- 12th February − 10th July 2011 | Modern Two (Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art) | Admission free
In the 1920s and early 1930s, a new approach to photography – use of close focus, a greater objectivity and a concentration on modern life – was pioneered in Germany. It closely paralleled the New Objectivity (Neue Sachlichkeit) movement in painting, graphics and film, which included the work of Max Beckmann, Otto Dix, George Grosz and Christian Schad.
One of the major figures of the new German photography and a key figure in the history of photography in general was August Sander. Best known for his portraits, which formed the basis of his commercial studio, he set out on an ambitious project to photograph all layers of German society from the farmers and country-people, through the workers, craftsmen, technicians and industrialists in the towns and cities, on to people who were sick and disabled.