Saying Evening Prayers

Hans Aarsman (1951), gelatin silver print, Amsterdam, 1982

The photographer and writer Aarsman likes to ridicule photography that finds its way onto the walls of a museum. He feels we should not take photographs too seriously. There is no such thing as photographic reality, only coincidence and the fleeting moment. When he photographed the state of religion in the Netherlands for the Rijksmuseum in 1982, he was busy for an entire year. He found perhaps the finest and truest image – he must have seen it a thousand times – right at home: his father engaged in a daily ritual of contemplation.

  • Artwork typedocumentary photographs
  • Object numberNG-1984-5-31
  • Dimensionsheight 49.5 cm x width 59.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicsontwikkelgelatinezilverdruk