FLORENCE HENRI | Giovanni Battista Martini, Paola Rosina & Roberto Lacarbonara

In our first episode of 2026, we turn the spotlight on Florence Henri. Drawn to the Bauhaus less by its curriculum than by its people, Henri discovered photography through Lucia Moholy and never looked back. What began as an experiment became a radical reinvention: mirrors, props, fractured spaces — images that redefined modern photography. Henri stayed fiercely artistic, while mentoring a generation of women who would go on to shape the medium themselves: Dora Maar, Lisette Model, Gisèle Freund, Ilse Bing, and more.

In this episode I was joined by the head of the Florence Henri Archive Giovanni Battista Martini, art historian Paola Rosina, and curator Roberto Lacarbonara — in a truly Bauhaus-style multilingual conversation, recorded in Switzerland and brought to you in English. And there’s more to come: bonus episodes with deep dives into Henri’s most iconic photographs, and the full original interview in French/English.

🎧 Listen on bauhausfaces.com or on all major podcast platforms!

SHOW NOTES

bauhausfaces.com | @bauhausfacespodcast | YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts

29.8. – 10.1.2027 Exhibition on Florence Henri at Zentrum Paul Klee, Berne

OTHER PODCASTS

LUCIA MOHOLY | Robin Schuldenfrei

PAUL KLEE | Fabienne Eggelhöfer

ANNI & JOSEF ALBERS | Brenda Danilowitz

LITERATURE ABOUT FLORENCE HENRI

Ann und Jürgen Wilde: Florence Henri-Sammlung. Sprengel Museum Hannover, Hannover 1993

Muriel Rausch (Hrsg.): Florence Henri. Miroir des avant-gardes (1927–1940). Éditions Photosynthèses, Arles 2015

Anja Guttenberger: Florence Henri, p. 72–87, in: Fotografische Selbstportraits der Bauhäusler zwischen 1919 und 1933, PhD thesis, 2012, https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/bitstream/handle/fub188/8338/DissAnjaGuttenberger.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Anja Guttenberger: Florence Henri, https://bauhauskooperation.de/wissen/das-bauhaus/koepfe/biografien/biografie-detail/person-Henri-Florence-494

Annette Bußmann: Florence Henri, in: FemBio. Frauen-Biographieforschung, https://www.fembio.org/biographie.php/frau/biographie/florence-henri/

Works of Florence Henri at the ICP (International Center of Photography) https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/florence-henri

Works at Centre Pompidou https://collection.centrepompidou.fr/artworks/authors/HENRI%20Florence↹HENRI%20Florence?page=4

PODCAST LOGO Detail from Florence Henri’s self-portrait in a mirror with balls, 1928, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti

CHAPTER IMAGES

1. Florence Henri: Self-portrait, 1930, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://www.artnet.com/artists/florence-henri/self-portrait-pWVR-MrGZ9-Wao3faHmddQ2
2. Portrait of Florence Henri, 1975, Galerie m https://www.galerie-m.com/artist_bio.php?aid=63&aname=FlorenceHenri
3. Florence Henri, 1926, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://hundredheroines.org/featured/women-in-abstraction-florence-henri/
4. Birthday celebration of Florence Henri at the Bauhaus in Dessau, 30 June 1927, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, in: Musée d’Art Moderne de la ville de Paris: Florence Henri. Photographies 1927–1938, Paris 1978
5. Florence Henri: Portraits of Margarete Schall, 1928, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://www.amazedmag.de/august-sander-und-florence-henri-der-pinakothek-der-moderne/
6. Florence Henri: Windows (Bauhaus Dessau), 1927, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://journals.openedition.org/transbordeur/1085?lang=en
7. Florence Henri: Industrial and urban landscape, 1924, © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://www.lempertz.com/de/kataloge/kuenstlerverzeichnis/detail/henri-florence.html
8. Florence Henri: Abstract composition, 1929, © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://www.artsy.net/artwork/florence-henri-still-life-composition-2
9. Florence Henri: Self-portrait, 1928, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://artblart.com/tag/florence-henri-self-portrait-in-a-mirror/
10. Florence Henri: Still life composition, 1928–30, MoMA, © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/83777
11. Self-portrait and still life by Florence Henri published in i10. internationale revue, Dec. 1928, https://www.oursphotomag.com/blog/florence-henri-1920
12. Florence Henri: Advertisement for Jeanne Lanvin perfume, 1929, V&A Museum, © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti
13. Florence Henri: Portrait composition (Von Von), 1937, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://photography-now.com/exhibition/135835
14. Florence Henri: Composition, The Glory that was Greece, c. 1933, Photomontage, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://artblart.com/tag/florence-henri-self-portrait-1928/
15. Florence Henri: Composition, 1931, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://www.artnet.com/artists/florence-henri/nature-morte-still-life-composition-a-jlrV54pyFa_tqkC-LHkVwQ2
16. Florence Henri: Self-portrait, 1938, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://artblart.com/tag/florence-henri-self-portrait-1928/
17. Florence Henri: Portrait of Lore Krüger, 1937, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://www.artsy.net/artwork/florence-henri-portrait-composition-portrait-of-lore-kruger
18. Florence Henri: Self-portrait with balls, 1938, Florence Henri Archive / © Galleria Martini e Ronchetti, https://www.atlasgallery.com/exhibition/florence-henri