Dutch Eyes

Dutch Eyes is the Nederlands Fotomuseum’s major inaugural exhibition in Las Palmas and offers surprising new perspectives on the history of Dutch photography. It is the first time in 25 years that an overview has been devoted to this subject. The exhibition surveys the history of photography in the Netherlands through the prism of a wide range of themes, presenting work by an impressive list of photographers, renowned and less familiar, who have worked in the Netherlands. This abundance of work may bring back old memories, but it also provides eye-opening perspectives on the rich history of photography in the Netherlands.

The themes of the Dutch Eyes exhibition were chosen for their significance to the history of photography as well as to the country’s cultural history. Areas of particular interest include distinctive 19th-century photographs taken by engineers, the debate about photography’s status as an art form at the start of the 20th century, the catastrophic flood in 1953, the former colonies, and ‘the self-critical gaze’. This thematic approach makes it possible to see work by famous photographers alongside work by unknown figures who wielded the camera. The exhibition includes an abundance of work that has never previously been shown, from collections including those of the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Leiden University’s Print Room, Amsterdam City Archives and the Nederlands Fotomuseum.

The exhibition coincides with the publication of Dutch Eyes, a new and authoritative history of photography in the Netherlands, produced by Waanders Publishers under the auspices of the Stichting Fotografie in Nederland (Foundation for Photography in the Netherlands). The book’s editors are Adi Martis (Utrecht University), Anneke van Veen (Amsterdam City Archives), Flip Bool and Frits Gierstberg (Nederlands Fotomuseum), Hripsimé Visser (Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam), Ingeborg Leijerzapf (Documentation Centre for Photography, Leiden University) and Mattie Boom (Rijksmuseum).

Dutch Eyes
A Critical History of Photography in the Netherlands

mit Oscar van Alphen, Katharina Eleonore Behrend, Diana Blok, Charles Breijer, Marlo Broekmans, Paul Citroën, Martien Coppens, Violette Cornelius, Cobie Douma, Wally Elenbaas, Ed van der Elsken, John Fernhout, Chas Gerretsen, Kees Hana, Fons Hellebrekers, Henk van der Horst, Menno Huizinga, Paul Julien, Aart Klein, Dolf Kruger, Frits Lamberts, Willem van Malsen, Werner Mantz, Cas Oorthuys, Paul Schuitema, Lies Wiegman, Ed van Wijk, Piet Zwart