Choreographer Hans van Manen donates his photos of dancers and male nudes to Rijksmuseum
Choreographer Hans van Manen has donated his photographic oeuvre – 86 photographs – to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
In the 1980s and 90s, parallel to his choreographic career, Van Manen developed a small, scrupulously composed body of photographic work comprising portraits of dancers and male nudes — many of which are too explicit for this blog.
A striking characteristic of his photographic style is the apparent simplicity of composition, with its primary focus being to capture aesthetic beauty. In 2019, he and his partner Henk van Dijk donated 21 photographs by Robert Mapplethorpe to the Rijksmuseum, and some of his photos reflect his love of Mapplethorpe’s work.
Van Manen’s inspiration and mentor was Robert Mapplethorpe, whom he knew personally. And, in turn, Van Manen became mentor to the young Erwin Olaf. In 2022 they joined forces for the Dance in Close-Up series, comprising stills and close-ups of Van Manen’s choreographies.
Taco Dibbits, Director of the Rijksmuseum, said:
Hans van Manen’s powerful photographs are testimony to his eye as a choreographer. The unique tone of his work makes it a key facet of Dutch photography of the 1980s.
While working as a choreographer for the Dutch National Ballet, Van Manen found time for photography. He enjoyed being able to work alone and in peace, printing his negatives in the darkroom, and away from the intensity of working with large groups of dancers.
Van Manen’s images, always in square 6×6 format, are meticulously styled and perfectly printed. Almost all his sitters were dancers, but the nude was also an important aspect of his photographic work, as he pointed out in an interview with Joyce Roodnat:
I love the nude. Wearing clothing means filling the gaps in a story. I want to present something else: information, an impression – not a personal account. I make portraits – of people and parts of their bodies – that are as beautiful, objective and unsentimental as possible, but not insensitive.
Van Manen has exhibited widely, in Spain, Germany and France, as well as in the Netherlands, with his friend Paul Blanca. His book Portrait was released in 1986.
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.
