (year of issue
unknown), a book about historical pharmacies. During the years 1941 to 1944,
Renger-Patzsch worked on the book projects
Paderborn (first issued in 1949) and
Land am Oberrhein (appearing in 1944 in small edition). In
1943, he was commissioned by the Todt Organization to take pictures of the
Western defences of the German forces in Normandy and Brittany. A large part of
Renger-Patzsch's archive in the Museum Folkwang was destroyed during an air
raid on Essen in 1944. Shortly afterwards Renger-Patzsch moved with his family
to Wamel on the Möhnesee, near Soest, where he lived for the remainder of his
life.
Beständinge Welt, a small volume with landscape
photographs with text by Helene Henze, initiated his post-war work in 1947. The
year 1949 marked the start of long-term commission work for the firm Schubert
& Salzer, a spinning machine manufacturer in Ingolstadt, as well as the
continuation of work begun in 1932 for the glass manufacturer Jenaer Glaswerk
Schott & Gen., and the firm C. H. Boehringer Sohn in Ingelheim. He also
undertook commissions for the architects Fritz Schupp in Essen and Hans
Schwippert in Düsseldorf. The Siepman Werke in Belecke commissioned
Renger-Patzsch to produce two publications:
Bilder aus der Landschaft zwischen Ruhr und Möhne (1957)
and
Bauten zwischen Ruhr und Möhne (1959). During the 1950s
and 1960s Renger-Patzsch collaborated with the publisher Mocker & Jahn in
Soest on the book projects
Schloss Cappenberg (1953) and
Soest (1963); he received commissions from numerous
industrial companies in Germany. He also traveled throughout Europe, with
several trips to Italy for the book project
Hohenstaufenburgen in Süditalien (1961). This book, with
text by Hanno Hahn, was commissioned by the firm C. H. Boehringer Sohn, which
also commissioned the books
Bäume (1962) and
Gestein (1966), both with text by Ernst Jünger. A
professional relationship developed between Renger-Patzsch and the German
dendrologist Wolfgang Haber, who accompanied Renger-Patzsch on his trips to
Italy and wrote texts for
Im Wald (1965) and
Bäume.
During the postwar years Renger-Patsch lectured on photography
throughout Germany. His photographic work was recognized and awarded. In 1957,
the Gesellschaft Deutscher Lichtbildner honored Renger-Patzsch with the David
Octavius Hill Medal. In 1960, he received the prestigious culture prize of the
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie. In 1961, he received a gold medal from
the Photographische Gesellschaft Wien for his life's work. In 1963, the
television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne broadcast the documentary
Portrait of the Photographer Albert Renger-Patzsch. In
1965, the Minister of Culture awarded to Renger-Patzsch the North
Rhine-Westphalia state prize for artistic achievement. Also in 1965, the German
photographer Lotte Jacobi showed Renger-Patzsch's photographs in her gallery in
Deering, New Hampshire, and the Art Institute of Chicago included his works in
its annual photography exhibition.
Albert Renger-Patzsch died on September 27, 1966 in Wamel. In December
of that year, a memorial exhibition was mounted in the Ruhrland- und
Heimatmuseum in Essen. In 1970 and 1971, commemorative exhibitions were held in
Bremen and Hamburg.
Scope and Content of Collection
The archive documents Albert Renger-Patzsch's professional life and
provides detailed information about his business-related activities, especially
his work on book projects and private commissions for industrial firms. It also
allows insight into his artistic views on photography and the technical details
of his photographic workshop. A small portion of the archive consists of
personal documents and family correspondence. Almost all items are in German;
most are typescripts, or carbon copies of typescripts, especially letters by
Albert Renger-Patzsch. Relatively few are in old German handwriting.
