Leni Riefenstahl

(German, 1902–2003)

Leni Riefenstahl was a German actress and director known for her Nazi propaganda films Triumph of the Will (1935) and Olympia (1938). The controversial nature of her relationship with Adolf Hitler cast a long shadow over the career. Despite this, Riefenstahl’s work remains a premier example of pioneering cinematography techniques, including tracking shots and slow motion. “Where is my guilt? I can regret. I can regret that I made the party film, Triumph of the Will, in 1934. But I cannot regret that I lived in that time,” she once explained. “No anti-Semitic word has ever crossed my lips. I was never anti-Semitic. I did not join the party.” Born Helene Bertha Amalie Riefenstahl on August 22, 1902 in Berlin, Germany, she pursued dancing as child, going on to perform interpretive dance around Germany as a young woman. A foot injury led Riefenstahl to end her dancing career and she began acting in mid-1920s. She famously starred in the successful G.W. Pabst film The White Hell of Piz Palü (1929). Transitioning from acting to directing, she was introduced to the Führer during the early 1930s. Smitten with the young filmmaker, Hitler offered her the rare opportunity to direct films for the Nazi party. After World War II, Reifenstahl was the subject of four denazification proceedings, which found her to be an active Nazi sympathizer, though innocent of any war crimes. During the latter half of her career, the artist spent much of her time in Africa, documenting the indigenous Nuba tribe in Sudan in a series of striking color photographs. She died at the age of 101 on September 8, 2002 in Pöckling, Germany.

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Photography

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Arnold Fanck

Leni Riefenstahl Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
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Leni Riefenstahl (532 results)
Massai man, 1963

Leni Riefenstahl

Massai man, 1963

Sale Date: June 10, 2020

Auction Closed

Portfolio mit 12 Drucken, erschienen zum 100....

Leni Riefenstahl

Portfolio mit 12 Drucken, erschienen zum 100....

Sale Date: March 27, 2020

Auction Closed

Pole Vaulter, 1937

Leni Riefenstahl

Pole Vaulter, 1937

Sale Date: April 8, 2020

Auction Closed

High Diver Olympics, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

High Diver Olympics, 1936

Sale Date: April 8, 2020

Auction Closed

Olympia, 1938 - Diving, 1938

Leni Riefenstahl

Olympia, 1938 - Diving, 1938

Sale Date: January 15, 2020

Auction Closed

Selected film stills from

Leni Riefenstahl

Selected film stills from "Triumph des..., 1935

Sale Date: December 4, 2019

Auction Closed

Athlète finlandais, Jeux olympiques, Berlin, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

Athlète finlandais, Jeux olympiques, Berlin, 1936

Sale Date: November 22, 2019

Auction Closed

Der Hochspringer, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

Der Hochspringer, 1936

Sale Date: November 29, 2019

Auction Closed

Nuba Portfolio, 2002

Leni Riefenstahl

Nuba Portfolio, 2002

Sale Date: November 29, 2019

Auction Closed

Japanese athletes warming up, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

Japanese athletes warming up, 1936

Sale Date: November 27, 2019

Auction Closed

Japanese athletes watch the competition, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

Japanese athletes watch the competition, 1936

Sale Date: November 27, 2019

Auction Closed

Set of Olympia Photographs, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

Set of Olympia Photographs, 1936

Sale Date: November 27, 2019

Auction Closed

After the jump

Leni Riefenstahl

After the jump

Sale Date: November 8, 2019

Auction Closed

Pole Vaulter, Japan, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

Pole Vaulter, Japan, 1936

Sale Date: October 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Pole Vaulter, 1937

Leni Riefenstahl

Pole Vaulter, 1937

Sale Date: October 16, 2019

Auction Closed

Discus Thrower, German Olympics, 1938

Leni Riefenstahl

Discus Thrower, German Olympics, 1938

Sale Date: October 17, 2019

Auction Closed

High Diver Olympics, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

High Diver Olympics, 1936

Sale Date: October 4, 2019

Auction Closed

Hurdle jumper, 1936

Leni Riefenstahl

Hurdle jumper, 1936

Sale Date: September 11, 2019

Auction Closed

Autoportrait dans le film «L'ivresse blanche», 1931

Leni Riefenstahl

Autoportrait dans le film «L'ivresse blanche», 1931

Sale Date: June 24, 2019

Auction Closed

Liebestanz (Love dance) from the Nuba series, 1975

Leni Riefenstahl

Liebestanz (Love dance) from the Nuba series, 1975

Sale Date: June 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Natu und Tukami im Hirtenlager (Natu..., 1962–1973

Leni Riefenstahl

Natu und Tukami im Hirtenlager (Natu..., 1962–1973

Sale Date: June 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Young Nubian man, 1963

Leni Riefenstahl

Young Nubian man, 1963

Sale Date: June 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Two Nubian men, 1963

Leni Riefenstahl

Two Nubian men, 1963

Sale Date: June 5, 2019

Auction Closed

Leni Riefenstahl

"Auftauchen", 1936

Sale Date: May 29, 2019

Auction Closed

English (US)

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