Elger Esser counts among the most important personalities of contemporary German photography and is regarded the most important representative of the "Becher-School".
Elger Esser was born in Stuttgart in 1967. He studied at the Düseldorf Art Academy between 1991 and 1997. His teacher was Bernhard Becher, who also accepted Elger Esser as master student in 1996. In 1997 Elger Esser graduated from the academy.
In the early 1990s, when Elger Esser still was a student, he shot his first acclaimed series, a photographic approach to the single family house. The objective and documenting style of the Becher-School can be clearly observed in this work group. But Elger Esser soon abandoned these standards. As of 1994 his series of post-modern interpretations of masterly portraits from the history of art delivers proof thereof. Later Elger Esser was particularly active as landscape photographer. Pictures made in this genre also reflect well-known masterpieces in a subtle manner. Landscape photographs by Elger Esser can be compared with baroque veduta painting or with the landscapes of the Dutch schools in the 17th century. Color conceptions of his thoroughly composed landscapes contribute to their painting-like, artistically exaggerated effect.
Works by Elger Esser are in possession of international museums, such as the New York Guggenheim Museum and the Paris FNAC. The photographer lives and works in Düsseldorf.