Friedrich Wilhelm Bäcker – Visions of a Past

May 10 – September 27, 2026

The exhibition presents, for the first time, the work of the largely unknown Siegerland photography pioneer Friedrich Wilhelm Bäcker (1858–1940). Like a time capsule, his photographs open a window onto the Siegerland region of the 1910s. Bäcker’s wide-ranging subjects include portraits, artistic nature studies, and scenes at the intersection of rural idyll and industrial modernity.

Who was Friedrich Wilhelm Bäcker – and why did he take photographs? What stories do his images tell? The exhibition explores these questions. Selected exhibits also incorporate generative AI, inviting visitors to reflect on the boundaries between reality and interpretation.