Thomas Struth takes mesmerizing photographs that express his belief in photography as “a tool of scientific origin for psychological exploration.” He began taking pictures in 1976, influenced by his studies with three of the most important contemporary German artists of the time—painter and mixed media artist Gerhard Richter and photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. After his early black-and-white series of deadpan views of cityscapes eerily devoid of any signs of urban life, in 1989, Struth began work on his best-known cycle, the “Museum Photographs.” In these large-format, color-saturated photographs, Struth captures individuals and crowds looking at famous works of Western art in the world’s most popular museums. While looking at the “Museum Photographs,” viewers are confronted with the act of looking itself and the social complexities of seeing and being seen.
Thomas Struth takes mesmerizing photographs that express his belief in photography as “a tool of scientific origin for psychological exploration.” He began taking pictures in 1976, influenced by his studies with three of the most important contemporary German artists of the time—painter and mixed media artist Gerhard Richter and photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher. After his early black-and-white series of deadpan views of cityscapes eerily devoid of any signs of urban life, in 1989, Struth began work on his best-known cycle, the “Museum Photographs.” In these large-format, color-saturated photographs, Struth captures individuals and crowds looking at famous works of Western art in the world’s most popular museums. While looking at the “Museum Photographs,” viewers are confronted with the act of looking itself and the social complexities of seeing and being seen.