Bernd and Hilla Becher

Two silver prints, each signed and dated in black ink by Bernd Becher in the lower right corner. With the artist's copyright stamp on the verso. Mounted and framed. 

Acquired directly from the Artists, circa 1968
Sotheby's, London, Contemporary Art, Evening, 23 June 2004, lot 18

B. and H. Becher, Anonyme Skulpturen: Eine Typologie Technischer Bauten, Art Press, 1970, pp. 23, 44, 58
T. de Duve, Bernd & Hilla Becher: Basic Forms, teNeues, 1999, cover and pl. 8
Bernd & Hilla Becher: Typologien Industrieller Bauten, Schirmer/Mosel, 2003, pls. 20, 23
Bernd & Hilla Becher: Basic Forms of Industrial Buildings, Thames & Hudson, 2005, p. 33
S. Lange, Bernd and Hilla Becher: Life and Work, MIT, 2007, p. 163, pl. 4

Both prints are on glossy paper, and are in overall very good condition. 1965 print: With an approximate 2.5 inch crease in the lower right quadrant, random superficial light scratches, handling marks and small minor dents, only visible in raking light. With undulation the centre left and centre right sides of the paper, most visible from the verso. 1967 print: With two small areas of retouching in the upper centre and centre right quadrant, two small areas of debris on the surface in the lower quadrant, random handling marks and hairline scratches, only visible in raking light. With undulation to both both sides of the paper, mostly on the right, and most visible from the verso.
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The Becher's architecture of industrialisation was captured in a rigorous and formalist manner that defined a new style in photography. While in the process of cataloguing these buildings, they discovered a new approach to beauty. Buried behind the apparent unattractiveness of such monuments, the use of repetition in their typologies allowed the viewer to find beauty in the details of each piece through the functionality of industrial design.