Paul W. John

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Paul W. John (born April 30, 1887 in Löbsch ( Danziger Bucht ), † April 23, 1966 in Berlin ) was a German photographer and landscape photographer .

Life

Little is known about his childhood and youth. The father emigrated to America and left the family in poor conditions. His mother took her own life. He received his first photographic camera in his senior year of school. After World War I , John decided to make a living as a photographer. In the years after 1925, however, his photographic activity was temporarily impaired by an iris inflammation. He died on April 23, 1966 in Berlin-Tiergarten . His wife, who was in need of care, survived him by more than 20 years and in 1987 left a large collection of original prints, negatives , manuscripts and documents.

plant

His published work almost completely describes German landscapes and cities. Despite his rather traditional frame of reference, John repeatedly amazes with bold lines and daring image details, which today identify him as a photographer of standing. His enthusiasm for architectural forms made him carefully register the urban changes with the camera. The difficult working conditions, especially during the Third Reich and the restrictive control of press photography, made his work difficult.

Despite all the adversities, his work created a multi-faceted archive of German topography over many years . In 2013, his estate came to the Deutsche Fotothek from a private collection . It contains around 9,000 vintage prints , including 222 exhibition prints and 5,000 glass and film negatives in various formats as well as 101 original manuscripts and a collection of documents.

Literature on Paul W. John

  • Rössler, Patrick (1999): Paul W. John photographs Germany , Stuttgart: edition 451 1999.
  • Frerk, Willy (1937): Paul W. John 50 years old . In: Photofreund (17), No. 8, p. 144.

Selection biography

  • John, Paul W. [1935]: On the Rhine, on the German Rhine . Berlin: Verlag Ludwig Simon.
  • Schmidt, Carl Walter (1931): Germany in Pictures. 186 photographs from German cities and landscapes . Berlin: Karl Voegels Verlag [with 118 illustrations by Paul W. John].
  • The beautiful Germany. 25 landscape images. 25 city views . Berlin: Zigarettenvertriebsverein, Zigarettenfabriken GmbH, undated [1930] Loose photo cards in a folder (7 × 9 cm) all photos by Paul W. John.

exhibition

  • Paul W. John photographs Germany, Kunsthaus Lempertz, Berlin, 25 September - 16 October 1999.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME John, Paul W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES John, Paul W. (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German photographer
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Löbsch
DATE OF DEATH April 23, 1966
Place of death Berlin