Photo exhibition about picturalism

Berend Zweers (1872 Haarlem 1946). Sara Maria Zweers-Ten Pietrik (1873-1953), echtgenote van de fotograaf, 1908. Drie-kleuren kooldruk: 22,8 x 17,3 cm

From 1 april to 20 June 2010, you can visit the exhibition ‘In atmosferisch licht. Picturalisme in de Nederlandse fotografie 1890-1925’ ’in Museum Het Rembrandthuis in Amsterdam. The exhibition shows a selection of more than 100 of the best picturalism photos from the special collections of Leiden University Libraries.

Famous Dutch photographers from the 1900s, such as Henri Berssenbrugge, Adriaan Boer, Bernard Eilers and Berend Zweers, developed photography from a technical skill into art. They recaptured portraits with a Rembrandt-like lighting, stills, landscapes and daily rural activity in photography. In this way they continued the traditions from painted art from the seventeenth and nineteenth century.

A richly illustrated book accompanies the exhibition: In atmosferisch licht. Picturalisme in de Nederlandse fotografie (red. Maartje van den Heuvel), 156 pp. (ill.),Waanders, 2010.

Practical information

Please visit the website of Museum Het Rembrandthuis for practical information such as the address, opening hours, entrance fees and other information.

Exhibition tours

Jacob Merkelbach (1877-1942). Naaktstudie ca. 1920. Ontwikkelgelatinezilverdruk: 22,7 x 16,9 cm

The museum organises tours on every Saturday and Sunday at 13h00 and 15h00, except for Sunday 4 April (Easter) and Sunday 23 May (Whitsun). Tours are free and you need not register beforehand.

Lectures

Museum Het Rembrandthuis organises two lectures for which you need to register by e-mail to the Rembrandthuis: educatie@rembrandthuis.nl

Friday 16 April, 15h30

Alison Nordström, Truth/Beauty: Pictorialism and the Photograph as Art 1845-1945.

Alison Nordström will discuss the received history of Pictorialism and offer some challenges to it, especially by considering its precursors and the relationships between pictorialism and Modernism in photography. She will also briefly discuss pictorialism in Japan and Australia as examples of Pictorialism’s international reach. Alison Nordström is senior curator at the George Eastman House in New York, the oldest photography museum in the world.

Friday 21 May, 15h30
Maartje van den Heuvel, In atmosferisch licht - Picturalisme in de Nederlandse fotografie 1890-1925.
Maartje van den Heuvel explains picturalism in Dutch photography in an international context. Guided by many examples of the work of Bernard Eilers, Adriaan Boer, Berend Zweers, Henri Berssenbrugge, Abraham Weinberg and others, she gives an insight in the motives and styles of the picturalists. Who were they and what role did tehy play in the history of Dutch photography? The picturalists were able to reach the recognised art platforms with photography for the first time, as happened in other countries around the world. Yet, the Dutch version of picturalism had its very own characteristics, as will be shown in this lecture.
Maartje van den Heuvel is curator photography at the Special Collections department of Leiden University Libraries.