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Madeline Winkler-Betzendahl (1899–1995) was a German photographer.
Born in Berlin, Winkler was the daughter of a British mother and a German father. The doctor's daughter initially studied painting in Berlin and Paris. After the NS policy began to take action against so-called "Georges Balanchine / photograph by Madeline Winkler Betzendahl
on Gallica
Life and work
Born in Berlin, Winkler was the daughter of a British mother and a German father. The doctor's daughter initially studied painting in Berlin and Paris. After the NS policy began to take action against so-called "degenerate art
Degenerate art (german: Entartete Kunst was a term adopted in the 1920s by the Nazi Party in Germany to describe modern art. During the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, German modernist art, including many works of internationally renowned artists, ...
", however, she no longer saw a future in it and began, initially as an autodidact, to take photographs. This was followed by training as a photojournalist at the Verein der Deutschen Presse in Berlin; Winkler passed her exams in 1942. As a photographer, she concentrated on "non-political" theatre photography. She became known through pictures of a '' Clavigo'' production with Will Quadflieg
Friedrich Wilhelm "Will" Quadflieg (; 15 September 1914 – 27 November 2003) was a German actor from Oberhausen. He was the father of actor Christian Quadflieg. He is considered one of Germany's best post-war actors. One of his most widely rec ...
in the leading role. She then became the Schiller Theatre
The Schiller Theater Building was designed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler of the firm Adler & Sullivan for the German Opera Company. At the time of its construction, it was among the tallest buildings in Chicago. Its centerpiece was a 1300-s ...
's in-house photographer, but occasionally worked for other theatres in Berlin. During World War II she married the naval officer Rudolf Betzendahl (1892–1978). She fled to southern Germany before the effects of the bombing war. While her archive was lost, she was able to save two Leica cameras and began working again in Stuttgart shooting fashion for the ''Deutsche Illustrierte'' before becoming the house photographer at the Stuttgart Chamber Theatre. From 1948 to 1982 she had a permanent contract with the Staatstheater Stuttgart
The Staatstheater Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Theatre) is a theatre with three locations, Oper Stuttgart (Opera Stuttgart), Stuttgarter Ballett (Stuttgart Ballet), and Schauspiel Stuttgart (Stuttgart Drama Theatre), in Stuttgart, Germany. The s ...
. In addition to actors, she often portrayed writers; among other things, she documented Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
's visit to Stuttgart in 1955. The ''Stuttgarter Zeitung
The ''Stuttgarter Zeitung'' ("Stuttgart newspaper") is a German-language daily newspaper (except Sundays) edited in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, with a run of about 200,000 sold copies daily.
History and profile
It was first edited ...
'' employed Winkler-Betzendahl as a theatre photographer from 1960. Many of her pictures were published in ''Theater heute
''Theater heute'' (German: ''Theatre Today'') is a German language monthly magazine with a special focus on theatre. The magazine is based in Berlin, Germany, and has been in circulation since 1960.
History and profile
''Theater heute'' was foun ...
''. The Süddeutscher Rundfunk broadcast ''It Remembers: Madeline Winkler-Betzendahl'' in 1986:
Winkler-Betzendahls died in Stuttgart. Her archive is largely housed in the Deutsches Theatermuseum
The Deutsche Theatermuseum in Munich is a museum focused on history of the theater, and primarily devoted to the German-speaking theater history. It has its headquarters in the ''Churfürstlichen Gallerie'' (Electoral Gallery), built in 1780–17 ...
in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. The Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach
The Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach (DLA - German Literature Archive), established in 1955, in Marbach am Neckar, is one of the most significant literary archives in the world. Its collections span literary and intellectual history from 1750 to ...
preserves some of the photographer's portraits of writers.on Gallica
References
Further reading
* Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland (publ.): ''frauenobjektiv. Fotografinnen 1940 bis 1950'', Bonn 2001, and ,External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:WinklerBetzendahl, Madeline 20th-century German photographers German women photographers 1899 births 1995 deaths Artists from Berlin 20th-century German women