Anton Corbijn: Books, Exhibitions and a Reading Route

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MODE UNKNOWN · ANTON CORBIJN · Chapter 14 of 20

Corbijn’s books and exhibitions organise the work in different ways. Some follow a collaborator; others explore a visual problem or take a broad view of the career. The most useful reading route is therefore based on what a reader wants to understand, rather than on an assumption that one volume replaces all the others.

Famouz and the early monochrome work

The Ludwig Museum identifies Famouz, published in 1989, with photographs from 1976–1988. (Ludwig Museum) It provides an early point of reference for the work’s public presentation in book form. Later editions should be distinguished from that first publication when identifying a copy.

A photographic book is an authored sequence. Two individually strong pictures can change one another when placed together. Notice whether a spread invites comparison through pose, scale, darkness or the direction of a gaze. That experience differs from viewing a single image reproduced in an article.

Hollands Deep and 1-2-3-4

The paired Hague exhibitions in 2015 offered different routes: Hollands Deep addressed the development of the broader practice, while 1-2-3-4 concentrated on music photography. (Kunstmuseum Den Haag) (Fotomuseum Den Haag) The distinction is useful when choosing where to begin.

A music-centred selection lets the reader follow encounters and public personas across a cultural field. A wider retrospective makes it easier to compare portraits with conceptual work, self-performance and experiments in material treatment. Neither route is intrinsically more serious. They simply make different relationships visible.

Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn

TASCHEN’s volume combines more than 500 photographs with sketches, stage and sleeve designs, handwritten observations and an interview. The publisher distinguishes the 2020 limited edition from the later XL edition; the latter is listed at 512 pages. (TASCHEN)

Its particular value for this site is the opportunity to move between kinds of work. A portrait, an informal photograph and a stage sketch can belong to the same relationship while answering different needs. The book’s publisher-hosted presentation is a useful way to understand that range before seeking a copy. (TASCHEN)

Waits/Corbijn ’77–’11

This collaboration includes Waits’s own photographic contribution as well as Corbijn’s portraits. (Pitchfork) Approach it as a dialogue rather than a one-way survey of a famous subject. The distinction helps explain why a long-running creative relationship can sustain an entire book without relying on the single most recognisable image.

MOØDe

The MOØDe publication accompanies Corbijn’s exploration of portraiture and fashion and includes an essay by Karen Van Godtsenhoven. (Museum Cobra) Its relevance extends beyond fashion commissions: it encourages attention to clothing as part of the ordinary construction of a public appearance.

Corbijn, Anton

The 2025 Hannibal retrospective brings the account across five decades. The English edition is listed with 560 pages and an accompanying caption booklet. (Hannibal Books) Check the specific language and edition when using a catalogue record: similarly titled books can differ in additional material.

A practical reading sequence

Begin with the Louisiana interview to hear the artist describe his working priorities. Follow with the Depeche Mode volume if the band is your main point of entry. Then use Hollands Deep or the broader 2025 retrospective to challenge the assumption that the music work explains everything. Finally, return to an individual collaborator or thematic series with those wider comparisons in mind.

A useful reading notebook has three columns: the work’s title and date; the visible decision that caught your attention; and the source of any statement about how it was made. Keeping observation separate from production history prevents an appealing interpretation from accidentally becoming an invented fact.

This is a selected reading route, not a claim to list every edition, catalogue or contribution. It favours publications whose role in the work can be established from publishers and museums, and avoids treating uncertain second-hand listings as definitive bibliographic records.

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