Erwin Olaf
Tribute to Erwin Olaf in the Gallery of Honour
Erwin Olaf died on 20 September 2023, at the age of 64. He was a leading photographer for over four decades. In 2018 the Rijksmuseum was the recipient of his core collection of more than 500 of his works. His iconic image Hope Portrait 5 (2005) is now hanging in the Gallery of Honour next to Girl in a Blue Dress (1641) by Johannes Verspronck.
12x Erwin Olaf
This pairing echoes the 12x Erwin Olaf exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in 2013, which presented Olaf’s photographs in dialogue with Dutch paintings. Rembrandt, Jan Steen, Breitner and other Dutch artists had a great influence on his work.
Transfer of Olaf’s core collection
In 2018 the artist transferred nearly 500 prints, portfolios, videos, magazines, books and posters to the Rijksmuseum. The vast majority of these works comprised a gift, while some were acquired with the support of players of the Friends’ Lottery (VriendenLoterij).