Die Fotosammlung des Deutschen Theatermuseums ist mit ihren ca. 5 Millionen analogen Fotografien sowie weiteren digitalen Aufnahmen die weltweit größte Sammlung für Theaterfotografie.
of the German Theatre Museum
Die Fotosammlung des Deutschen Theatermuseums ist mit ihren ca. 5 Millionen analogen Fotografien sowie weiteren digitalen Aufnahmen die weltweit größte Sammlung für Theaterfotografie.
The theatre photography collection of the Deutsches Theatermuseum comprises over 20 estates as well as various small collections and historical holdings. Due to the focus on complete estates, some individual archives document all productions of one or more theatres in a city. The local focus of the collection is on theatres in Munich, Stuttgart and Berlin. Based on the mobility of the photographers, sub-collections cover numerous productions from Hamburg to Heidelberg, as well as international theatre events.
The holdings of the photo collection include all photographic material groups: Positives, negatives, slides, contacts and also digital images, from the beginning of photography right up to the present day.
The basis of the collection is the photo collection of the Munich actress and museum founder Clara Ziegler. Born in 1844, she utilised the advantages of the new medium of photography and had herself photographed many times in various roles and corresponding costumes.
Under the leadership of the museum's first two scientific directors, Prof. Dr Franz Rapp (1923-1935) and Dr Günter Schöne (1935-1971), the photo collection was constantly expanded. Museum director Dr Eckehart Nölle (1971-2002) made it a unique feature of the Deutsches Theatermuseum to include complete theatre photographic estates. This reorientation of the collection strategy began in 1971 with the purchase of the archive of the Munich theatre photographer Rudolf Betz. Further archives followed under Dr Claudia Blank, who took over the management of the now independent photo collection within the museum in 1983.
The earliest photographs in the DTM's theatre photography collection date from the middle of the 19th century. They are studio shots, as the poor lighting conditions in the theatres made it impossible to take photographs there. The long exposure times required the actors and actresses to strike a static pose. Carte-de-visite production saved time and material, as several shots could be exposed on one glass plate - photography became a mass medium. Stars at the end of the 19th century used this to disseminate their own image and their repertoire of roles by having themselves photographed in appropriate costumes. The larger format of the cabinet photo was followed at the end of the 19th century by the postcard, which could be distributed even more cheaply as a printed product and became enormously popular. The availability of the new medium of photography triggered a passion for collecting, which was reflected in collector's albums and cassettes. The DTM's collection includes a large number of such albums, some of which were owned by the museum's founder Clara Ziegler.
Theatre photographs are above all staging photographs. They show individual scenes of a production. In the sense of documentation, ideally both the stage set and the performers can be seen. The photograph captures a scene, gives an impression of the interaction and captures the atmosphere. The documentary character is closely linked to the public image: theatre photography is an important means of advertising a production in newspapers and other printed matter and a preview for the audience of the stars, aesthetics and dynamics of a performance. Print media in particular often demand portrait formats - but the stage as a classic landscape format can only be depicted in portrait format.
Many theatre photographers are familiar with the directors they work for and know the ensemble and the theatre well. In the 20th century, it was still common for theatre photographers to be permanently employed by a theatre or for freelance photographers to be involved in the preparations. In this way, photographs were also taken during the rehearsal process and off-stage to document the work at the theatre. Some theatres use these images specifically to give the audience a special insight into their work and distribute them via programme booklets or websites.
The choice of sections, the work with blurring, the decision to photograph from the auditorium or on the stage itself - each decade is characterised by conventions of image composition, closely tied to its respective technical possibilities. But the artistic signature of the photographers is also reflected in the images. Under the difficult lighting conditions of the stage space, the photographs have to speak for a performance. Some individual images became iconic shots of legendary productions, of which other visual evidence is missing. From the 1920s onwards, women were at least equally, if not dominantly, present in the field of theatre photography.