The main portion of the archive consists of post-war correspondence
between Renger-Patzsch and numerous institutions, industrial firms, and
individual correspondents. A relatively small part of the correspondence dates
from the time before the war. Set apart is the predominantly business-related
correspondence of Renger-Patzsch's widow Agnes and his son Ernst, and the
personal correspondence of Albert Renger-Patzsch, mainly letters from his
mother Frieda and other relatives. Two separate groups of correspondence are
organized by topic.
Another significant portion of the archive presents ca. 30 drafts of
mostly unpublished lectures and articles about photography by Albert
Renger-Patzsch.
A large number of ephemeral publications, newspaper clippings and
offprints related to Albert Renger-Patzsch provides information about the scope
and reception of his photographic work before and after the war, his book
projects, exhibitions, and other professional activities. Also included are a
small number of personal documents related to Albert Renger-Patzsch and his
family, a few portrait photographs taken by his daughter Sabine, poems by
unknown authors, and business-related bills and receipts.
The archive includes several drafts of book texts by other authors:
both texts about Renger-Patzsch and texts written to accompany Renger-Patzsch's
books of photographs. Also in the archive are drafts of texts unrelated to
Albert Renger-Patzsch, including 9 unpublished texts by the German ecologist
Hugo Hertwig.
Arrangement
Unidentified items are filed at the end of each series. Oversize
items from various series are filed in Box 24*.
Indexing Terms
Subjects: personal names
Arapoff, Cyril
Barth, Emil,
1890-1958
Brandt, Bill
Erfurth, Hugo,
1874-1948
Fohn, Emanuel,
1881-1966
Freckmann, Karl, b.
1890
Friedmann, Hermann,
1873-1957
Fuhrmann, Ernst,
1886-1956
Fürst, Viktor,
1919-
Gernsheim, Helmut,
1913-
Gosebruch,
Ernst
Greischel,
Walther
Gruber, L.
Fritz
Gurlitt, Hildebrand, b.
1895
Hallensleben,
Ruth
Heise, Carl Georg,
1890-
Hertwig, Hugo
Hesse, Hermann,
1877-1962
Hesse, Ninon
Hill, David Octavius,
1802-1870
Holzmeister,
Gunda
Jacobi, Lotte,
1896-
Jancke, Rudolf
Jünger, Ernst,
1895-
Kerff, Gerhard,
1908-
Klipstein, Editha,
1880-1953
Kozma, Lajos,
1884-1950
Krauss, Friedrich
Emil
Kükelhaus,
Hugo
Mahlau, Alfred,
1894-1967
Mardersteig, Giovanni,
1892-1977
Masclet, Daniel,
1892-1969
Moegle, Willi
Moholy-Nagy, László,
1895-1946
Oliveira, Jaap d',
1908-1978
Padberg,
Magdalena
Portman, Adolf,
1897-
Renger-Patzsch,
Albert
Sander, August
Schneider, Karl,
1892-1945
Schoy, Frida
Schwarz, Rudolf,
1897-1961
Schwippert, Hans,
1899-1973
Smith, Ronald
Gregor
Steffen,
Dieter
Steinert, Otto,
1915-
Stenger, Erich,
1878-
Treskow, Elisabeth,
1898-
Tümpel,
Wolfgang
Virl, Hermann,
1903-1958
Vogelsang,
Marianne
Walther, Pan,
1921-
Weinert,
August
Wigman, Mary,
1886-1973
Woytinsky, Wladimir S.,
1885-1960
Zglinicki, Friedrich
Pruss von, b. 1895
Subjects: corporate bodies
C. H. Boehringer
Sohn
Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Photographie
Deutsche Spiegelglas
A.G.
Deutscher
Spinnereimaschinenbau Ingolstadt
Gesellschaft Deutscher
Lichtbildner
Jenaer Glaswerk Schott
& Gen.
Museum Folkwang
Essen
Verlag Herder
Genres and Forms of Material
Lectures
Letters
(correspondence)
Photographic
prints
Photographs,
Original
Contributors: personal names
Arapoff, Cyril
Barth, Emil,
1890-1958
Bartning, Otto,
1883-1959
Behrens, Peter,
1868-1940
Boje, Walter
Botzenhart, Prof. Dr.
