20th Century Photography: Museum Ludwig Cologne (Taschen)

Published by Taschen America, 2005, softcover, illustrated, 760 pages, 14.4 cms x 19.6 cms x 5 cms, condition: as new.

Images of the century (TASCHEN's 25th anniversary special edition) The history of photography began some 150 years ago, but only relatively recently has it been fully recognised as a medium in its own right. Cologne's Museum Ludwig was the first museum of contemporary art to devote a substantial section to international photography. The L. Fritz Gruber collection, from which this book is drawn, is one of the most important in Germany and one of the most representative anywhere in the world, constituting the core of the museum's holdings. This book provides a fascinating insight into the collection's rich diversity; from conceptual art to abstraction to reportage, all of the major movements and genres are represented via a vast selection of the century's most remarkable photographs. From Ansel Adams to Piet Zwart, over 850 works are presented in alphabetical order by photographer, with descriptive texts and photographers' biographical details.

I am giving this 5 stars, not because of the photography thats displayed in this book as much as for it exposing me to a number of photographers who I have begun to follow ever since. In some instances, this book shows some of the more famous works by the various photographers, but not in many. I dont know if its a copyright thing or what, but the book does provide the reader/viewer with a good notion of whos work you may want to further look into, and for that I love the book. Lastly, I really appreciated how it truly is 20th century photography and not photography of one genrethis book covers the entire spectrum of photography over the entire century. Loved this book and still reference it often.