Herlinde Koelbl

From 1991 to 2021, Herlinde Koelbl regularly photographed Angela Merkel, her stunning evolution shown in this book with essays by Christopher Clark, Kristina Spohr, George Packer, and Christoph Stölzl, and interviews with Angela Merkel.

“[A] 30-year art project tracing how politics shaped Merkel.”

“A subtly revealing 30-year chronicle of the effects of power on an individual who wields it.“

“In Angela Merkel: Portraits 1991–2021, photographer Herlinde Koelbl gathers three decades’ worth of portraits of the German chancellor, tracing the extraordinary arc of her political career.”

“A landmark study on the visible effects of power on a shy East German physicist who became the world’s most powerful woman.”

“One of the most unusual relationships in modern politics.”

Herlinde Koelbl is one of the most renowned German photographic artists. Her comprehensive oeuvre is characterized above all by long-term photographic projects, often complemented by in-depth interviews and videos. Her photographs have been shown at numerous international exhibitions and are represented in many major collections. Herlinde Koelbl has published more than a dozen books of photography, including Fascination of Science (2021), Targets (2014), Traces of Power (1999)and Jewish Portraits (1989). She has been honored for her work multiple times, among others, with the Dr. Erich Salomon Award in 2001 and with the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2009.