Hendrik Kerstens (born The Hague, March 24, 1956) is a Dutch photographer and visual artist. He is known for his portraits of his daughter, Paula.

Biography

Hendrik Kerstens did not train formally as an artist but ran a business in the city of The Hague as a cheese importer. After the birth of his daughter Paula, he left the business and took up photography. More than making family snapshots, he wanted to record the changes and events in his child's life. As Paula grew older, he developed himself from a documentary photographer into a visual artist specialized in

staged photography Staged photography is a form of photography where the photographer, like a director, stages everything in advance to have full control over how his or her idea is visualized. Although the staging of a photograph was already common in the early da ...

Photographs

Curators and critics notice the visual references to the traditional Old Master paintings in the photographs of Kerstens. For example, a Dutch critic stated that Kerstens turned his portrait ''Bag'' into a modern masterpiece in a similar way

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem. Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group ...

(1582-1666) did before him. Other art historians compared the photograph of Paula with a red turban (''Red Turban'') on her head with the portraits of

Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...

(c. 1390-1441). Critics also suggest that Kerstens calls for attention regarding ecological problems (like the excessive use of plastic) by re-using plastic bags, cans and foils as modern accessories in his portraits. Kerstens' use of his daughter as his primary model and muse has drawn comparisons to photographer

Sally Mann Sally Mann HonFRPS (born Sally Turner Munger; May 1, 1951) is an American photographer who has made large format black and white photographs—at first of her young children, then later of landscapes suggesting decay and death. Early life and e ...

, with one American critic pointing out Paula's increasing agency in her own self-presentation as she ages, morphing the role of muse into that of collaborator to create "fierce self-portraits that rewrite the narrative of female objectification." Besides art photography, Kerstens also produces commission photographs for periodicals like

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

. Among his sitters were director

Michael Haneke Michael Haneke (; born 23 March 1942) is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His work often examines social issues and depicts the feelings of estrangement experienced by individuals in modern society. Haneke has made films in French, G ...

(2007), visual artist

Marlene Dumas Marlene Dumas (born 3 August 1953) is a South African artist and painter currently based in the Netherlands. Life and work Dumas was born in 1953 in Cape Town, South Africa and grew up in Kuils River in the Western Cape, where her father had ...

(2008) and actor

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

(2011).

Recognition

The National Portrait Gallery in London honored the photograph ''Bag'' with a ''Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize'' in 2008. Fashion designer

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashion ...

gave Kerstens all credits of being the source of inspiration for his show ''The Horn of Plenty'' (2009). A series of posters designed by Kerstens in 2010 for the

Bayerische Staatsoper The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

in München became awarded as the ''Beste Plakette des Jahres''. In 2013 the

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

asked Kerstens to give his view on fashion, photographing clothes and accessories of designers such as

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmetic ...

Comme des Garçons Comme des Garçons (also known as CDG) is a Japanese fashion label based in Paris that was created and led by Rei Kawakubo. Its French flagship store is located in Paris. This label owns a world-wide store chain featuring various lines of prod ...

and others. This shoot was granted with the 11th

Lucie Award The Lucie Awards is an annual event honoring achievements in photography, founded in 2003 by Hossein Farmani. The Lucie Awards is an annual gala ceremony presented by the Lucie Foundation (a 501 (c)3 non-profit charitable organization), honoring ...

for the best fashion lay-out of the year. The works of Kerstens are also shown in museums and collections all over the world.

Personal life

Hendrik Kerstens lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Europe.

Publications (selection)

* Barnes, Martin e.a. ''Hendrik Kerstens: Paula – Silent Conversations''. Antwerpen: Ludion, 2013. - * Foam. ''Dutch Seen – New York Rediscovered''. New York: Museum of the City of New York, 2009. - * Howgate, Sarah e.a. ''21st Century Portraits: a Compendium of the National Portrait Gallery''. Londen: National Portrait Gallery, 2014. - * Ryan, Kathy e.a. ''The New York Times Magazine Photographs''. New York: Aperture, 2011. - * Sinsheimer, Karen e.a. ''Portrayal-Betrayal: Santa Barbara Museum of Art: Photographic Portraits from the Permanent Collection''. Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 2012. - * Van den Heuvel, Maartje e.a. ''Hendrik Kerstens: Paula''. Deventer: Thieme Art Publishers, 2010. - * Van den Heuvel, Maartje (ed.) ''Self-Reflective. Hendrik & Paula Kerstens''. Zwolle: W Books, 2023. - * Zwagerman, Joost. “De Dingen de Baas: De Schoonheid van een Stukje Plastic.” In ''De Stilte van het Licht: Schoonheid en Onbehagen in de Kunst'', p. 153-158. Amsterdam: De Arbeiderspers, 2015. -

Collections (selection)

* Special Collections of Leiden University Libraries - The Netherlands * The Caldic Collection - Wassenaar - The Netherlands * Santa Barbara Museum of Art - US * Museum of Photographic Arts - San Diego - US * Sir Elton John Collection - London - UK * Alexander McQueen Collection - London - UK

Awards (selection)

* PANL Award of the Netherlands (2001) * The Taylor Wessing Prize of the National Portrait Gallery (2008) * LeadAwards Medaillen, Porträtfotografie des Jahres (2010) * The Lucie Award for the Best Fashion Layout of the Year (2013)

References

External links

*
Hendrik & Paula Kerstens: Paula in Leiden University Libraries' Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerstens, Hendrik 1956 births Living people Photographers from Amsterdam Portrait photographers Photographers from The Hague