Bourdeau, Robert,
1931-
Brandt, Bill
Ehmke, Rainer
Erfurth, Hugo,
1874-1948
Freckmann, Karl, b.
1890
Fuhrmann, Ernst,
1886-1956
Fürst, Viktor,
1919-
Gernsheim, Helmut,
1913-
Goerttler, Kurt,
1898-
Goldberg, Rube,
1883-1970
Gosebruch,
Ernst
Greischel,
Walther
Gropius, Walter,
1883-1969
Gross, Else R.
Gruber, L.
Fritz
Gundermann,
Leo
Gurlitt, Hildebrand, b.
1895
Haber,
Wolfgang
Hartlaub, Gustav
Friedrich, 1884-1963
Heise, Carl Georg,
1890-
Helfferich,
Daan
Henze, Helene
Hertwig, Hugo
Heyer, Gustav Richard,
1890-
Holzmeister,
Gunda
Hoppé, E. O. (Emil Otto),
1878-1972
Huch, Ricarda Octavia,
1864-1947
Jabobi, Lotte,
1896-
Jaenisch, Hans,
1907-1989
Jancke, Rudolf
Johannsen,
Johann
Jünger, Ernst,
1895-
Kempe, Fritz
Kerff, Gerhard,
1908-
Klingender, F. D.
(Francis Donald)
Klipstein, Editha,
1880-1953
Kösters, Bernd
Kotthoff,
August
Kozma, Lajos,
1884-1950
Krauss, Friedrich
Emil
Kreusch, Felix
Kreutter,
Wolfgang
Lichnowsky, Mechtilde,
1879-1958
Lissitzky, El,
1890-1941
Mahlau, Alfred,
1894-1967
Mann, Thomas,
1875-1955
Marcks,
Gerhard
Mardersteig, Giovanni,
1892-1977
Masclet, Daniel,
1892-1969
Mattaei, Leni
Meyer, Peter,
1894-1984
Moholy-Nagy, László,
1895-1946
Molzahn, Johannes,
1892-1965
Oliveira, Jaap d',
1908-1978
Padberg,
Magdalena
Pécsi, Józef,
1889-1956
Pieper, Paul,
1912-
Redslob, Edwin,
1884-
Renger-Patzsch,
Albert
Richter, Max,
1900-
Riewerts, Theodor,
1907-1944
Roh, Franz,
1890-1965
Rothert,
Liebetraut
Russell, Peter
Schaeffer-Heyrothsberge,
Paul
Scheven, Ilsemarie
von
Schlensker, Ernst,
1908-
Schmoll gen. Eisenwerth,
J. Adolf, 1915-
Schneider, P. F.
Schneider-Esleben, Paul
Schöppe,
Wilhelm
Schott, Erich
Schumacher, Fritz,
1869-1947
Schupp, F. (Fritz),
1896-1974
Schütz-Wolff, Johanna,
1896-
Schwarz, Heinrich,
1894-1974
Schwarz, Rudolf,
1897-1961
Schwippert, Hans,
1899-1973
Smith, Käthe
Steffann, Emil,
1899-
Steffen,
Dieter
Steichen, Edward,
1879-1973
Steinert, Otto,
1915-
Sternberger, Dolf,
1907-
Strelow, Liselotte,
1908-1981
Thorn Prikker, Johan,
1868-1932
Toller, Ernst,
1893-1939.
Trump, Georg,
1896-
Tümpel,
Wolfgang
Virl, Hermann,
1903-1958
Vogelsang,
Marianne
Völckers, Otto, b.
