Candida Höfer: Weimar

The German city of Weimar, home to illustrious Renaissance and Baroque artists such as Cranach and Bach, became a major place of pilgrimage in the 18th century. With her famous library and with distinguished literary circles, Duchess Anna Amalia laid the foundations for the flourishing of literary expression in the city. Her son, Duke Karl August, called Herder, Goethe and Schiller to his court. With them, Weimar became the center of German intellectual life, the "city of poets and thinkers"--a reputation Weimar has nurtured to the present day. For her libraries project, Candida Hofer photographed the Duchess Anna Amalia Library in 2004. Shortly afterwards it fell victim to a fire. In summer 2006, she focused on historic interior spaces: the Goethe National Museum, the Residential Palace and other castles, as well as various theaters. Hofer's photographic style perfectly captures Weimar's special aura. Her strictly composed pictures seem to contain the spirit of the Enlightenment.