He would have been 72 years old this year. Michael Schmidt is much more than a photographer, he is a pillar of 20th century German art history. To mark the reopening of the Jeu de Paume and this anniversary, a major exhibition is devoted to him from May. Born on 6 October 1945 in Berlin, his native city was his greatest source of inspiration throughout his life. Michael Schmidt is a self-taught photographer, his style evolves with the rhythm of Berlin's urban life. At first a documentary photographer, his photography has evolved into a much more personal and artistic vision. In fact, he made a major contribution to raising the discipline to an artistic level from the start of his career in the 1970s, notably with the book and exhibition project in collaboration with Einar Schleef, a director and playwright. This series of raw images shows Berlin at the end of the Cold War, and also of Michael Schmidt's youth, a city still divided in two. Waffenruhe (Ceasefire) from 1987 is probably his best known series. If the formation of this style is so important, it is because it has influenced a whole generation of artists, photographers and others! Among them, Andreas Gursky, with whom he became friends. His work is still looked at by new generations today. Along with Bernd and Hilla Becher, Michael Schmidt is considered the post-war photographer who best handles the art of photography. This superb retrospective underlines the weight of his influence on 20th century art by showing the evolution of his style through original prints, unpublished works, this famous book project and other archives of all kinds.