In honor of the 100th anniversary of Lucebert's birth (1924 – 1994), The Hague Museum of Photography is organizing an exhibition highlighting the photography of this versatile artist. When most people hear the name Lucebert, they will think of the painter or poet. Less known is his photography, which he mainly made from the early fifties to the late sixties.
Unlike many photographers of his time who used photography to provide a representation of reality, Lucebert used the medium in a completely unfettered and intuitive way. It produces a special oeuvre, full of poetic images.
The exhibition features approximately fifty vintage prints from the Lucebert family archive and the museum collection.
Lucebert was part of a generation of artists who wanted to do away with the old in the early fifties and who looked for new art expressions in both literary and visual forms. Lucebert became best known as 'emperor' of the pioneering literary group the Vijftigers, which included Remco Campert, Hugo Claus, Rudy Kousbroek and Simon Vinkenoog.
Photography was an intuitive activity for Lucebert; as a self-taught artist, he did not feel bound by photographic conventions.
In the same period, Lucebert purchased a camera to photograph his children in particular. He was captivated by the medium and started working with it to the fullest.
Photography was an intuitive activity for Lucebert; as a self-taught artist, he did not feel bound by photographic conventions. He was not concerned with the representation of reality, but with capturing a certain intangible atmosphere.
People are always central: his immediate loved ones were often portrayed such as family and friends, often in his studio in his hometown of Bergen. However, he soon broadened his photographic horizon and became street scenes recorded.
The camera also accompanied him on trips abroad. Not always without risk: when he was in Berlin at the invitation of the famous writer Bertolt Brecht in the winter of 1955-1956, he was arrested by the East German security service on suspicion of espionage because he was taking photographs. He also ended up in jail in Bulgaria because of his camera.
The period in which Lucebert photographed fanatically is short, because he experienced photography as extremely strenuous and exhausting and because he ultimately saw himself more as a painter and poet. Yet his unconventional approach has left behind a photographic oeuvre that stands alone, full of poetic and evocative images.
Lucebert - Also a poet as a photographer
October 28, 2023 to April 7, 2024
Photo Museum The Hague
