Meticulousness and elegance in Willy Zielke's photographs

September 18, 2020 at 10:23 hrs.
'Gespenst' (Ghost) by Willy Zeilke. PHOTO: Sotheby's
'Gespenst' (Ghost) by Willy Zeilke. PHOTO: Sotheby's

 

Willy Otto Zielke (1902-1989) was an outstanding photographer and film-maker of Polish origin who developed his career in Germany.

Once installed in Munich and after studying railway engineering in Russia, he enrolled in the Bavarian State School of Photography, where he served as a teacher from 1928.

Other relevant photographers stand out from this institution: Helmut Gernsheim, Peter Keetman, Juergen Teller and the Mexican Henry Bostelmann.

La photography Willy Zielke is characterized by the details in its composition, the perspective originality, and the sublime contrast between light and shadow.

Motifs that can be seen together in the portraits and studies he made of the female body.

Although his work focused on monochromatic tones, he also experimented with color images, in which he captured different ornamental and decorative objects, such as necklaces, pearls, fruits and flowers.

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Willy Zeilke in the movies

 

In 1932 he ventured into filmmaking and produced his first feature film entitled arbeitlos, documentary that portrayed the workers' strike.

Immersed in the world of cinema He was inclined to portray the social and industrial evolution of Germany.

Of his works they were recorded The truth, Tag der Freiheit-Unsere Wehrmacht, Das stahltier, Verzaubeter Niederrhein y Schöpfung ohne Ende.

Although Zeilke's filmography is not numerous, it contributed to the evolution of experimental filming and currently belongs to the catalog of different museums, including the MoMA.

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