Following an apprenticeship as a technical draughtsman, Jakob Tuggener (1904–88) studied typography, graphic design and film at the Reimann School in Berlin. Returning to Switzerland in 1931, he worked as a freelance photographer for industrial firms and illustrated magazines, allowing him to pursue his personal photography; in 1936 he also began making films. In the 1950s his work was introduced to an international audience thanks to Otto Steiner and Edward Steichen. Tuggener’s uncompromising subjective style, influenced by 1920s German Expressionist film, inspired many young Swiss photographers including Robert Frank and Hans Danuser. The first comprehensive retrospective of his work was held at Kunsthaus Zürich in 2000.