Material gelatin silver print, mounted on foam core, UV coated
Dimensions 4-parts, each 200 x 126 cm / 78 3⁄4 x 198 1⁄2 in, total 200 x 504 cm / 78 3/4 x 198 1/2 in
Place of Creation Cologne, Germany
Status Vetted

About the Work

„In the Forest“ is considered one of the central works of the artist couple and holds a special place in their oeuvre, as it is the only time the scene is set outdoors. Thematically, however, the series is closely linked to other bodies of work, as it also deals with the ironic portrayal of habits and rituals.


The petit-bourgeois couple on their Sunday stroll—she in a floral dress, he in a checked jacket—are portrayed by the artists themselves. In cheerful Sunday spirits, they look down from the heights of the Black Forest, seemingly unaware that the image of nature in their minds no longer matches reality. Instead of an untouched woodland, they find themselves in the midst of a forest scarred by acid rain, surrounded by bare tree trunks. „On a symbolic level, the forest works can be read as the collapse of our idealised understanding of nature“ (1).


In later works of the series, the Blumes interact with the trees in a manner similar to how they engage with objects in other pieces. They hang from branches, wedge themselves between trunks, or embrace the trees in an ecstatic grip. This „ecstasy of re-naturalization“ (B. Blume) humorously and ironically expresses the longing for unity with nature.


(1.) Bazon Brock, in: Anna & Bernhard Blume. Fotoarbeiten und Großfotoserien, Band III, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther König, Köln, 1995. S. 157

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Provenance

directly from the artists

View artwork at TEFAF Maastricht 2026

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