The Saxon State and University Library (SLUB) in Dresden is honoring renowned German photographer Ingrid von Kruse with a special exhibition marking her 90th birthday. The show, titled "The Murmur of the Past," features previously unpublished photographs from her early travels to Italy between 1980 and 1995. These images capture the beginning of an extraordinary career that would later make von Kruse one of Germany's most important photographic artists. The exhibition, which runs from January 5 to June 26, 2026, showcases the foundation of her distinctive artistic vision and her remarkable ability to transform urban landscapes into poetic narratives.
Born in Hamburg on December 26, 1935, von Kruse discovered her passion for photography relatively late in life. Originally a successful textile designer with studies in graphic design and painting, she borrowed a camera for what was supposed to be a simple vacation to Rome. Overwhelmed by the ancient monuments and following in Goethe's footsteps, she began documenting her impressions. The immediate success of these early photographs motivated her to pursue formal studies in photography at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen from 1981 to 1983, after which she dedicated herself fully to freelance photography and never looked back.
Curator and head of the German Photo Archive Jens Bove explains that the exhibition deliberately focuses on von Kruse's unpublished Italian works. The collection includes images from Rome, Ostia, Sicily, and especially Venice, where she returned repeatedly throughout her career. Unlike typical travel photography, von Kruse's work captures urban details as still lifes, focusing on unique moods and atmospheric elements. Bove describes her approach as creating "petrified memories," revealing how she wandered through these historic cities, making their ancient past visible in the present through her lens.
Von Kruse's Italian photographs reveal what Bove calls a "double past"—decades-old analog images of subjects that are themselves millennia old, such as the Roman Forum. Her associative, almost somnambulistic style seeks to make history visible in contemporary settings. In Venice, she captured not just gondolas but intimate details like metal decorations on their bows, shop windows, workshops, and portraits of Venetian residents. Her work demonstrates an exceptional sensitivity to how light, shadow, and composition can evoke the layered histories embedded in urban landscapes.
While these early Italian works launched her career, von Kruse became best known for her penetrating portraits of prominent cultural and political figures. Her subjects included former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, children's author Astrid Lindgren, and conductor Herbert Blomstedt. She published several acclaimed books, including "Europe Taken at Its Word" (1992) featuring 115 portraits of influential European voices, "Venice: Voices Between Stone and Sea," and "Eminent Architects" (2011). In each publication, she combined her photographs with her own interviews of the subjects.
Von Kruse donated her archive to the German Photo Archive two years ago, making her one of the few women represented in its prestigious collection of photographers. The free exhibition is displayed in the Bib-Lounge cafeteria on the first floor of the SLUB Central Library at Zellescher Weg 18, 01069 Dresden, open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. An accompanying publication, "loungeaffairs8: Ingrid von Kruse—The Murmur of the Past, Photographs from Italy," is available through publishprint publishers. The show offers visitors a rare glimpse into the formative work of an artist who transformed personal fascination into a profound documentary practice that continues to inspire.
