Josef Breitenbach

photographer

b. 3 April 1896, Munich, Germany^[1] d. 7 October 1984, New York City, USA^[1] active 1932–1984

Josef Breitenbach (1896–1984) was a German-born photographer who became a significant figure in the Surrealist movement. Born into a Jewish family in Munich, he opened his first studio in 1932 before fleeing Nazi persecution in 1934. He spent six years in Paris, where he collaborated with André Breton's circle and developed innovative techniques including superimposition, montage, solarization, and early color photography using bleaching and toning processes. After escaping to New York in 1941, he became a prominent educator, teaching at Cooper Union (1946–1966) and the New School for Social Research (1949–1975). His work is characterized by its stark aesthetic and manipulated imagery, often capturing the atmosphere of urban life and theatrical portraits. Posthumously, his archive was established at the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona.^[1,2]

• Surrealism
• Urban Life
• Theatrical Portraits
• Color Photography