1888
Wackernagel, Martin,
1881-
Wahl, Victor
Walker, Audrey
Wapnewski,
Peter
Weinert,
August
Wackernagel, Martin,
1881-
Wigman, Mary,
1886-1973
Wolf, Gustav
Woytinsky, Wladimir S.,
1885-1960
Wulf, Friedrich,
1908-
Wunder, Franz
Zglinicki, Friedrich
Pruss von, 1895-
Contributors: corporate bodies
C. H. Boehringer
Sohn
Deutsche Bibliothek
(Frankfurt am Main, Germany) Sammlung Buchkunst
Deutsche
Buch-Gemeinschaft
Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Photographie
Deutsche Spiegelglas
A.G.
Deutscher
Kunstverlag
Deutscher
Spinnereimaschinenbau Ingolstadt
Deutscher Werkbund
Berlin
Dr. Karl Thomae
GmbH
Essener
Steinkohlenbergwerke
Fagus-Werk (Alfeld, Lower
Saxony, Germany)
Focal Press
Gesellschaft Deutscher
Lichtbildner
Hans Peters
Verlag
Jenaer Glaswerk Schott
& Gen.
Krupp Stahl AG. Werk
(Rheinhausen, Duisburg, Germany)
Museum Folkwang
Essen
Museum für Photographie
(Dresden, Germany)
Obpacher Kunstverlag
Photo ciné club du Val de
Bièvre
Photographische
Gesellschaft in Wien
Presswerk AG
Riedel & Co.
(Bielefeld, Germany)
Staatliche Kunstakademie
Düsseldorf
Sydslesvigs danske
kunstforening
Werkstätten J.
Dickerhoff
Titles
Foto Prisma
Grubenlampe
International Photo-and Cine
Exhibition
Photoblätter
Photo-Magazin (Munich,
Germany)
Photography Year Book
Popular Photography (Milan,
Italy)
Verbindungsstelle
Landwirtschaft-Industrie (Essen, Germany)
Westdeutsche Allgemeine
Zeitung
Westfalenspiegel
Administrative Information
Bibliography
List of books by Albert Renger-Patzsch, and other books
illustrated with his photographs, discussed or mentioned in the archive. Arranged chronologically.
Fuhrmann, Ernst.
Reich der Inka, in: Kulturen der Erde. Bilderwerke.
Hagen : Folkwang-Verlag, 1922.
Fuhrmann, Ernst.
Peru II, in: Kulturen der Erde. Bilderwerke. Hagen
: Folkwang-Verlag, 1922.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Das Chorgestühl von Kappenberg. Berlin :
Auriga-Verlag, 1925.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Die Halligen. Berlin : Albertus, 1927.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Lübeck. Berlin : E. Wasmuth, 1928.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Die Welt ist schön. München : K. Wolff, 1928.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Die Welt ist schön. München : Einhorn, 1928.
Schwarz, Rudolf.
Wegweisung der Technik. Potsdam : Müller &
Kiepenheuer Verlag, 1928-
Günther, Hanns.
Technische Schönheit. Zürich : Orell Füssli, 1929.
Koelsch, Adolf.
Hände und was sie sagen. Zürich : Orell Füssli,
1929.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Hamburg. Hamburg : Gebrüder Enoch, 1930.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Norddeutsche Backsteindome. Berlin : Deutscher
Kunstverlag, 1930.
Jenaer Glaswerk Schott & Gen.
Jenaer Glas für Laboratorien. Jena : Jenaer
Glaswerk Schott & Gen., 1937.
Jenaer Glaswerk Schott & Gen.
Jena laboratory glassware. Jena : Jenaer Glaswerk
Schott & Gen., 1937.
Fuhrmann, Ernst.
Das Wunder der Pflanze. Starnberg am See : Oeser,
1938.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Paderborn. Paderborn : Ferdinand Schöningh,
1949.
Müller, Otto.
Der Dom zu Aachen. Königstein im Taunus : Verlag
Karl Robert Langewiesche, 1950?
Henze, Helene.
Rund um den Möhnesee. Soest : Mocker & Jahn,
1951.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Lob des Rheingaus. Ingelheim am Rhein : C.H.
Boehringer, 1953.
Botzenhart.
