John Heartfield

1891 (Berlin) – 1968 (Berlin)

Heartfield was a pioneer of political photomontage, savagely critiquing Nazi propaganda. He and Grosz shared a studio and an anglicisation of their names, and claimed to have invented photomontage together. Herzfelde, his brother, collaborated extensively with him. Along with these three, Baader, Huelsenbeck and Hausmann were also involved in Berlin Dada activities. Schlichter was a colleague in left-wing, anti-bourgeois artist groups (they also made a sculptural piece together). Tucholsky wrote texts for some of his photomontage images, and Piscator got him to do theatre set-designs. Brecht was a friend and strong influence, and encouraged Heartfield back to the DDR.