Willy Ronis - Willy Ronis in der DDR. 1960-1967. Zuerst das Leben - 2021

GREAT PHOTOBOOKS - based on the relatively little-known aspect of the highly diverse and accomplished body of work of the French photographer Willy Ronis (1910-2009, "Belleville Ménilmontant"), who spent time in the "DDR/GDR" (!) in 1960 and in 1967.

Catalogue book - published on the occasion of the exhibition “Willy Ronis en RDA, La vie avant tout”, Espace Richaud, Versailles, 2021, and subsequent venues in Germany under the title “Life Comes First: Willy Ronis in the GDR.”

"The people, the streets, the holidays or everyday life: whether Willy Ronis photographs old Paris or the new cities of the GDR, his gaze always focuses on these motifs. In 1967, when he was commissioned by the association "Échanges franco-allemands" to do a photo reportage to promote the recognition of the GDR by France, he turned his camera "first to life". A humanist, committed and with "his heart on the left", he documents a modern socialism at the service of the people, preferring to pass over the problems of the system. Ronis, meanwhile, also created a historical document on the everyday history of GDR society, which is being published for the first time 55 years after its creation and 30 years after German reunification. Detached from the context of the Cold War, his pictures today unfold their full stylistic and aesthetic impact. The memorative element is very strong in them, but this is not a disadvantage - quite the contrary. " I attach importance to capturing the character of people in my photographs, their gestures and attitudes, in the interest of life."
- Willy Ronis -

THIS IS THE VERY FIRST PHOTOBOOK AUCTION ON CATAWIKI - dedicated entirely to the world of the former "DDR"/"GDR" ("GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC" or "EAST GERMANY") which existed from 1949 to 1990.

Still largely undiscovered and unexplored, this field offers a wealth of fascinating discoveries for collectors.
5Uhr30.com presents exceptional works by renowned and emerging artists, survey works, compelling monographs, as well as extraordinarily rare small vintage catalogues, vintage children’s books and vintage factory photobooks; signed publications, posters, and much more.

Willy Ronis is often mentioned in the same breath as Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau as one of the foremost "humanist photographers", his work centering on facets of human life. Many of his pictures have inscribed themselves as icons in our collective memory, shaping how we view the life and culture of our French neighbors.

Willy Ronis made his debut in the 1930s with photos of strikes and mass protests. Vibrant city life in Paris and suburbs such as Belleville Ménilmontant then became his photographic biotope in the immediate postwar years. From 1947 on, he began spending most of his time in the Provence, whose bucolic beauty he captures in the days before the onset of mass tourism. Taken as a whole, his body of work reveals Willy Ronis to be a keen and compassionate observer of everyday life in France, a great humanist and chronicler of a century.

Wasmuth & Zohlen, Berlin. 2021. First German (French) edition, first printing.
Originally published in France by Éditions Parenthèses, Marseille.

Photo-illustred hardcover (as issued). 215 x 255 mm. 224 pages. Photos: Willy Ronis. Foreword: Gilles Désiré Dit Gosset. Text: Nathalie Neumann, Ronan Guinée, Gabrielle de la Selle. Text in French and German.

Condition:
Book inside clean with no marks and with no foxing; pages smell like smoke, no other remarkable flaws or defects. Book outside with quite fresh covers and spine, excepted the fact that it is heavily bumped at the bottom right corner of the front, but with no decisive consequence for inside (only the first pages with neat dog-ear at the bottom right corner, all other pages flawless), a few neat stains at the bottom edge. Overall very good condition.

Great photobook about the GDR/DDR by Willi Ronis.

Like always we guarantee detailed and accurate descriptions, 100% transport protection, 100% transport insurance, and of course, combined shipping - worldwide.

MAKE SURE YOU DON'T MISS THIS UNIQUE AUCTION.
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