Hugo Erfurth; B黿enstein & Company; Gotthard K黨l; paper; heliogravure; image size: height: 17;3 cm; width: 12;2 cm; signed and dated: recto o. r.: exposed: Hugo Erfurth 1910; inscribed: recto below the picture: in engraved typewriting u. r.: Georg B黿enstein & Comp; Berlin hel; Photogr. Mitteilungen; 1910; u. l.: HUGO ERFURTH; DRESDEN; upper right in lead: old inv.- No.; and with black felt-tip pen: Hugo Erfurth; Dresden; 'Bildnis Gotthard K黨l'; heliogravure; after gum print; with black ink: Repro: 38988; stamp: verso below: cabinet and box stamp; handwritten in lead: 26; 30; portrait photography; old man; accessories; accessories of clothing; At the beginning of the 20th century; the collection was inscribed with the words: 'Hugo Erfurth; Dresden'. At the beginning of the 20th century; Hugo Erfurth was one of the most famous professional photographers in Germany; alongside Rudolph D黨rkoop and Nicola Perscheid. After completing an apprenticeship as a photographer; he opened his own studio in Dresden at the age of only 22. Soon Erfurth orientated himself towards the up-and-coming pictorialist photography; participated in numerous amateur photographic exhibitions from 1894 onwards and managed to make a name for himself both as an artistically ennobled amateur and successful professional photographer. Portraits are central to his work; which he began taking in 1906 in his new studio; a classicist palace; in a stylishly elegant ambience; appealing to the wealthy bourgeoisie. He also produced numerous portraits of famous personalities; including K鋞he Kollwitz; Otto Dix and Joachim Ringelnatz. While his studies around 1905 still show full-length figures depicted in an atmospheric way; from the 1920s onward the focus is on the face; which is photographed against a simple monochrome background. Here; his pictorial approach corresponds to the portrait of classical modernism; whereby the technique of oil printing emphasizes the softness and materiality of the pigmen