The draftsman Josef Hegenbarth and the photographer Pan Walther count among the most renowned artists of the objective post-war modernist era. Both lived and worked in Dresden-Loschwitz, were direct neighbours and were close to each other personally as well as artistically.
Walther created the important series of portraits of the other artist, while Hegenbarth portrayed the photographer in drawings. Although Walther moved to the West German city of Münster in 1950, both kept in touch. Hegenbarth’s photo was hanging in Walther’s studio. After Hegenbarth’s death, the Walthers continued to exchange letters with the artist’s widow.
The human countenance was of central importance in the works of the draftsman as well as of the photographer. Both traced the hidden character of the human behind its outside appearance. Results not always were flattering. The photographed and drawn portraits often turned into realistic character studies, which caused Hegenbarth to anonymize his portraits as “heads”. The exhibition invites the viewer to compare the artists’ points of view in photography and drawing and to relate these to each other.
in Residenzschloss
in Josef-Hegenbarth-Archive
