Product Description

Ninety seminal images by the world's greatest artists provide a stunning tour of the twentieth-century's greatest photographs. From the first image, Heinrich Zille's "Nine Boys Practising Handstands" to the final, Nan Goldin's backstage portrait of transvestite performers, this generously illustrated volume explores photography's impact on the way we experience the world. Every major photographer is represented in double-page spreads, which feature one full-page image, a brief essay on the artist, and additional images of note. Presented chronologically, photographs testify to the evolution of an art form that is continually reinventing itself. From portraiture, photojournalism, and abstraction, to landscape, fashion, and works that transcend genre labels, the selection of masterworks presented here demonstrates the beauty of photography in all its variety.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39218 in Books
• Published on: 2005-03-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

HotShoe, February/March 2005
‘…A stunning tour of the twentieth-century’s greatest camera work… demonstrates the beauty of photography in all its variety.’

Practical Photography, July 1, 2005
'….an excellent source of reference that offers just the right amount of information.'

About the Author
Peter Stepan is an art historian, author and editor of numerous books on twentieth-century and ethnographic art. He lives near Munich, Germany.

Customer Reviews

A good overview
The icons to which the title refers are the photographers of the 20th century rather than, necessarily, the images they make, though the two are closely linked of course. And overall I would say the book does a rather good job of identifying key photographers and typical examples of their work.

As it says on the cover of the book, there are a total of 160 images that cover some 95 photographers, presented chronologically through the 20th century. The majority of the examples are black and white, which is not surprising since that is the history of the medium.

The book starts with Heinrich Zille (pre 1900) and goes through to Martin Parr (2000). Each photographer is represented by a large example of their work and a number also get a smallish thumbnail as a second example. Good biographical sketches accompany each work and there is a short essay on photography in the 20th centruy by Peter Stepan, the book's editor. Difficult to think of anybody they have missed, though I note that they did not include Harry Callahan, something of a favourite of mine, nor Andreas Gursky, who might be too late of course.

Almost all the photographs chosen are of a very high standard, and some are outstanding examples. There are, perhaps, slightly too many German photographers that I have never heard of but, on the other hand, some of their work I really enjoyed and want to find out more about them. And that probably is the best way to regard this book, a good overview that will allow the reader that does not have a comprehensive knowledge of the history of photography and its practitioners to identify someone that they would like to know more about. It worked for me on this basis.

Photos of people during the earlier 20th century.
It is a fabulous book for black and white enthusiasts; however tends to be bland overall. It basically gives you a brief bio of the photographer, and two of his/her photos. Not much variety in the work, but great for anyone looking for a book of basic b & w works, and also would be nice as a coffe table piece.