Los 4177

Mantz, Werner
(1901-1983)Schule Köln-Zollstock, architect Helmuth Wirminghaus

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Aus dem Katalog
Fotografie des 19. – 21. Jahrhunderts (Katalog nur online verfügbar)
Auktionsdatum 29.11.2025

Schule Köln-Zollstock, architect Helmuth Wirminghaus. 1929. 2 vintage gelatin silver prints, 1 on matte paper. 17,2 x 20,7 cm and 22,5 x 17 cm. Each with photographer’s stamp and copyright stamp, annotated in pencil on the verso.

Werner Mantz was one of the foremost photographers of the Neues Bauen movement, documenting Cologne’s modernist architecture of the 1920s with striking clarity and precision. After opening his own studio in 1921, he initially focused on portraiture, photographing notable intellectuals, artists, and politicians. From 1926 onward, Mantz received major commissions from leading architects such as Wilhelm Riphahn, Peter Franz Nöcker, and Caspar Maria Grod - key figures in implementing Konrad Adenauer’s progressive housing policies for a modern Cologne. His architectural photographs, often published in Bauwelt, Die Form, and Bauwarte, are marked by their stark objectivity and geometric rigor. With their deserted streets and pristine façades, these images elevated Cologne’s architectural identity and helped cement its reputation as a center of avant-garde design. – One print with small ink spot in sky area and a few light handling dents, the other print in near excellent condition.

Lit.: Compare: Museum Ludwig. Werner Mantz (exhibition catalog). Cologne: Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, 2000, p. 198 ff.