Dekker8

I like the whole concept. This photo belongs to a folder of portraits taken in the same place, it seems an exhibition, what gives them some kind of unity. This one is technically not the better one, but is the more dramatic. This and the other photos are posed, but the photographer have been able to catch each model in an unique way, conveying feelings and a mood. It is interesting to see their body language as well. Besides, for somebody who knows well the Netherlands, it is amazing to see how well represented are some Dutch people here.

Simple but effective portrait. Good interaction between the photographer and the subject. The man is not feeling self conscious, his facial expression is open and honest, he's trying to help the photographer. Exact exposure (the glasses are almost not seen, as if the man has put on only its frame), though the light is a little harsh. To take such a simple portrait without helping yourself with a chair or some additional detail is really bold. It shows total control on the media and a high-level craft. After writing all this I went to see other photographer's works. It seems I was right. Regards. Blago

The Title suggests Mousssorgsky (Mussorgsky) and his ten piano pieces created and dedicated to a friend who died after M. saw an exhibition of the friend's work. Does this folder have any such relationship to a friend or illness/death?

 

Whether or not, these photographs are in the tradition of the old Dutch master painters, very dark (if they were in color, one would expect the browns and blacks to predominate).

 

The paintings of the Old Dutch Masters -- epitomized by the works of the master, Rembrandt, were primariily to memorialize, glorify, and adorn the residences and guildhalls of the upper class traders who made Holland into the richest country in Europe through its world wide trade.

 

Commissions were handed out to portrait artists, who also did landscapes.

 

The Masters' work was exceedingly somber, with spare use of light, suggesting the spare Dutch winter sunlight and the spare sunlight which was available anyway in the crowded warren that were available in thriving Amsterdam. The constant weather patterns of heavy clouds (like our Pacific Northwest) also influenced the availablility of light.

 

Here, the photographs seem to draw on that influence, with strong lighting on the faces, strong expressions on them, and little else to distract, with the clothes, hair and background melding together -- all in the ages-old Dutch tradition. None of that new-fangled stuff brought by that upstart Van Gogh with his yellow sunflowers and impressionist values which he imported from those la de das from France.

 

Holland is a land of Calvinist ideals -- people are hard-working, pay their taxes (which are very high), pride themselves on being good citizens, and have a high degree of conformity (at least on the outside).

 

They preserve their individuality in their personalities (with their delightful individual senses of humor and their individual values) -- which it seems the photographer has captured very well in the faces here in this folder.

 

[The Dutch are masters of understatement and wry humor. Why wry humor? -- if you lived next door to the bellicose Germans for so many centuries, as a matter of survival, if you wanted to preserve your ability to express yourself freely without having your words turn into war all the time, you couched your words in very subtly veiled jests. Such is the nature of the Dutch personality and the wry Dutch humor -- a riot to listen to one has a finely tuned ear (Knicki, are you listening?)

 

And the photographer, by concentrating on strong, individual faces, and muting everything else in my opinion has captured the very essence of the Dutchness of his subjects.

 

I think it takes almost an art/cultural historian to understand the significance of this folder in relation to the Dutch people and Dutch art.

 

But maybe I'm just blowing smoke -- or showing off that I've spent a lot of time in Holland; I'm a great admirer of Dutch people and understated Dutch humor.

 

And of this the strength of this folder.

 

John (Crosley)

Guillermo

Thank you very much for the great comments!

I really enjoyed reading this, it is a inspiration to continue collecting dutch characters.

 

Blagoy amazing that you see the helpfull attitude of this character. He was all friendly and understanding in a few seconds. Later on I heard that the person himself is a pretty good artist. Thank you for your kind words.

 

John, what can I say?

I will come back often to read these words, it will help and inspire me. You don't know half how well this works for me. Thanks for blowing some smoke and understanding the dutch.

 

(Mussorgsky's work made the folder title, but I did not know the relation with the death of his friend.)

Comments are appreciated, thanks.