house of Switzerland,Wohnbedarf AG. At the end
of the 1930s, Finsler increasingly committed him-
self to his work for theSchweizerischer Werkbund,
and he acted as its chairman from 1946 to 1955. In
1969, he showed a selection of his works of the
1920s, which he published two years later, with his
own comments, under the titleMein Weg zur Foto-
grafie(My Way to Photography). Finsler died in
1972 in Zurich.
FRANZISKASCHMIDTBiography
Swiss, Born in Zurich, 7 December 1891. Studied architec-
ture at theTechnische Hochschule, Munich, 1909–1914;
studied art history in Munich by Heinrich Wo ̈lfflin und
Paul Frankl, 1914–1918; married Lita Schmidt, a study
colleague, 1921; Librarian and Professor in Art History
at theKunstgewerbeschule Burg Giebichenstein, Halle,
Germany, 1922–1932. Autodidact in photography,
from 1922; founded first class for ‘‘object photography’’
at theBurg Giebichenstein, 1927–1932; taught photogra-
phy at theKunstgewerbeschule, Zurich, 1932–1958. Pre-
sident, SwissWerkbund, Zurich, 1932. Died in Zurich,
1972.
Individual Exhibitions
1928 Neue Wege der Photographie; Museum Moritzburg,
Ausstellungsraum Roter Turm: Halle an der Saale, Ger-
many (Hans Finsler and his students)
1969 Mein Weg zur Fotografie; galerie 58; Rapperswil,
Switzerland, and traveling
1991 Hans Finsler. Neue Wege der Photographie; Staatliche
Galerie Moritzburg; Halle an der Saale, Germany, and
traveling
Selected Group Exhibitions
1929 Photographie der Gegenwart; Museum Folkwang;
Essen, Germany
Film und Foto; International Exhibition of ‘‘Deutscher
Werkbund’’; Stuttgart, Germany, and traveling
Gesellschaft Deutscher Lichtbildner; Eisenach, Ger-
many
Altonaer Kunstverein; Hamburg, Germany
1930 Kunstgewerbeverein Erfurt; Erfurt, Germany
German Advertising Photographs; Camera Club; Lon-
don, Great Britain
II. Internationale Hygiene-Ausstellung; Deutsches
Hygienemuseum; Dresden, Germany
1931 Die Neue Fotografie; International Travelling Exhibi-
tions of the ‘‘Deutscher Werkbund’’ and ‘‘Mu ̈nchner
Bund’’; Gewerbemuseum; Basel, Switzerland
Das Lichtbild; Museum Folkwang; Essen, Germany
1932 Die neue Fotografie in der Schweiz; Schweizerischer
Werkbund; St. Gallen, Switzerland, and traveling
1937 Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la
Vie Moderne; Paris, France
1952 Subjektive Fotografie; Staatliche Schule fu ̈r Kunst und
Handwerk; Saarbru ̈cken, Germany
1974 Photographs Suisses depuis 1840 a` nos Jours;
Kunsthaus Zurich; Zurich, Switzerland
1977 Medium Fotografie; Staatliche Galerie Moritzburg;
Halle an der Saale, Germany
1978 Das Experimentelle Photo in Deutschland 1918–1940;
Galleria del Levante; Munich, Germany
1979 Photographie als Kunst 1879–1979/ Kunst als Photo-
graphie 1949–1979; Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinan-
deum; Innsbruck, Austria, and traveling
1980 Avant-Garde Photography in Germany 1919–1939; San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art; California, and tra-
veling
1983 Die fotografische Sammlung; Museum Folkwang;
Essen, Germany
1984 Subjektive Fotografie: Images of the 50s; San Francisco
Museum of Modern Art; California, and travelingFurther Reading
Finsler, Hans.Mein Weg zur Fotografie. 1970.
Finsler, Hans.30 Aufnahmen aus den 20er Jahren. Zurich,
1971.
Roh, Franz, and Jan Tschichold.Foto-Auge/Oil et photo/
Photo-Eye: 76 Fotos der Zeit. Stuttgart, 1929.
Schmidt, Georg, and Peter Meye.,Die neue Fotografie in der
Schweiz. Exh. cat. Zurich, 1932.
Gasser, Manuel, Hugo Loetscher, Walter Binder, and
Rosellina Burri-Bischof. Photographes Suisses depuis
1840 a`nos Jours. (Exhibition catalogue) Zurich, 1974.
Gasser, Manuel. ‘‘Hans Finsler 1891–1972.’’ InPhotogra-
phie in der Schweiz von 1840 bis heute. Niederteufen, 1974.
Syberberg, Hans-Ju ̈rgen.Fotografie der 30er Jahre: Eine
Anthologie. Munich, 1977.
Schmied, Wieland, and Ute Eskildsen.Neue Sachlichkeit
and German Realism of the Twenties. (Exhibition catalo-
gue) London, 1978.
Mellor, David.Germany: The New Photography 1927-33.
London, 1978.
Bertonatie, Emilio.Das Experimentelle Photo in Deutsch-
land 1918-1940. Munich, 1978.
Eskildsen, Ute, and Jan Christopher Horak.Film und Foto
der 20er Jahre. Stuttgart, 1979.
Kempe, Fritz, Bernd Lohse, et al.Fotografie 1919–1979,
Made in Germany: Die GDL-Fotografen. Frankfurt,
1979.
Weiermair, Peter.Photographie als Kunst 1879–1979/ Kunst
als Photographie 1949–1979. Exh. cat. Innsbruck, 1979.
Steinorth, Karl. ‘‘Hans Finsler.’’ InPhotographen der 20er
Jahre. Munich, 1979.
Steinorth, Karl, ed. Internationale Ausstellung des
Deutschen Werkbundes ‘‘Film und Foto’’ 1929. Facsimile
reprint, Munich, 1979.
Coke, Van Deren, Ute Eskildsen, and Bernd Lohse.Avant-
Garde Photography in Germany 1919–1939. Exh. cat.
San Francisco: San Franciso Museum of Modern Art,
1980.
Gruber, L. Fritz and Renate Gruber.The Imaginary Photo
Museum. Cologne, 1981, London 1982.
Eskildsen, Ute, Manfred Schmalriede, and Dorothy Mar-
tinson.Subjektive Fotografie: Images of the 50s. Exh. cat.
Essen, 1984.
Go ̈ltz, Klaus E., Theo Immisch, Peter Romanus, and Axel
Wendelberger.Hans Finsler. Neue Wege der Photogra-
phie. (Exhibition catalogue) Leipzig, 1991.FINSLER, HANS