Thomas Struth & a new visual language in photography

Thomas Struth - Pantheon, Rome, 1990
Thomas Struth – Pantheon, Rome, 1990

What is Thomas Struth known for?

Thomas Struth is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary photographers of our time. He is renowned for his black and white photographs of cities such as Düsseldorf and New York, as well as his family portraits.

Thomas Struth - Pergamon Museum I, Berlin, 2001
Thomas Struth – Pergamon Museum I, Berlin, 2001
Thomas Struth - Pergamon Museum II, Berlin, 2001
Thomas Struth – Pergamon Museum II, Berlin, 2001
Thomas Struth - Pergamon Museum III, Berlin, 2001
Thomas Struth – Pergamon Museum III, Berlin, 2001

Why are the Museum Photographs important?

The artist who lives in Dusseldorf acquired his inspiration for his Museum Photographs while he was residing in Naples and Rome, where he discovered a connection between paintings of art and religion and how these paintings connect audiences to their spirituality. The Museum Photographs, which was showcased at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, marshaled in a new visual language in the field of photography.

Thomas Struth - Pergamon Museum IV, Berlin, 2001
Thomas Struth – Pergamon Museum IV, Berlin, 2001
Thomas Struth - Pergamon Museum VI, Berlin, 1996
Thomas Struth – Pergamon Museum VI, Berlin, 1996

Struth’s intention

In his series, Struth photographed the art and the visitors viewing it and the viewer observing other audiences. With the many layers of observation, Struth intended to assess the museum’s control of their audience and the criteria that each museum has for exhibiting pieces in the way that it does. The purpose behind the Museum Photographs was to remind people that the iconic subjects of his photographs were once just unfamiliar paintings done by ordinary individuals.

Thomas Struth - Alte Pinakothek, Self Portrait, Munich, 2000
Thomas Struth – Alte Pinakothek, Self Portrait, Munich, 2000
Thomas Struth - Kunsthistorisches Museum III Wien, 1989
Thomas Struth – Kunsthistorisches Museum III Wien, 1989

Analysis

For instance, his Galleria dell’Accademia I, Venice piece shows regular tourists in shorts and casual clothing as they wander around an exhibition hall that is dominated by Paolo Veronese’s 15731 painting The Feast in the House of Levi. Struth’s color print is as large as Veronese’s painting, yet the scene in his photograph is reminiscent of memories of an outing on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. He specifically selected Veronese’s interpretation of the Feast in the House of Levi as a subject because it had a feel of a regular dinner or lunch and depicted a rather large party atmosphere where people have gathered to drink and make merry. As a result, his photograph of the feast allows today’s audiences to look upon the masterpiece with new energy and perspective. Just like the first time, it was put on public display.

Thomas Struth - Stanze di Raffaello 2, Rome, 1990
Thomas Struth – Stanze di Raffaello 2, Rome, 1990
Thomas Struth - Galleria dell'Accademia I, Venice, 1992
Thomas Struth – Galleria dell'Accademia I, Venice, 1992

Video: Photography critic Francis Hodgson introduces Struth’s work

Thomas Struth - An Objective Photographer? FT.com

7 min 31 sec

Which camera did he use?

For the project, Struth utilized a European 13×18 camera. He positioned himself strategically so that every photograph he took, whether inside a museum or in the crowded streets of Paris and Vienna, rendered onlookers in random areas, which gives his pictures more power.

Thomas Struth - Art Institute of Chicago I, Chicago 1990
Thomas Struth – Art Institute of Chicago I, Chicago, 1990
Thomas Struth - Art Institute of Chicago II, Chicago 1990
Thomas Struth – Art Institute of Chicago II, Chicago, 1990

Conclusion

In the end, he managed to create a dialogue between photography and paintings, where his choice of paintings echoes his earlier black and white work in Düsseldorf. He effectively bridges the gap between space and time, where the figures in the painting and the figures observing the paintings are connected despite how much time has passed since the paintings were first made public or the space between them.

Thomas Struth - Louvre 1, Paris, 1989
Thomas Struth – Louvre 1, Paris, 1989
Thomas Struth - Louvre 4, Paris, 1989
Thomas Struth – Louvre 4, Paris, 1989
Thomas Struth - National Gallery 1, London, 1989
Thomas Struth – National Gallery I, London, 1989
Thomas Struth - National Gallery II, London, 2001
Thomas Struth – National Gallery II, London, 2001

All photos courtesy of the artist Thomas Struth unless otherwise noted.

More by Thomas Struth

Citation

Footnotes

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Feast_in_the_House_of_Levi ^

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay in touch

We would love to keep the conversation going.

Please join us on Instagram, Telegram or YouTube.

Want inspiration in your inbox?