"Sanssouci: Herbstwald"
gelatin silver print
copyright-stamp on verso
Max Baur is considered an important Potsdam photographer of the 20th century. In 1934, Baur moved to Potsdam, where he founded a publishing house and studio. In order to avoid being drafted into the Volkssturm at the end of the Second World War, he went into hiding with his mother in southern Germany in the fall of 1944. After the war, he returned to Potsdam and founded a postcard publishing house again in 1946.
From 1934 to 1939, he took numerous photographs of the impressive Sanssouci Palace, interpreting the atmosphere of the palace and the surrounding park with impressive precision and masterful sensitivity. Baur has published the best shots in a small publication.
Strongly influenced by the avant-garde and the Bauhaus, he developed his own style in his artistic work as well as in his commissioned photography, which anticipated the formal means of expression of later photographers. Baur turned to various genres, but was particularly interested in architecture and industrial photography, object photography and landscape photography.
The special appeal of his work, in addition to its exceptional quality, lies in the fact that he also devoted himself to hidden areas and unusual details, as in this shot. The fog and the sharpness of the dark leaves in the foreground allow Baur to create depth through two layers.
(Christoph Fuchs)