Josef Breitenbach

(American/German, 1896–1984)

Josef Breitenbach was a German artist best known for his experimental photography. In his work, the artist played with a number of techniques, including bleaching, color printing, montage, solarization, and double exposure, to explore the ways in which light and color could alter an image. For example, in his work Shiela, the artist used overexposure to enhance the contrast between his model’s pale skin and dark hair. Born on April 3, 1896 in Munich, Germany to a wine merchant family of Jewish descent, he went on to study philosophy and art history at the Ludwig-Maximillian University in Munich. After completing his education, he began photographing for the Social Democratic Party in Bavaria after World War I. Breitenbach fled Germany during the Nazi’s rise to power due to his political allegiances and Jewish heritage in August of 1933, after nearly being arrested by the Strurmabteilung (SA). After living in Paris for six years, he immigrated to New York, where he was included in Edward Steichen’s 1955 exhibition “The Family of Man” at The Museum of Modern Art. Breitenbach died on October 7, 1984 in New York, NY. Today, Breitenbach’s works are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among others.

Josef Breitenbach Artworks

Josef Breitenbach (313 results)

James Joyce

Josef Breitenbach

Sale Date: April 30, 2021

Auction Closed

Montparnasse, Paris, 1937-8, 1937–1938

Josef Breitenbach

Montparnasse, Paris, 1937-8, 1937–1938

Sale Date: July 29, 2020

Auction Closed

James Joyce, Paris, 1937

Josef Breitenbach

James Joyce, Paris, 1937

Sale Date: June 29, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled (from the series: This beautiful..., 1953

Josef Breitenbach

Untitled (from the series: This beautiful..., 1953

Sale Date: December 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Badende, 1950

Josef Breitenbach

Badende, 1950

Sale Date: December 7, 2020

Auction Closed

Jeune fille en Deuil [Actress Edith..., 1932

Josef Breitenbach

Jeune fille en Deuil [Actress Edith..., 1932

Sale Date: July 9, 2020

Auction Closed

Untitled (nude), 1953

Josef Breitenbach

Untitled (nude), 1953

Sale Date: December 4, 2019

Auction Closed

A Group of Four Abstract Photographs (4 works), 1946

Josef Breitenbach

A Group of Four Abstract Photographs (4 works), 1946

Sale Date: October 4, 2019

Auction Closed

Lichtbaum, 1932

Josef Breitenbach

Lichtbaum, 1932

Sale Date: June 26, 2019

Auction Closed

James Joyce, Paris, 1927

Josef Breitenbach

James Joyce, Paris, 1927

Sale Date: June 13, 2019

Auction Closed

Seven Portraits, 1976

Josef Breitenbach

Seven Portraits, 1976

Sale Date: February 7, 2019

Auction Closed

James Joyce, Paris, 1937, 1937

Josef Breitenbach

James Joyce, Paris, 1937, 1937

Sale Date: July 19, 2018

Auction Closed

Der Schauspieler Alexander Moissi, 1932

Josef Breitenbach

Der Schauspieler Alexander Moissi, 1932

Sale Date: June 5, 2018

Auction Closed

Sibylle Binder and actor and singer Paul..., 1933

Josef Breitenbach

Sibylle Binder and actor and singer Paul..., 1933

Sale Date: March 9, 2018

Auction Closed

'Anwältin in Paris’ (A lawyer in Paris)

Josef Breitenbach

'Anwältin in Paris’ (A lawyer in Paris)

Sale Date: March 9, 2018

Auction Closed

Seven Portraits /A Portfolio of Seven..., 1935–1971

Josef Breitenbach

Seven Portraits /A Portfolio of Seven..., 1935–1971

Sale Date: January 26, 2018

Auction Closed

Nude bathers, New Jersey, 1950

Josef Breitenbach

Nude bathers, New Jersey, 1950

Sale Date: December 6, 2017

Auction Closed

The actor, 1932

Josef Breitenbach

The actor, 1932

Sale Date: June 14, 2017

Auction Closed

Helene Weigel in exile in Paris, 1938

Josef Breitenbach

Helene Weigel in exile in Paris, 1938

Sale Date: June 14, 2017

Auction Closed

Paris, 1933

Josef Breitenbach

Sale Date: June 1, 2016

Auction Closed

Indonesia, 1961, 1961

Josef Breitenbach

Indonesia, 1961, 1961

Sale Date: April 17, 2016

Auction Closed

Portrait of James Joyce, 1937

Josef Breitenbach

Portrait of James Joyce, 1937

Sale Date: January 19, 2016

Auction Closed

Nude in a stream, USA, 1950

Josef Breitenbach

Nude in a stream, USA, 1950

Sale Date: December 13, 2015

Auction Closed

Sayoko (female nude), 1953

Josef Breitenbach

Sayoko (female nude), 1953

Sale Date: December 2, 2015

Auction Closed

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