Exhibition catalogue devoted to Thomas Ruff's series of portraits, published by the town of Velbert for the exhibitions at Museum Schloss Hardenberg in Velbert and at Portikus in Frankfurt am Main in 1988. With a text by Julian Heynen. The Portraits series, begun in 1981, consists of half-length portraits made in the studio in the same manner: passport-like images with the upper edge just above the hair, even lighting and sitters between 25 and 35 years old, photographed with a flash on 9 x 12 cm negatives, at first against solid coloured backgrounds that each sitter chose from a stack of coloured card stock.