The Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem shows until 28 September 2014 a marvellous exhibition:  Rineke Dijkstra | 17th Century Portraits, focusing on the interesting dialogue between the portraiture style found in Golden Age paintings and the contemporary works of photographer Rineke Dijkstra.

The Haarlem Photo Club will visit the exhibition on 27 September 2014. Are you joining?  Afterwards we will share our impressions in a café nearby. If you have already seen the exhibition, you are welcome to join us only for a drink. Sign up now.

For Conversation Piece VI, Rineke Dijkstra has combined her photographs of children and adolescents with paintings in the Frans Hals Museum. Rineke Dijkstra’s work is often placed in the tradition of seventeenth-century Dutch painting; in this exhibition it is easy to see why. Dijkstra is fascinated by the way an artist can reflect someone’s personality, with all its complexities and contrasts, as accurately as possible in a single portrait. The look in the eyes is absolutely essential, but elements like the light, the background and the sitter’s pose can also tell us a surprising amount.

With the series Conversation Piece, the Frans Hals Museum wants to encourage visitors to take a fresh look at the 16th and 17th-century collection of paintings. By juxtaposing these works with modern and contemporary art, surprising links are laid between highly varied styles and periods in the history of art. The museum demonstrates that even though certain perceptions and opinions have a long history they are nevertheless still valid today and continue to be revisited and explored.

About Rineke Dijkstra

Rineke Dijkstra (1959) is an acclaimed Dutch photographer from Sittard.
Dijkstra gained international attention for her moving yet sober portrait style, often focusing on adolescents or young adults during periods of their lives in which they are searching for or developing their identity.
Set against austere backgrounds, Dijkstra’s subjects look directly into the camera, while their body positioning, gaze and other subtle details evoke a distinct emotion and tone that allude to their individual identities or characters.
Most recently, Dijkstra was chosen to make one of the three official state portraits of King Willem-Alexander.

Practical information Rineke Dijkstra | 17th Century Portraits Exhibition

29 May 2014 – 28 September, Tues-Sat 11am-5pm; Sun. 12pm-5pm.

A: Frans Hals Museum, Groot Heiligland 62, 2011 ES, Haarlem
T:+31 (0)23 511 5775
E:office@franshalsmuseum.nl
W:http://www.franshalsmuseum.nl
€: 12,50

To purchase the tickets, click here.

The Haarlem Photo Club will visit the exhibition Rineke Dijkstra | 17th Century Portraits Exhibition on 27 September 2014. Are you joining us?

Afterwards we will share our impressions in a café nearby. If you have already seen the exhibition, you are welcome to join us only for a drink. Click here to sign up.  

Arianna Ardia-Wenink

Arianna studied Literature and Arts at the University of Amsterdam, where she specialised a.o. in "museology" and "organisation & marketing of blockbuster exhibitions". After working for 6 years as market researcher & marketing analyst at Zoom.nl, now she focuses her photography love and enthusiasm on the Haarlem Photo Club.