Vincent Mentzel exhibition at the Rijksmuseum
The Vincent Mentzel exhibition opens at the Rijksmuseum on 28 January 2022
Publication date: 15 December 2021 - 09:00
The Vincent Mentzel exhibition opens at the Rijksmuseum on 28 January 2022. With more than 75 original prints of Mentzel’s photographs, the exhibition will offer a retrospective of the most important work by one of the Netherlands’ most iconic photographers. Vincent Mentzel (b. 1945) is the doyen of Dutch news photography. His photos were delivered to households throughout the Netherlands on a weekly and sometimes daily basis in the national newspaper NRC Handelsblad. The exhibition at the Rijksmuseum shows his versatility and highlights the practice of photojournalism.
I am very proud of this exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, where my photos will be on display amidst so much beauty. It’s a great honour that my work has been included in the collection. By actively collecting photographs, the Rijksmuseum recognises that photography is inextricably linked with the collection of paintings, sculptures, drawings and books.
Vincent Mentzel
Mentzel was the staff photographer for NRC Handelsblad for almost 40 years, covering both domestic and international news. He also made many travel reports in countries including Iran, Portugal, Tibet, Suriname and China. Mentzel has won several awards for his photography, including the first prize in the News category of the World Press Photo Contest, and on two occasions the Zilveren Camera award.
Themes
Mentzel’s central topic was Dutch politics. He saw the Binnenhof parliament complex in The Hague as an arena where battles were fought over the way society is organised. During the 1970s and 80s, he documented the activities of the key political figures of the day – Joop den Uyl, Dries van Agt, Hans Wiegel, Ruud Lubbers – as well as the people who took to the streets in protest. In the Netherlands this an era of gruelling and heated debate, conflict and – as his photos show – drama. Mentzel also travelled widely as a foreign correspondent. He visited China 16 times, and saw it change before his eyes: from Mao’s regime in 1973, to the Gang of Four, to the bloodily suppressed student uprisings on Tiananmen Square in May and June 1989.
Turning point
At the start of Mentzel’s long career, photojournalism was still seen as poor relation. Thanks in part to his own efforts, however, it grew to become a powerful medium offering potential for artistic expression. A second turning point came at the end of his career, as photojournalists lost their exclusive right to photograph the news: with the rise of the smartphone and social media, suddenly everyone was a photojournalist. And today press freedom, including that of press photographers, is under renewed threat, in the Netherlands as elsewhere. Recently in Rotterdam, for example, a press photographer was attacked during rioting sparked by protests against Covid-19 restrictions.
Fund
Photojournalism has gained prestige in the museum world, but historical study of the medium is still in its infancy. In 2012, Vincent Mentzel set up a fund at the Rijksmuseum to promote the study of photojournalism. The fund raises the profile of this category within the Rijksmuseum’s photographic collection among the general public, and promotes research and an international exchange of knowledge in the field.
Stewardship
Mentzel’s work is under the joint stewardship of two national museums, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam. His archive of approximately 600,000 negatives, contact sheets and colour slides is housed at the Nederlands Fotomuseum. In 2011, the Rijksmuseum acquired more than 2,300 original photo prints, thanks in part to support from the Vrienden Lottery (formerly the BankGiro Lottery). Research and conservation work on the collection will be carried out over the coming years. Mentzel’s life’s work will thus become accessible to anyone with an interest in these powerful images and visual narratives of the late 20th century.
Audio tour
In a short audio tour of the exhibition Vincent Mentzel himself talks about the photographs. The tour will also be available via the Rijksmuseum website.
Book
The book Vincent Mentzel, Fotos (in Dutch, 232 pages, ISBN 978-94-6208-687-6, €19.50) will go on sale on 10 December 2021, through a partnership with Museum Hilversum and the Nederlands Fotomuseum. The selection of Mentzel’s photographs will be accompanied by essays by Arnon Grunberg, Mattie Boom, Birgit Donker and Nicole Robbers. The book will be available from the Rijksmuseum shop and web shop, and from bookstores.
The book has been produced with the support of the Charema Fund for History and Art, managed by the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, the Frederik Muller Fund and the Vincent Mentzel Fund / Rijksmuseum Fund.
Vital support
The Rijksmuseum is grateful for all forms of support it receives. More than ever, it is clear that government subsidies, corporate contributions and support from funds, as well as donations, legacies and Friends are, and will remain, essential to the Rijksmuseum.
