LIST, HERBERT

PHOTOGRAPHERS ,   L

HERBERT LIST (1903-1975) WAS A GERMAN PHOTOGRAPHER, CONTRIBUTOR TO THE MAGNUM PHOTOS PHOTOGRAPHIC AGENCY SINCE 1951

Born in 1903 in Hamburg, Herbert List attended the gymnasium from 1912 to 1920. From 1921 to 1923 he studied History of Literature at the University of Heidelberg. Since he was born in a family of wealthy merchants, in parallel with his studies, List began working as an apprentice in his father’s coffee company List & Heineken. From 1924 to 1028 Herbert List started travelling to Brasil, Guatemala and Costa Rica for work. During these travels the young apprentice developed a passion for photography.

In 1930, he made his way into the European avant-garde artistic circles, through which he met the photographer Andreas Feininger. With Feininger, List started to practice photography with the Rolleiflex.

After Bath, Portofino, Italy , 1936, Archival Pigment Print (artsy.net)

THE FIRST PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS

Influenced by the surrealist current and the Bauhaus school of art, List began to develop his personal style, characterized mainly by portraits of his friends, with a particular focus on male forms, and by Still Life compositions. The same photographer described his style defining it a set of: “visions, whose compositions try to capture the magical essence inherent in the world of appearances”.

In 1936 the photographer left Germany for political and personal reasons, leaving the family business to his brother. He flew to Paris where he set up his first photographic exhibition. In the French capital, he met George Hoyningen-Huene, who recommended him to Harper’s Bazaar. His experience with fashion photography was short. In fact the photographer preferred to focus on still life photography.

Sailor, Greece , 1937, Silver Gelatin Photograph (artsy.net)

In those years List travelled among Italy, England, Greece, where he settled in 1939 to escape the Nazi occupation in France. During this period he began to work on his book Licht Ueber Hellas, that was published in 1953. By 1941 he was forced to stay in Germany, where he established his own studio. However, due to his Jewish origins, he was prohibited from officially working in Germany. From 1944 to 1945 he was sent to Norway as a soldier, and he returned to Munich in 1945.

HIS WORKS IN ITALY AFTER THE WAR

In 1946 List took pictures of the ruins of Munich and then started working as an art editor at Heute, an American magazine targeted at the German public.

Herbert List Scolding for the lost tire. Rome. Italy. 1953.  © Herbert List | Magnum Photos

In 1951 List met the Hungarian photographer Robert Capa who introduced him to Magnum Photos, for which he became a contributor without establishing a consistent collaboration. His main interest returned to be Italy, to which he dedicated his works from 1950 to 1961. His photos of that time concern architecture, streets, scenes of everyday life and portraits of international artists.

In those years he approached the 35 mm, the favourite camera of his colleague Henri-Cartier Bresson. With the 35 mm List made more spontaneous shots, characterized by his interest in Italian neorealism. In that period he published several books, including: Rom, Caribia, Nigeria and Napoli, the latter in collaboration with Vittorio De Sica. There were many appearances also on the magazines Harper’s Bazaar, Flair, Life, Heute, Du, Epoca.

Herbert List Good friends. Liguria, Italy. 1936.  © Herbert List | Magnum Photos

THE ABANDONMENT OF PHOTOGRAPHY

In 1965 List abandoned photography to concentrate on painting. He died in Munich in 1975.

His works are exhibited in some of the most important cultural sites in the world, the MOMA in New York, the VnA in London, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles and Le Center Pompidou in Paris.

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