CURRICULUM VITAE

Born inEntlebuch/LU the 26. Juli 1934

Primary and secondary school in Entlebuch/LU  

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School of Art in Bern

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8-month trip hitchhiking through Algeria, Niger, Chad, Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika (Tanzania) Objective: The ascent of the Congo’s volcanoes (ex-Congo) and the Kilimandjaro. First contact with Africa...

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Head of expedition - 11 months and a half of stay with the Touareg of Tassili n'Ajjer. Realization of a 90-minutes color documentary film with the title: "Ombres Bleues du Tassili" (Blue Shadows of the Tassili). The film was presented under the auspices of "Connaissance du Monde", in French-speaking Switzerland and three times at the Salle Pleyel in Paris in 1965.

Large collection of prehistoric tools from Erg Admer for the Basel Ethnography Museum. Ethnography collection on camel harness and objects of theTuareg life for the Ethnographic Museum of Geneva. Numerous photographic documents (Ethnography and Archeology).

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Head of expedition - three-month trip. Photographs about the black population of Fezzan. Exploration and Studies of Tassili’s paintings and engravings. Photographical documentation about the Touaregs of the Tassili Est and Hoggar mountains.

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Three-month trip for Swissair.

Photos for advertising and tourism.

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Head of expedition - a 6-and–a-half-months trip on behalf of the Swiss television, 2 Landrovers, 24'000 km, 5 participants, 6 color films of 30 minutes length under the overall title: "Man facing the desert".

Very complete photographic documentation about the country and the inhabitants of Algeria, Niger and Chad. Photographs of engravings and rock paintings of the Central Sahara as well as East- and South-Sahara. Many unpublished documents. Discovery of new rock paintings in the Enneri Blaka / Niger on the plateau of Djado (North Ténéré). Large collection of prehistoric tools from Ténéré for the Ethnographic Museum in Basel.

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Head of Expedition - three-month trip with two all-wheel drive vehicles. Discovery of 7 new prehistoric areas, unpublished and undocumented up until then, inside of Enneri Blaka (Djado Plateau). Exploration of salt extraction in Bilma / Niger and salt transport with camel caravans (Azelaï) through the Tenere to Agadez. Photographic documentation about the magnificent rock engravings in West-Mathendous in Libya. Also important photographic documentation of the mountains of Acacus / Libya and Tassili n'Ajjer / Algeria.

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Head of Expedition - Duration six months and a half.
Photographical documentation of the Sahel region. Archaeological excavation in the Adrar of Mauritania, region «El Beyed». Collection of paleolithic, 60'000 year-old tools. Exploration of lost Neolithic sites in the sand of Mauretania together with Professor Henri-J. Hugot from l.F.A.N of Dakar during a month. Documentation along the river Niger to Tombouctou and Gao, as well as the Peuls Bororo people in Niger. Important photographic documentation at the Dakar University Museum and at the Niamey Ethnographic Museum.

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Reports in North-Algeria, M'Zab, Saoura and Touat. Photographic material about Argiels on behalf of Swissair.

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Marrakech Festival, for the future book about Morocco.

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Exposition «Peru» (duration 1 year) at the Ethnographic Museum in Basel (director Dr. Gerhard Baer). Color and black/white photos, as well as various ethnographic objects from Peru. 

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Nine-month stay in the National Parks and the National Monuments of the U.S.A. Lots of photographs taken at the park museums. Travel from the Everglades in Florida to Washington, from Maine to California. In a home mobile shipped to Miami/Florida. Publisher of the in three languages translated book «The National Parks of the USA»: Silva Publishing House in Zurich. Author of the text: Sylvio Acatos. 

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8 months of stay in Argentina. Photographic documentation for a new book published by Silva Publishing House in Zurich. All provinces of Argentina from Jujuy to Tierra del Fuego. Text: Jean-Christian Spahni. 1 month stay in Chile, Paraguay and Brazil. Return by boat from Buenos Aires to Antwerp. (Trips 15, 16 and 17 in total 70'000 km in motor-home).

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Region of Djado - Kaouar - North Aïr and Tassili n'Ajjer. In the Enneri Blaka (Niger) discovery of a new area with rock engravings (No. 12). Inventory of the areas 13 and 14. Lots of photos of previously unknown prehistoric sites of the Sahara.

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Photographic documentation for two books:

«The Andes» Publisher C.J. Bucher / Lucerne / Frankfurt. Text: Hugo Lötscher, Jean-Christian Spahni and Herbert Wilhemy.
«Culture des Incas» Publisher Atlantis / Zurich. Text: Simone Waisbard / Paris.

Photographs in numerous South American museums about pre-Columbian cultures. 30'000 km travel in the Landrover.

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A five-month stay in Belgium for the book «Belgien» published by the Silva Publishing House in Zurich. Text: Georges-Henri Dumont / Brussels.

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During a month - herd migration of the horses. Photos about herds and guardians.

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From the East-Coast to the Vancouver Island. A 50'000km long travel in a VW-bus LT35 visiting all the provinces, the territories of the North-West and Yukon. Flight from Edmonton/Alberta to Inuvik, from Winnipeg to Port Churchill. Book translated into three languages and published by Silva Publishing House in Zurich. Text: Jacques Roy

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Taking photos during a twice three-month stay in the Provence and the Camargue for the book about these regions. Publisher Silva Publishing House, Zurich. Text: Alex Décotte.

