THE FAMILY OF MAN AT CLERVAUX CASTLE
The exhibition The Family of Man has been enthusiastically celebrated by the general public and criticized by artists as critics, and is now legendary in the history of photography. It was conceived by Edward Steichen as a mirror of humanity with the aim of building bridges between peoples – postwar photography was the vehicle for this humanist message. For his ambitious project, Steichen collects 4 million photographs to finally select 503 of 273 authors from 68 countries. With these, he composed a manifesto for peace and the fundamental equality of humans. The exhibition includes pictures from photographers such as Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorothea Lange, Robert Doisneau, August Sander, Ansel Adams ... that are staged in a modernist and dramatic manner.
Shown for the first time in 1955 at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the exhibition attracts nearly 10 million visitors during its international tour, after which it was bequeathed to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Today, the historical exhibition is a unique photographic heritage, registered by the UNESCO as Memory of the World and the fully restored collection is shown in the renovated Castle in Clervaux, combining a contemporary approach and interpretation to the respect of its history.