The Leonhardi Museum in Dresden is presenting a comprehensive retrospective of photographer Roger Melis, featuring 127 photographs spanning four decades of his career from the 1960s to the early 1990s. The exhibition, which opened on Saturday, September 27, 2025, showcases the work of one of East Germany's most renowned photographers, celebrated as a master of Eastern German photorealism.
Melis (1940-2009) captured both the everyday life of ordinary East German citizens and portraits of prominent cultural figures of the era. The exhibition displays his reportage photography depicting daily life in the German Democratic Republic, alongside portraits of notable GDR artists including writer Anna Seghers, singer-songwriter Wolf Biermann, and actor Manfred Krug. His black-and-white photographs provide an intimate and authentic glimpse into life behind the Iron Curtain.
One striking image in the collection, taken by Melis in 1979 in front of the Neue Wache in Berlin, captures two pigeons hurriedly crossing an empty square while crowds wait behind barriers, guards stand at attention, and a lone microphone sits in the center. Museum director Bernd Heise notes that viewers are left to speculate whether the scene depicts an upcoming changing of the guard or a Republic Day rally, exemplifying Melis's ability to capture moments that characterize the era with wonderful casualness.
The photographer's work follows the philosophy articulated by Henri Cartier-Bresson in his 1952 essay 'Images à la sauvette,' which called for capturing life's quiet moments rather than sensation-laden scenes. Heise emphasizes that Melis's photographs show 'silent moments, beyond all sensation,' while maintaining formal compositional rigor. 'The things always have a form that asserts itself. And that's at least as important as the content,' Heise explains.
The exhibition features a special homage to the host city of Dresden, including photographs with direct connections to the location. One room presents what Heise describes as 'an essay about Meissen, where he simply photographed everyday situations in pubs and cafés.' Dresden is represented through several images, including a 1966 photograph of the destroyed Frauenkirche. The museum director notes with pleasure that among the artist portraits are eight artists whom the museum has previously exhibited.
Melis's portrait work from 1963 onwards provides a comprehensive survey of Berlin's cultural and intellectual scene. His subjects ranged from actress Helene Weigel and writer Anna Seghers to playwright Peter Hacks, dramatist Heiner Müller, and musicians Wolf Biermann, Bettina Wegner, and Nina Hagen. The collection documents the changing times, showing multiple portraits of artists like Christa Wolf and Sarah Kirsch over the years, including 'the era of the leavers, the emigrants,' as Heise puts it.
Particularly poignant images include poet Sarah Kirsch photographed atop a tower of packed boxes and a contemplative Manfred Krug posed in front of his vintage car. The exhibition also captures the legendary period in Prenzlauer Berg during the 1980s, when certain areas had become freer and 'the kettle was already boiling,' according to Heise.
All photographs in the elegant black-and-white collection share an immediacy in capturing their subjects, creating such liveliness and authenticity that viewers feel as though they are the direct recipients of gazes directed into the camera. Heise believes this reflects 'a very immediate perception of humanity,' noting that 'it's about being interested in a person. And it doesn't matter whether that's a baker's apprentice, or an artist, or a coal carrier.'
The museum director, who has been regularly showing photography exhibitions for twenty years, sees this approach as characteristic of GDR photorealism. He particularly admires 'the dignity with which people were portrayed. Not celebrated or turned into stars of some kind, but the stars were the simple people sitting in their oily clothes in the factory hall. I find that wonderful.'
The Leonhardi Museum, located on Grundstraße near Dresden's Körnerplatz, is worth visiting for its distinctive architecture alone. The retrospective runs through January 4, 2026, with the museum open Tuesday through Friday from 2 PM to 6 PM, and weekends from 10 AM to 6 PM. Heise emphasizes that visitors should not miss these wonderful images by Roger Melis, which offer an unparalleled window into East German life and culture during a pivotal period in German history.
