Kupferstich-Kabinett: Hugo Erfurth und Josef Hegenbarth

Hugo Erfurth and Josef Hegenbarth

The Kupferstich-Kabinett (Collection of Prints, Drawings and Photographs) possesses approximately 300 photographs of Hugo Erfurth, one of the most important representatives of portrait photography in the first half of the 20th century. Among them is a group of works, which derived from the estate of Josef Hegenbarth and which can be considered proof of the friendship between the artist and the photographer, who worked in Dresden until 1933. Between 1914 and 1920, Hegenbarth received a total of 29 exposures from Herford in exchange of some drawings and watercolours.

Exhibition Site Josef-Hegenbarth-Archive

DATES 14/10/2010—13/01/2011

The exhibition presents a small selection of these photographs and sheds light on his artistic contacts and cultural interests of this time. Portraits of artist colleagues, such as Gotthard Huehl, who taught Hegenbarth as a master student at the Dresden Academy of Arts, of Oskar Zwintscher or of Hans Thoma are among the depicted, just as portraits of actresses and dancers, such as of the sisters Wiesenthal. Made in elaborate technical methods as the oil print or offset, the photos were mounted on precious Japanese paper and on coloured cardboard and were stored in a custom-made box.

Fotografie mit Adele Zwintscher — **Hugo Erfurth, Bildnis Adele Zwintscher, 1908** Schwarzer Öldruck, 230 x 164 mm, Japanpapier 426 x 310 mm, brauner Untersatzkarton 447 x 330 mm

Hegenbarth very much appreciated the figure studies and the beautifully composed portraits, because he himself was portrayed by Erfurth several times. The works have been arranged alongside works of similar content by the graphic artist. The mutual inspiration of photography and fine art, on which Erfurth's and Hegenbarth's friendship was founded, is reflected here.