The exhibition brings together the photographic work of the two sisters Lotte and Ruth Jacobi. Born into a dynasty of photographers, they run the Jacobi photo studio together from 1931, in the middle of west Berlin on Kurfürstendamm, where the avant-garde is at home.
Lotte Jacobi became famous as a representative of “New Photography” as early as the 1920s, while her younger sister Ruth remained largely unknown. For the first time, the photographic work – consist- ing of portraits, still lifes, reports, photographs and experimental shots – of this fourth generation of a family of photographers, is united in one exhibition. In addition to black-and-white photographs, letters, personal documents, family photos and texts on history allow a deep insight into the world of the sis- ters.
Lotte Jacobi (1896-1990) took over her father’s studio in 1927 after completing a two-year training course as a photographer at the State Higher Technical School for Photo Technology in Munich. She is already known in the 1920s with her portraits, among others. by Albert Einstein, Käthe Kollwitz, Lotte Lenya or Klaus and Erika Mann.
Ruth Jacobi (1899-1995) was in the shadow of her sister all her life. She received her training at the Photography Institute of the Lette Association in Berlin. Her work includes portraits, still lifes, reportage and travel photographs as well as plant and experimental photographs. To this day, the oeuvre of Ruth Jacobi has been little researched.
In addition to the black and white photographs, numerous letters, personal documents and photos of the Jacobi family from their time in West Prussia, Berlin and the USA are shown. This creates a personal picture of one of the oldest families of photographers in pre-war Germany
Ruth and Lotte Jacobi
September 26th – January 10th 2021
Freundeskreis Willy-Brandt-Haus e.V.
Stresemannstr. 28
10963 Berlin
Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Free entry | ID required
Access only with a time slot ticket, booking online at www.fkwbh.eventbrite.com
The exhibition takes place as part of the
EMOP Berlin – European Month of Photography www.emop-berlin.eu
