It was two decades ago that I first came into contact
with the work of Werner Mantz. At the time I was studying photography at the Kunstakademie in Hasselt, Belgium
and had asked an acquaintance of mine to model for some portraits I had been
assigned to do. My subject happened to be a daughter of Dutch architect Frits Peutz,
one of the leading lights of the modernist movement in the
early 20th century, such as Bauhaus. When I presented my model with the photographs
from our studio session, she was so enchanted by the results that as a token of her gratitude she gave me a
photo book with a retrospective of Werner Mantz’s works1. The photographs included
several studies of her father’s most famous creations, which Peutz had commissioned
Mantz to photograph, not least the Glaspaleis in Heerlen. The
Glaspaleis was put on the list of the
1000 most important buildings of the
20th century by the International Union of Architects in 1999. It was a kind gesture on her part and I treasure the book (and its photographs) in much
the same way as a footballer might prize a cup-winner’s medal.
Recently, I was asked to translate a number of texts into English for a catalogue dedicated to Mantz’s work in the coalmining region of Limburg (de Mijnstreek). I was delighted and of course jumped at the chance. The catalogue was being published to coincide with an exhibition in Heerlen, organised as part of the year-long Jaar van de Mijnen event (‘year of the mines’) to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the coalmines being closed down and to throw some light on the region’s industrial heritage. Like Peutz, Mantz was a man of his time, his work likewise reflecting a passion for modernist architecture which is clearly visible in the works on display.
Below is the translation of an extract from an
introductory text to the catalogue written by exhibition curator, Flos
Wildschut. It provides us with an interesting insight into Mantz and his work
in the Mijnstreek …
In the 1930s, the German
photographer Werner Mantz (b. Cologne 1901 d. Maastricht 1983) was commissioned to produce an extensive
series of photographs documenting the Limburg
coalmines. At the time, Mantz had two photographic studios, one in Cologne and the other in Maastricht, which he ran together with his
colleague Karl Mergenbuam. Mantz had been visiting Maastricht
on a regular basis since 1926 and his interest for contemporary architecture in
the Netherlands
led him to decide in 1932 to set up a photographic studio in the city. For
Mantz, who had a Jewish background, the political situation in Germany at the
time also played a role in this decision. He kept both studios until 1938.
After the Kristallnacht in the November of that year, he closed down his studio
in Cologne to settle permanently in Maastricht.
Internationally, Werner Mantz is considered
to be an important photographer in the field of portraiture and architectural
photography. In Cologne
he produced photographic portraits of key figures from politics, science and
art. He also made a name for himself as a photographer of Nieuwe Bouwen, a movement for modernist architecture, which he documented in line with
the ideas of the Nieuwe
Zakelijkheid ('New
Objectivity'). His subject matter he portrayed in all its beauty and
simplicity, with meticulous attention to structure and form. Famous German
architects, such as Wilhelm Riphahn, Clemens Klotz and Erich Mendelsohn, asked
Mantz to photograph their work. Likewise in the Netherlands, he attracted the
attention of architects. He was commissioned to do work, amongst others, for
Frits Peutz, Toon Swinkels, Jos Wielders and Alfons Boosten. In 1936, Mantz
photographed the Schunck department store, also known
as the ‘Glaspaleis’ (glass palace), for Peutz. In the two photographs taken of the roof
terrace at Schunck, the Limburg mines are
clearly visible in the background. Here, modern architecture becomes one
through the combination of industry and technology.
Both photographs might
be considered as forerunners to the two key commissions that Mantz was given in 1938 to record major works of
industry and technology in Limburg. The provincial ministry of transport commissioned
him to document the regional network of roads. In two of the photographs from
the 'roads' series included in this publication, the mines can be seen in the
background. The Dutch state mines also commissioned him to photograph various
mines in the region. At the end of the 1930s, Mantz began to concentrate more
and more on portraiture photography in his Maastricht studio. From that time onwards,
his standout work would be portraits of young children, often dressed for their
first communion, using natural light. As a result, for a long time his work of
the 1920s and 1930s faded into obscurity.
A change in this came about in 1975.
