Kajsa and Birgit Blomberg, the Dutch granddaughters of Swedish documentary maker, writer and photographer Rolf Blomberg (11 November 1912 - 8 December 1996), founded the Blomberg Gallery. At last, the unique oeuvre of this man, who made 35,000 timeless black-and-white photographs, has been given a platform. Through Instagram and the website blomberggallery.com, the granddaughters share images and stories from their remarkable grandfather’s life.
Rolf Blomberg was one of the last ‘true’ explorers. His life revolved around expeditions, searches for new animal species, flora and fauna, and encounters with other cultures and Indigenous peoples.
He was in his early twenties when he first travelled to the Galápagos Islands. The unspoilt natural environment made an unforgettable impression on the young Swede. He had acquired a taste for adventure and continued travelling. For half a century, he roamed the world almost continuously. He visited Indonesia, Australia, Kenya, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and many other countries. In 1968, he settled permanently in Quito, the capital of Ecuador.
Blomberg documented his expeditions in books, films and photographs. Between 1936 and 1976, he wrote twenty books about his expeditions, which were translated in several countries, and made 33 documentaries for Swedish television. He wrote numerous scientific articles for magazines such as National Geographic and Sea Frontiers. With his special Hasselblad camera, personally given to him by Victor Hasselblad, Blomberg made some 35,000 black-and-white photographs – timeless images that also reveal his eye for beauty and composition.
During his travels, he collected zoological and botanical specimens and discovered several animal species. In 1950, Blomberg encountered the world’s largest toad in southern Colombia. The thirty-centimetre animal was named ‘Bufo blombergi’, officially honouring the man who first observed it.
Kajsa and Birgit Blomberg
Inspired by this unique oeuvre, his Dutch granddaughters took the initiative to bring the work back into the spotlight and preserve this cultural heritage. Kajsa (1969) and Birgit (1971) grew up in Rotterdam. Even in childhood, they were fascinated by their grandfather’s adventurous life.
At home, his many Swedish and English books with their beautiful photographs took pride of place on the bookshelf. Rolf also gave them an annual subscription to National Geographic, which made the world seem larger and more beautiful to them. He wrote to them regularly, and his Christmas and birthday letters, full of amusing, cartoon-like drawings, were always warmly received. Occasionally, he came to the Netherlands to visit them.
In 1991, Kajsa and Birgit travelled with their mother to Quito to visit Rolf and his wife Araceli. At Rolf’s suggestion, they took a jungle trip in the Rio Napo region, following in their grandfather’s footsteps, albeit in considerably greater comfort.
The first exhibition, Life in Wonder, featuring photographs Rolf Blomberg made during his expeditions to Ecuador, Brazil and Peru, was shown last summer at Galerie Weesperzijde in Amsterdam and opened by Sacha de Boer.
Personal life
Rolf Blomberg married three times. His first marriage was to Kajsa Abdon. Their son Staffan (1944 – 1972) was born in Bandung, Java, during the war. They divorced after the war. Staffan grew up in the Netherlands and had two children, Kajsa and Birgit Blomberg. Rolf had two children with his second wife, the Ecuadorian Emma Robinson: Anders and Marcela Blomberg. Araceli Gilbert, Ecuador’s best-known female artist, was Rolf’s third wife. They remained together until his death. Araceli’s abstract artworks and Rolf Blomberg’s archive are managed in Ecuador by Marcela Blomberg through Archivo Blomberg.
More information about this photographer is available at Rolf Blomberg.
