The revised Maria Austria Photobiography

photo: Maria Austria - Scene from Orlando Furioso, performance by the Teatro Libero from Rome during the Holland Festival (1970)

‘The book. The photobiography. The thick Austria.’ Biographer Martien Frijns is justifiably proud of his book. It is a beautiful five-centimeter-thick hardcover edition containing a wealth of photographs by and of Maria Austria, mostly in black and white.

This second completely revised edition of Maria Austria - Photobiography was presented shortly before this article was published by Martien Frijns, the MAI and Het Martyrium bookshop, in the studio of Maria’s niece Helly Oestreicher, alongside a pop-up exhibition of Austria’s original prints.

The biography was previously published in 2018 Maria Austria - Photographer, when the first retrospective of her photographs took place in the Jewish Historical Museum (now the Jewish Museum) in Amsterdam.

This biography has been completely revised by Martien Frijns, expanded with previously unknown photos and the title has been changed to Maria Austria - Photobiography. Inspired by surprising discoveries and stories he found in the MAI archive, Frijns aims with this book to raise the theater curtain that has descended over her legacy.

Maria Austria, born Marie Karoline Oestreicher (1915-1975), was a well-known Austrian-Dutch photographer. She is particularly famous for her work in theater photography and her ability to capture the moment, which gives her photographs a vibrant and dynamic quality.

'Her photos are not snapshots, they capture the meaningful moment.' ~ Helly Oestreicher

After fleeing Austria because of the emerging Nazi regime, she settled in Amsterdam, where she played an important role in the post-war photographic world.

Independent and enterprising by nature, she was not inclined to seek the spotlight. Having lived in hiding, she was accustomed to remaining vigilant and closely observing the outside world. In Maria Austria - Photobiography Martien Frijns nevertheless succeeded in documenting her life and work in great breadth and detail.

The written sources are not numerous, but her photographs show us who she really was, and as her cousin Helly Oestreicher so beautifully put it: [...] "Her photographs are not snapshots, they capture the telling moment."

Maria Austria Photobiography - Martien Frijns
Pages: 816
Price: €50.00
Publisher: M10Boeken. Language: Dutch. This article refers to the Dutch-language edition.‍