It was in that year that the Cologne-based art group, Kölnischer Kunstverein, organised an art exhibition entitled ‘Vom
Dadamax bis zum Grüngürtel’. This helped
put Mantz's photographs into the context of international photography for the
first time and led to a rediscovery of his work. By that time, Mantz was an old
man. He had closed his studio in 1972 and retired to live in Eijsden.
A year after the exhibition in Cologne, Rudolf Kicken organised the first solo exhibition
of Mantz's work in his Lichttropfen gallery in Aachen. A major breakthrough ensued in 1977
when a series of ten of his photographs entitled 'Mijnen in
Limburg' were included in a specially
compiled exhibition to celebrate 150 years of photography at Documenta 6 in Kassel, organised by Klaus Honnef, head of exhibitions
at the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn. In the catalogue, the photos were placed
alongside the work of Germaine Krull. During this period, the aforementioned
museum in Bonn and the Bonnefantenmuseum in Maastricht both acquired
photographs by Mantz for their collections. Nowadays, Mantz's work appears in
many collections owned by museums at home and abroad.
Since the renewed focus on Werner
Mantz in the 1970s, his work has been regularly seen and discussed in
exhibitions and publications. These also included photos of the mines.
Nevertheless, until now Mantz's series of photographs of the Limburg
mines has never been seen or published in its entirety. The ‘Werner
Mantz in de Mijnstreek’ exhibition and publication brings an
end to this. On the basis of archival research and an inventory of various
(inter)national photograph collections, an attempt has been made to reconstruct
Werner Mantz's commission from the Dutch state mines using existing vintage
prints. To this end, no new prints have been taken from negatives or
photographic plates, which are kept in the Nederlands Foto
Museum. However, a number
of contact prints have been included in the exhibition and catalogue. These
prints and negatives have been researched to identify the coalmines which are
pictured and to gain a better understanding of the way in which Mantz worked.
…
The quest to find the photographs
which Werner Mantz produced of the mines in Limburg
resulted in 79 assorted prints of vintage quality. In fact, Mantz's body of
work on the coalmines appears to be much wider than the remit he had been
originally given by the state mines.
They testify to the special way in
which Mantz went about his work. The style of Nieuwe Zakelijkheid ('New
Objectivity'), which he had adopted during his time in Cologne, was used here too: the emphasis is
on form and structure, experimentation with light and shade, with particular
attention to aesthetics. But his work appears to contain more dynamism too. In
the series of the various mines, we see a photographer at work who tries to
capture the soul of architecture in cinematographic style. Together with Mantz
we - as viewers - can reconnoitre the pitheads or climb one of the tall
smokestacks in order to study the construction of another from a different
perspective, in both space and time. First, we get a bird's-eye view of the
mines and then zoom in on the details.
Mantz’s photos of the Limburg mines represent an important documentary record
of their time. Through his eyes, we can observe the reality of the 1930s: a
glorious industrial era which we look back on now from a completely different
perspective. Back then, no one was aware of carbon emissions, climate change
and lung disease. Nevertheless, it's not just about the historical dimension.
Mantz's photographs demonstrate a truly documentary approach, in which the
subject matter is meticulously researched, with the power of the images playing
as much a role as their documentary significance.
Extract from a translation from the original Dutch of
the introductory text to the 'Werner
Mantz in de Mijnstreek' exhibition catalogue, written by Flos Wildschut, exhibition
curator.
The
exhibition in SCHUNCK* Collectors House, Heerlen
runs from 20 September to 25 October 2015, where the accompanying catalogue (ISBN:
978-90-74106-41-2) can also be purchased.
Photograph: Emma state mine, Brunssum/Hoensbroek, ©Werner Mantz / Collection of the Nederlandse Fotomuseum, Rotterdam
1 Werner Mantz / Fotograaf, published by Drukkerij Rosbeek BV, November 1990 (ISBN 90-73367-02-6)
Photograph: Emma state mine, Brunssum/Hoensbroek, ©Werner Mantz / Collection of the Nederlandse Fotomuseum, Rotterdam
1 Werner Mantz / Fotograaf, published by Drukkerij Rosbeek BV, November 1990 (ISBN 90-73367-02-6)
For
more information on Werner Mantz (in Dutch): https://wernermantz.wordpress.com
See also: De geur van kolen
