Milan, a major exhibition on 20th century German photography at the Prada Foundation

From April 3 to July 14, 2025 Fondazione Prada is hosting the exhibition Typologien. Photography in 20th-century Germany. Curated by Susanne Pfeffer, art historian and director of the MUSEUM MMK FÜR MODERNE KUNST in Frankfurt, the exhibition project is intended to be an extended survey devoted to 20th-century German photography.

The project applies the principle of “typology,” originated in the 17th and 18th centuries in botany to classify and study plants, developed by photography since the early 20th century and established in German photography during the 20th century. Paradoxically, the proposed formal principle makes it possible to establish unexpected similarities between German artists of different generations while revealing individual approaches to photography.

The exhibition follows a typological rather than chronological order, bringing together more than 600 photographic works by 25 artists with the aim of reconstructing a century of photography in Germany, such as Bernd and Hilla Becher, Sibylle Bergemann, Karl Blossfeldt, Ursula Böhmer, Christian Borchert, Margit Emmrich, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Isa Genzken, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Lotte Jacobi, Jochen Lempert, Simone Nieweg, Sigmar Polke, Gerhard Richter, Heinrich Riebesehl, Thomas Ruff, August Sander, Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Thomas Struth, Wolfgang Tillmans, Rosemarie Trockel, Umbo (Otto Umbehr) and Marianne Wex. A system of hanging walls that divides the exhibition space into geometric partitions suggests unexpected connections between artistic practices that are different but share a common principle or intention of classification.

As Susanne Pfeffer states, “Only through juxtaposition and direct comparison is it possible to discover what is individual and what is universal, normative or real. Differences attest to the richness of nature and the human imagination: the fern, the cow, the human being, the ear, the bus stop, the water tank, the stereo system, the museum. Type comparison lets differences and similarities emerge and captures specificities. Hitherto unknown or ignored aspects of nature, animals or objects, places and time become visible and recognizable.”

In photography, applying typologies implies affirming the equivalence between images and the absence of any form of hierarchy in terms of subjects represented, themes, genres and sources. However, typologies is an extremely problematic and complex concept that operates in a paradoxical condition. On the one hand, this approach allows the systematic documentation of people and objects based on extreme objectivity; on the other hand, typology corresponds to an individual and arbitrary choice, a disturbing and potentially subversive action.

The hypothesis that photography plays a fundamental role in defining specific phenomena, but also in organizing and classifying a plurality of visible manifestations, remains a vital force in today’s artistic investigations interpreting the complexity of our social and cultural realities. With the spread of digital images and practices, the idea of typology continues to be challenged and redefined by contemporary photographers and artists.

As Susanne Pfeffer points out, “The unique quality, the individual element seem to converge into a global mass, into the ubiquitous universality of things. The Internet makes it possible to create typologies within seconds. This is precisely the key moment for artists to observe these phenomena more closely.” As Pfeffer further explains, “When the present seems to have abandoned the future, we need to look more closely at the past. When everything seems to be shouting and becoming more and more brutal, it is crucial to take pause and use silence to see and think more clearly. When differences are no longer perceived as something else, but are turned into divisive elements, it is necessary to recognize what we have in common. Typologies allow us to identify undeniable similarities and subtle differences.”

For all information, you can visit the official website of the Prada Foundation.

Photo by Roberto Marossi. Courtesy of Fondazione Prada

Milan, a major exhibition on 20th century German photography at the Prada Foundation

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