"Palucca"

gelatin silver print, toned, postcard

title superimposed

Charlotte Rudolph was a German photographer who became particularly well known for her work in the field of dance and theater photography. Her photographs of avant-garde German dancers of the 1920s and 1930s are among the most important documents of expressive dance today. Unlike other photographers, Rudolph did not photograph the dancers in a pose, but in action. Her pictures of dancer Gret Palucca's jumps in 1924 contributed significantly to Palucca's international fame and were also Charlotte Rudolph's breakthrough.
Many of the photographs were published as postcards in the early 1920s. However, these were not produced by a postcard publisher using the halftone printing process, but as hand-printed original photos on photographic paper with postcard lines on the reverse by the photographer herself. Charlotte Rudolph then sold her postcards herself at dance performances in Dresden's theaters.¹
Today, Charlotte Rudolph is considered the most influential dance photographer of her time. She laid the foundations for later generations and artists such as Barbara Morgan and Loїs Greenfield.
Gret Palucca (1902–1993) was one of the most innovative dancers of expressive dance and is regarded as its icon. She developed a unique style that set her apart from her contemporaries such as Mary Wigman and Rudolf von Laban. While Wigman often relied on heavy, earthy movements, Palucca's style was light, powerful and full of leaps.
(Christoph Fuchs)

Note

1
see Frank-Manuel Peter, „Die Frau im Theaterfoyer mit dem Postkartentisch“, Deutsches Tanzarchiv Köln (retreived 4.2.2025)