The first documenta first documenta not only showed works of art, but also artists2/9.
Right behind the entrance hall of the Fridericianum , on the perforated wall opposite the half rotunda, Arnold Bode brought together 45 exhibition participants in the form of black-and-white portrait photographs of approx. 90 x 70 cm. They were shown against a black background in strict order, but in an unsystematic sequence. Some of the portraits extended into the corridor on freestanding metal plates on both sides. As with the photo walls of the historic prelude in the foyer and the architectural illustrations in the upper semicircle, the motifs of this striking monument were also reproduced from common illustrated books.
The Bauhaus masters Paul Klee, Lyonel Feininger, and Oskar Schlemmer, as well as the Bauhaus students Fritz Winter and Gerhard Marcks, were interspersed in the parade of serious minds.