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An eight-month stay in this country for the photographic documentation of the book about Egypt at the time of the pharaohs and today's Egypt, translated into three languages and published by Silva Publishing House in Zurich. Photos about all the important archeological sites, 54 photos taken at the Cairo Museum of objects from the time of the pharaohs. Travel in a VW-bus LT35 from Venice to Alexandria und back per ship. Text: Barbara L. Begelsbacher, expert in Egyptology and Arnold Hottinger, NZZ about today’s Egypt.   

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From Rotterdam to Montreal by ship. Photographic documentation about the Indians of the North-West Coast of Canada and Alaska/USA - Photos at several museums about the different Indian cultures of British Columbia and Alaska. Published by U. Bär Publishing House in Zurich in German, Italian and English (Facts On File - New-York/Oxford). Text: Dr. Peter R. Gerber.

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A book about the Indian culture Pueblos (Anazasi), published in German by U. Bär Publishing House in Zurich and in English (Facts on File - New-York/Oxford).

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Book: «Cowboys & Rodeo». From Rotterdam to Montreal and back by ship and then with VW-bus LT35. Theme: The biggest Rodeos of the West and the live of the Cowboys on the ranches in British Columbia, published by U. Bär Publishing House in Zürich. Text: Alex Décotte.

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A six-month trip in the VW-Bus LT35 from Oslo to the North Cape including the Lofoten Islands published in German, French and Italian by Silva Publishing House in Zurich. Text: Claudia Palser-Kieser.

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Documentation and photos for the projected book: «The Road of Spices». Travel by plane of three weeks.

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On the search of documents and photos about Antwerp and the VOC (Dutch East India Company) for the planned book «The Road of Spices», a two-week trip by car.

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A six-month stay in two parts for the book «London», published by Silva Publishing House in Zurich. Text: Georges Waser, NZZ.

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Photographs for the Silva Publishing House in Zurich, a book about the eternal city and the Vatican. Trip made by car and a stay of five months. Rent of an apartment outside of Rome. Text: Théodore Wieser.

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Search for rock engravings for the future book about the prehistory of the Sahara. Stay of two months and travel by plane and ... camels.

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A book about the «Valais» published by the Silva Publishing House. Several stays during eight months. It is the last book of the Silva Publishing House, which no longer exists. Travel in the motorhome, as well as two flights with Air-Glacier around the Matterhorn and to the Aletsch Glacier. Text: Fritz Kamer.

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Press travel to the south of Tunisia by plane (Geneva-Tozeur and back Djerba-Geneva) and bus.

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The book «Sahara - Art rupestre», published by Editions de L'Amateur-Paris in 1999 (text by Professor Henri Jean Hugot and preface by Professor Théodore Monod), is a detailed catalog of rock paintings and rock engravings of the Sahara. For Maximilien Bruggmann, this book is the work of life with more than 600 pages and more than 650 photographs. The photographer effectively owns one of the most complete collections of photographs about rock art of the Sahara.

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Travel by plane to Niamey and further with off-road vehicle and camel caravan consisting of 38 camels and 12 tuaregs. Route: Adrar Madet - Guelta Agamgam (New Year 2000) - Iférouâne - Agadez - Niamey. Stay 45 days.

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Life in Tuareg camps for 45 days. Travel by plane, off-road vehicle and camels.

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Itinerary on the camel trail in Tamgak North, with 36 camels. According to the Tuareg, this path had never been used before by a European. Travel time 45 days; plane, off-road vehicle, camels and on foot. Search for rock art (cave under a stone at Afis). Life with the nomads.

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Exhibition of photos organized by the "Kunstverein Amt Entlebuch". November 2004, at the high school in Schüpfheim/LU.

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Press travel made by airplane, off-road vehicle and bus. Visit of Tunis, Sidi Bou Saïd, Bizerte, Tabarka and the Roman ruins of Bulla Regia.

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Maximilian makes a selection of his slides (more than 100'000 slides 24x36 and 6x6). During this period, he has digitized, classified and provided with legends about 14'500 slides.

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Graphic artist by profession, photographer by passion, Maximilien Bruggmann gives his photographs a rare aesthetic. The conscientious accuracy in archiving is important to him, especially of documents that cannot be found anymore and are irreplaceable.

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Exhibition at the Saharan Museum in Le Crès - France

For half a century, Maximilien Bruggmann traveled the world to illustrate some sixty works, capturing the instantaneous existence of humanity and moments of eternity. He often went with his friend Jean-Claude Bourgeon to the remotest places of the Saharan desert, to meet their nomadic friends or in search of rock carvings whose authors, photographers before time, have inscribed the snapshots of prehistoric life in the stone, when the Sahara was still green.

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Double event at the Saharan Museum of Le Crès, Tuesday, April 24, 2018: inauguration of new showcases and opening of the exhibition "Women of the Sahara".

In its splendid conference room, the Saharan Museum hosts, from spring to autumn 2018, a magnificent exhibition of photos on canvas signed by the famous Swiss photographer Maximilien Bruggmann.

Recently, two great Saharans have found their place alongside Theodore Monod, in the lower room of the Saharan Museum. Coming from different horizons, Henri-Jean Hugot, prehistorian, and Maximilien Bruggmann, photographer, owe their love of the Sahara their encounter and their long friendship.

Visit Saharan Museum

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Publication of the book ‘Maximilien au désert’ by the authors Alex Décotte and Jean-Claude Bourgeon, published by Alpha Delta, with contributions by André Dutoit, Armande Reymond, Nicole Métral and Philippe Roullet.

The book is available on Amazon but only in French.

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