Landschaft Nr. 3, Waldstraße auf dem Lindberg, Winterthur

“In hospital, the body is in a kind of heightened state of alert. In view of this, I decided on an approach in which a particular detail of each flower is highlighted as an analogy to the state of illness, in which a part of the body of which we are not normally so aware becomes the center of attention.” (Thomas Struth, 1991) [1]

A deserted country road, lined on one side by tall trees, on the other by sweeping meadows, while rolling hills loom against the horizon in the background. In the landscape photograph »Landschaft Nr. 3, Waldstraße auf dem Lindberg« [Landscape No. 3, Forest Road on the Lindberg, Winterthur], Thomas Struth captures the everyday surroundings of this city in Switzerland. Struth, who studied with Bernd and Hilla Becher and was known up to this point in time chiefly for his neutral city and street photographs, with this series opens up an almost painterly, photographic view. The series, which includes the present work, was commissioned by Dieter Schwarz, director of the Winterthur Art Museum, for the new extension of the private Am Lindberg clinic. After inspecting the premises, Struth decided on a two-part photographic concept: in each of the 37 rooms he hung a large-format landscape photograph opposite the patient’s bed and two smaller close-ups of plants and flowers above the headboards. By choosing everyday, familiar motifs, the patients were offered works of art that invite ever new interpretations without having to rely on explanations.



[1] Thomas Struth, 1991, in »Thomas Struth. Fotografien 1978 – 2010«, exh.cat. (Zurich: Kunsthaus Zürich, 2010), p. 200.