Werdohl, Sauerland, D, from the series Industrial Facades

Bernd and Hilla Becher were a married pair of German conceptual photographers whose systematic documentation of industrial structures influenced an entire generation of artists. Born a few years apart, they met in 1957, and their romance led to a collaborative career that lasted for more than forty years. They taught at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, from which they had graduated, and where their students included the photographers Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, and Candida Höfer, who have since also become very prominent. This next generation became known as the "Düsseldorf School." The Bechers also influenced a number of conceptual and minimalist artists, such as Ed Ruscha and Carl Andre.

The Becher’s black-and-white images are visual studies of industrial structures—water towers, blast furnaces, grain silos, gas tanks, and so on—that were diminishing in number on the landscape. They presented their photographs in grid formations known as typologies and organized them by category of structure. The individual images were made with a large-format view camera and convey tremendous detail and an evocative tonal richness. This typology, which juxtaposes six facades of industrial buildings, is powerful in its striking monumentality. It is an ideal example of the Becher’s work, encapsulating their interest in form and function, as well as the impact of industry on the economy and the environment.