Eisernhardter Tiefbau Mine, Eisern, Germany

1955–56

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

Bernd Becher was smitten at an early age by the unorthodox beauty of the vernacular mining architecture that occupied the landscape where he spent his childhood. In these two meticulous drawings, the determined artist recorded each wooden beam, window, ventilation shaft, tower, and roof detail, taking care to show the relationships among these elements. He soon learned that the camera—if operated with specific constraints—could produce results much more effectively. A year after he completed these drawings and related photographs, the mine closed permanently. Archaeologists believe that iron ore had been extracted from the Eisernhardter site since 500 B.C.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Eisernhardter Tiefbau Mine, Eisern, Germany
Artist: Bernd Becher (German, 1931–2007)
Date: 1955–56
Medium: Graphite on paper
Dimensions: 16 9/16 × 22 1/4 in. (42 × 56.5 cm)
Frame: 24 5/8 × 30 1/2 in. (62.5 × 77.5 cm)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Estate Bernd & Hilla Becher, represented by Max Becher, courtesy Die Photographische Sammlung/SK Stiftung Kultur—Bernd & Hilla Becher Archive, Cologne.
Curatorial Department: Photographs