Elger Esser’s pale, luminous landscape photographs, which are almost entirely unpeopled and frequently feature a straight, low horizon line, have been compared to both early-19th-century photography and Dutch landscape paintings of the 17th century. Like other German photographers such as Andreas Gursky and Thomas Struth, Esser studied under Bernd and Hilla Becher in Dusseldorf. His images typically capture European lowlands— softly lit beaches, wetlands, valleys, or riverbeds—in which Esser evokes the sublime. Imbuing his landscapes with a quiet romance, Esser models his style on postcard images, which have fascinated the artist since childhood.
