Synopses & Reviews
A prominent figure in the Dutch New Photography movement, Eva Besnyö is best known for her remarkable landscapes, portraits, and architectural photographs, which retain their incredible intensity to this day. But beyond her impressive technical accomplishments, Besnyö’s cultural and political sensitivities have played an equally influential role in her work. Beginning her journey with an apprenticeship under renowned Hungarian photographer József Pécsi, Besnyö moved to Berlin in the 1930s, where the Modernist avant-garde art scene was a decisive factor in the development of her personal photographic style. An important period for Besnyö intellectually as well, her time in Berlin also laid the foundations for the political awareness that would become an essential element in her life and work. Besnyö’s insightful black-and-white photographs—many of which are reproduced here—depict dramatic events and political movements that took place throughout Europe in the twentieth century, including images that capture instances of fascism, Nazism, and issues relating to immigration. The first English-language retrospective of Besnyö’s award-winning body of photography, this book—published to accompany an exhibition by the Verborgene Museum to be held at the Berlinische Galerie—features nearly two hundred reproductions of original vintage prints of towns and landscapes during politically turbulent times.
Review
"Marion Beckers and Elisabeth Moortgat have produced a hefty, thoroughly researched, and beautifully illustrated volume on the work of a heretofore overlooked woman artist. Expanding upon their 1992 publication on photographer Eva Besnyö, they skillfully contextualize her work, giving the photographs rich historical and art historical grounding. The dual-language German-English publication ensures accessibility to a wide audience and brings well-deserved attention to an international artist."
Rachel Epp Buller
About the Author
Marion Beckers is manager of the Verborgene Museum in Berlin. Elisabeth Moortgat is an editor at the Kulturprojekte Berlin.
Table of Contents
Combined German/English EditionIntroduction and Acknowledgements
Budapest
I'm Going to Be a Photographer!
Berlin
Diagonals—Expressing a Feeling for Life
Amsterdam
Balancing Form and Content
Notes
Biography
Tineke de Ruiter and Tessa Hillebrants
Bibliography
Index