Los 4090

Becher, Bernd and Hilla
(1931-2007, 1934-2015)Hochofen, Hainer Hütte, Siegen

Abgabe von Vorgeboten möglich

Hochofen, Hainer Hütte, Siegen. 1961. Vintage large-format ferrotyped gelatin silver print, printed 1971. 39,5 x 30 cm. Mounted to original board, signed by the photographers in pencil on mount verso. Framed under glass in wooden frame.

Bernd and Hilla Becher, the influential German conceptual artists and photographers, collaborated throughout their careers to document industrial architecture with remarkable precision and consistency. They are best known for their extensive typologies of structures such as water towers, blast furnaces, and framework houses, often presented in grids to highlight formal similarities and regional variations. Their work, characterized by its objective style and conceptual rigor, significantly influenced the development of contemporary art and led to the founding of the Düsseldorf School of Photography, shaping the practices of subsequent generations of artists.
While the Bechers are primarily associated with their grid-based typologies, individual prints such as the one offered here hold particular significance. This photograph, taken in 1961 in Siegen, Bernd Becher’s birthplace, and in the year the couple married, is an early example of their iconic practice. – Minimal surface scuff mark in upper left sky area, only visible in raking light, otherwise a fine tonal print in near excellent condition.

Provenance: Private Collection, Siegen

Lit.: Susanne Lange. Was wir tun, ist letztlich Geschichten erzählen... Bernd und Hilla Becher. Eine Einführung in Leben und Werk. Munich 2005, ill. plate 7, p. 104.
Ariane Grigoteit (ed.). Bernd & Hilla Becher. Mainz 1998, ill. p. 83.