“I grew up in the after-war period, hungry to see the world. That is why I moved from Göttingen to Hamburg in 1950.
I learnt the basics of photography, and as I was quite smart-looking, I could earn a little bit of money working as a model.
When I drove my bike through Pöseldorf, a fancy white car stopped right next to me. The driver pointed at my camera
and asked whether I was a photographer. It was Hans Huffzky, the founder of the women’s magazine Constanze. When
he saw my photographs, he said: ‘Awful! What a catastrophe! Stop taking pictures of ships in the harbour. You have to
photograph people.’ Huffzky became my Professor Higgins and introduced me to the publishers Rudolf Augstein and
Axel Springer. Both were still on their way up and very easy-going. At those times, it was easy to reach for the stars and
conquer the world.” Inge Feltrinelli
In addition to her photographic skill and her beautiful appearance, it was Inge Feltrinelli’s talent to be at the right place
at the right time that opened doors for her. She shot the rich, the intelligent and the famous figures of her time. All
photographs are witness to the candid, amicable relationship with her models. Marc Chagall pulled a pleasant face for
her, Simone de Beauvoir looked happy, and Gary Cooper continued to get drunk while letting Inge do her job. In one
of her most famous photographs, we see the beautiful young artist herself along with Ernest Hemingway, holding a
giant swordfish.
Photographs
von Inge Feltrinelli
