Hilde in Köln/Hilde in Cologne

 

I had come across Karl Hubbuch’s double portraits* of his wife Hilde some years ago. But more recently I’ve become more aware of Karl’s photographic work, and also that of Hilde herself. Hilde was a student of Karl’s at Karlsruhe and then went to the Bauhaus at Dessau where her photographic work shows the influence of Moholy Nagy. They divorced in 1932, which enabled Hilde (being Jewish) to flee the immanent Nazi regime to her home in Austria and thence to London and New York. She became a society portrait photographer and had work published in the New Yorker among other places.

Anyways. The couple visited Cologne in 1928 and Karl took a wonderful photograph of Hilde climbing a staircase wearing a magnificent overcoat. The photo really reminded me of my wife in the 1980s. The funky hairstyle, the round glasses and she sure would have worn a coat like that. 

So I’ve transported Hilde to the outdoors, down by the river with the twin towers of Köln Cathedral across the water.

* Hilde Twice I and Hilde Twice II were originally a single painting, Hilde 4 Times, But KH cut it in half after it got damaged in storage during the Nazi interegnum.