Schloss Cappenberg. Soest : Mocker & Jahn,
1953.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Bilder aus dem Erzgebirge: Berge, Wälder und Felder.
Radebeul : Imago Strahlbild, 1953-1957.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Bilder aus dem Erzgebirge: Dörfer und Städte.
Radebeul : Imago Strahlbild, 1953-1957.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Höxter und Corvey. Soest : Mocker & Jahn,
1954.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Villa Hügel. Essen : Krupp AG, 1954.
Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung.
WAZ Ein Druk- und Verlagshaus im Ruhrgebiet.
Essen :
WAZ -Druck, 1954.
Westfalen, schaffendes Land. Oldenburg : G. Stalling
AG, 1955.
Schnack, Friedrich.
Dresden wie es wurde und war. München : Knorr &
Hirth, 1956.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Deutsche Wasserburgen. Königstein im Taunus :
Langewiesche, 1957.
Bilder aus der Landschaft zwischen Ruhr und Möhne.
Belecke (Möhne) : Siepmann-Werke AG,1957.
Schwartz, Hubertus.
Soest. Soest : Mocker & Jahn, 1957.
Fischer, Wend.
Bau, Raum, Gerät. München : R. Riper, 1957.
Schubert & Salzer Maschinenfabrik A.-G., Ingolstadt.
75 Jahre Textilmaschinenbau, das Porträt eines
Industriebetriebes.
Ingolstadt : Schubert & Salzer Machinenfabrik
A.-G., 1958.
Koch, Alexander.
Restaurants, cafés, bars. Stuttgart : A. Koch,
1959.
Meier, Michael.
Oberrhein: Elsass, Breisgau, Ortenau. München :
Deutscher Kunstverlag, 1959.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Hohenstaufenburgen in Süditalien. Ingelheim am Rhein
: C.H. Boehringer, 1961.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Bäume. Ingelheim am Rhein : C.H. Boehringer,
1962.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Im Wald, Aufnahmen aus dem Naturpark Arnsberger Wald.
Wamel-Möhnesee : Druckwerkstatt Hermann Kätelhön, 1965.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
Gestein. Ingelheim am Rhein : C.H. Boehringer, 1966.
Müller, Otto.
Der Dom zu Aachen. Königstein im Taunus : Karl
Robert Langewiesche Nachfolger Hans Köster, 1966?
Leistikow, Dankwart.
Hospitalbauten in Europa aus zehn Jahrhunderten.
Ingelheim am Rhein : C.H. Boehringer, 1967.
List of photocopies of articles by or about Albert
Renger-Patzsch available in the Getty Research Library's research files. Arranged chronologically.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
"My philosophy on photography, in: Photorama, international
review of photography." Morstel-Antwerp : Geavert, 1958. October 1958,
p. 626-632.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
"Versuch einer Einordnung der Photographie," in:
Schrift 6
der Folkwangschule für Gestaltung Essen
. München : Prestel Verlag,
1958. Lecture held on Jan. 27, 1956 at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in
Freiburg, Breisgau.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
"Versuch einer Einordnung der Photographie," in:
Veröffentlichungen der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Photographie. Köln :
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Photographie, 1960. 4. Heft, Dezember 1960, p.
3-8.
Renger-Patzsch, Albert.
"Over de grenzen der fotografie," in:
Foto : universeel
tijdschrift voor fotografie
. Antwerp, Netherlands : C. Misset, 1961.
August 1961, p. 396-401.
Kempe, Fritz.
"Der Vater der modernen Fotografie: über Albert
Renger-Patzsch," in:
Foto Prisma. Düsseldorf : K. Knapp, 1964. Heft 9,
September 1964, p. 451-457.
Kleinstra, Hille.
"Foto's van bossen en bomen van Albert Renger-Patzsch," in:
Foto : universeel tijdschrift voor fotografie. Antwerp, Netherlands :
C. Misset, 1964. September 1964, p. 412-419.