Meeting Liebermann

Opening speech by Dr. Katrin Bomhoff, ullstein bild collection, at the exhibition opening Meeting Liebermann on March 24, 2023

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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, dear guests of the Liebermann Villa,

Making Max Liebermann's appointments with Ullstein photographers at the location of these meetings the subject of an exhibition holds many possibilities – that much was certain from the beginning. For in addition to the meetings in Liebermann's studio on Pariser Platz, the Landhaus am Wannsee always offered contemporary visitors space for conversation, for contemplation, for skillful exchange – and for the pictorial motifs of the photographic portraits that we can see and also explore here today in selection.

One possibility: to trace the various occasions and genesis of the photographs. Another is to trace the careers of first-rate image authors, their motivation and implementation of a specific image theme. In addition, the photographs also enable us today to bring the artist personality Max Liebermann, his family, his environment and his work closer to the viewer.

The Ullstein publishing house's approach to Liebermann came under various auspices. Reviewers like Max Osborn gave shape to the respect of a cosmopolitan and highly successful publishing house towards the artist. In-house publications such as Die Dame or the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung gave art historian Max Friedländer a voice, and they naturally published the photographs of this exhibition here. In addition, there was a personal interest on the part of the Ullstein family, who acquired Liebermann's painting Grandmother and Granddaughter in 1923. This work can also be seen in the exhibition, as part of the permanent exhibition of the Liebermann Villa.

At Ullstein-Verlag, the artistic director Kurt Safranski and the editor-in-chief Kurt Korff had been working in a responsible position since 1913 and since 1905, and they not only consistently opened up to photography, but also used and challenged it in a pioneering way. Using the expressive power of modern photography, especially from the 1920s, for the publications required a great deal of innovation and inspiration on all sides. From a purely organizational point of view, for example, the ten independent studios established at Ullstein around 1929 speak of this. They were one of the guarantors for the effectiveness of the published images and for the decisive coming together of image and text authors.

This exhibition also offers the opportunity to draw attention to the Ullstein photographic collection, which belongs to ullstein bild/Axel Springer Syndication. It deserves our greatest attention! For, from a publishing, photographic and artistic point of view, it offers immensely much of what we need for a perspective-rich breakdown of international contemporary and photographic history. One thing is certain: This collection brings together world-renowned photojournalism from several eras, unique works, and Ullstein history.

Thanks to – I may name him first – the now outgoing Managing Director of Syndication, Mr. Torsten Hoch, for his many years of trust in the exhibition work in our house. Our great thanks for this exhibition cooperation go to the Liebermann Villa: Dr. Lucy Wasensteiner for the "spark" and the joint development of ideas, Viktoria Bernadette Krieger for the unconditional immersion in the subject of Ullstein & Photography, Miriam Barnitz for the prudent public relations and communication. It was, and it is a great pleasure!

Many thanks!

In addition to the public tours, there are the following "Talks on the Exhibition" in the Liebermann Villa:

• April 13, 2023 at 6:30PM: Press Photography in the Weimar Republic / with Anna Rosemann and Prof. Annette Vowinckel
• May 11, 2023 at 6.30PM: The History of the House of Ullstein / with Phoebe Kornfeld, Geoffrey Layton and Dr. Katrin Bomhoff
• June 22, 2023 at 6.30PM: Liebermann, Portraits and Portrait Photography / with Katja Schumann

The exhibition is accompanied by the catalogue "Meeting Liebermann. Fotoporträts aus der Sammlung Ullstein" in German with numerous illustrations, a foreword by Dr. Johannes Nathan, and essays and work texts by Viktoria Krieger, Dr. Lucy Wasensteiner, and Dr. Katrin Bomhoff (45 pages, 40 illustrations, Max Liebermann Society, €15.00). Available in the museum store of the Liebermann Villa or via online store.

Copyright images: Thomas Lingens