Hendrik kerstens biography of christopher
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Hendrik Kerstens – Paula
Description
Hendrik Kerstens – Paula
Publisher: Thieme Art, 2010
Hardcover, 112 pages, Dutch/English
Size: 30.5×24.5cm
New in seal
This book was the first overview of Kerstens’ photographs.
Since 1995, Hendrik Kerstens has been photographing his daughter, Paula, creating moving portraits in the spirit of Vermeer. Born in The Hague in 1956, Kerstens is a self-taught photographer whose work has been shown in more than 40 exhibitions across Europe and the United States.
His work is in major museum collections and is frequently featured in the New York Times magazine, and has inspired tastemakers as diverse as Elton John and Alexander McQueen. (McQueen used Kerstens’s now-iconic portrait Bag as the invitation for his fall 2009 collection.)
Here, Kerstens lovingly portrays Paula as a self-possessed young woman (with a sense of humor), as well as projecting onto her his fascination with the Dut
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Photography & Intermedia
‘HENDRIK KERSTENS DID NOT TRAIN FORMALLY AS AN ARTIST. HOWEVER, HE WISHED TO DEVOTE HIMSELF TO A MORE CREATIVE PROFESSION AND IN 1995, AT THE AGE OF FORTY, HE LEFT THE BUSINESS WORLD AND TOOK UP PHOTOGRAPHY. HIS WIFE ANNA WORKED FULL TIME TO SUPPORT THIS CHANGE OF DIRECTION. IN A REVERSAL OF MORE TRADITIONAL ROLES, KERSTENS CARED FOR THEIR YOUNG DAUGHTER PAULA, WHILE ALSO STUDYING PHOTOGRAPHY DURING THE DAY. HAVING A CHILD LEFT A DEEP IMPRESSION ON KERSTENS. THROUGH PHOTOGRAPHY, HE EXPLORED THE ACCOMPANYING FEELINGS OF RESPONSIBILITY, VULNERABILITY AND LOVE HE FELT TOWARDS HIS DAUGHTER, STARTING WITH DOCUMENTARY FAMILY SNAPSHOTS. AS PAULA PHYSICALLY AND PSYCHOLOGICALLY GREW, KERSTENS SEARCHED FOR AN ARTISTIC MANIFESTATION OF THESE CHANGES, LEADING TO HIS INTERPRETATIONS OF THE GREAT DUTCH MASTER PAINTERS OF THE 17TH CENTURY WITH PAULA AS HIS MUSE.’
https://hendrikkerstens.com
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Paula is a series of photographs of the artist’s daughter and muse. These pictures are contemporary and unusual interpretations of works bygd the acknowledged masters of the golden age of Dutch art.
Paula invites its viewer to participate in a dialogue with time, art and him-/herself. In his works Hendrik Kerstens addresses the tradition of XVII century Dutch portraiture. The images by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals find in his works an unusual and controversial manifestation.
Paula is an allegory of eternal femininity put in contemporary context. Approachable and defiant, caring and distant, provocative and pedantic, she stares directly at the viewer. With a black backdrop, her pale skin reminds one of white marble. Her confident and proud gaze will keep your mind occupied with Paula for a long time.
© Hendrik Kerstens, Courtesy Perspectiva Art.
photo harpersbazaar.com
Hendrik Kerstens was born in 1956 in The Hague. He studied photography on his own and in 1995 he d