In memoriam Hans van Manen

The internationally acclaimed choreographer Hans van Manen (1932 – 2025) passed away on 17 December at the age of 93. As a tribute, three of his photographs will be on display in the Gallery of Honour for two weeks. These are photos he took in the 1980s, during the short period when he was active as a photographer alongside his work as a choreographer.

Hans van Manen: choreographer

Hans van Manen has a major international reputation as a choreographer. He created more than 130 ballets that are still performed today, both in the Netherlands and far beyond. For his work, he received numerous awards, including the Erasmus Prize.

Hans van Manen: photographer

Within a smaller circle, the grand master of contemporary ballet was also known as a photographer. Between 1979 and 1991, he produced a modest yet high-quality body of work. He created portraits and studies of the human body. Dance is always present in his photographs. Van Manen's work has been exhibited regularly, including at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. In 1986, the photo book Portrait was published.

Donation

Over the past ten years, Van Manen and his husband Henk van Dijk were closely connected to the Rijksmuseum. They donated 21 photographs by the famous American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. In 2024 and 2025, Van Manen donated a large part of his own work, around 150 photographs, as well as his art collection, to the Rijksmuseum.

Book your visit

Hans van Manen
In the Gallery of Honour
24 December 2025 until 6 January 2026

PRICES

Adults: € 25
Free for 18 and under
Free for ICOM
Free for Friends

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Museumstraat 1
1071 XX Amsterdam

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Wheelchair access
Lifts on every floor
Guide dogs allowed

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