Current:Home > InvestDutch photographer Erwin Olaf has died at 64. He shot themes from gay nightlife to the royal family -ProfitClass
Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf has died at 64. He shot themes from gay nightlife to the royal family
View
Date:2025-04-15 08:49:38
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Erwin Olaf, an acclaimed Dutch photographer whose work documented topics ranging from gay nightlife in Amsterdam to portraits of the Dutch royal family, has died. He was 64.
Olaf’s highly stylized photos, with lighting often influenced by Dutch master painters Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes Vermeer, were exhibited at galleries around the world during a career spanning decades.
His website carried a statement saying that Olaf recently underwent a lung transplant.
“The recovery seemed to be going very well. He suddenly became unwell on Wednesday morning and CPR was to no avail. We’re going to miss him terribly,” it added.
Taco Dibbits, director of the Rijksmuseum, paid tribute in a statement on the Amsterdam museum’s website.
“Erwin Olaf saw beauty in every person. He is of historical importance because of his activism and role in the LHBTIQ+ community,” Dibbits said.
He called Olaf “an artist with enormous drive and with a very great eye for detail. The Rijksmuseum received its core collection in 2018 and considered Erwin Olaf a sincere friend. We’ll miss him.”
Olaf was made a Knight of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands after 500 of his works were added to the Rijksmuseum collection.
He worked in advertising — once portraying nuns in jeans for a clothing company — as well as in the world of high art and portraiture.
Over the years, he shot portraits of King Willem-Alexander and his family and in 2013 he designed the Dutch side of a new euro coin bearing an image of the king when Willem-Alexander acceded to the throne.
In March, Willem-Alexander awarded Olaf with the Dutch Royal House’s Medal of Honor for Art and Science. It honored him for “using a daring approach to portraiture to address themes such as ethnicity, sexual diversity and economic inequality.”
In a reaction to his death, Willem-Alexander and Maxima said the Netherlands “has lost a unique, exceptionally talented photographer and a great artist.”
“We will miss his friendship,” they added in a statement posted on social media. “His work lives on and continues to be intriguing and moving.”
veryGood! (32)
Related
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Florida agriculture losses between $78M and $371M from Hurricane Idalia, preliminary estimate says
- The U.N. plan to improve the world by 2030 is failing. Does that make it a failure?
- British royals sprinkle star power on a grateful French town with up-and-down ties to royalty
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Indonesia imprisons a woman for saying a Muslim prayer before eating pork in a TikTok video
- Greek civil servants have stopped work in a 24-hour strike that is disrupting public transport
- Police discover bags of fentanyl beneath ‘trap floor’ of NYC day care center where 1-year-old died
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- A British ex-soldier pleads not guilty to escaping from a London prison
Ranking
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- Their husbands’ misdeeds leave Norway’s most powerful women facing the consequences
- Governments and individuals debate: Are mandates needed to reach climate change targets?
- Illinois mass murder suspect, person of interest found dead after Oklahoma police chase
- Jamaica's Kishane Thompson more motivated after thrilling 100m finish against Noah Lyles
- Governors, Biden administration push to quadruple efficient heating, AC units by 2030
- What's up with the internet's obsession over the Roman Empire? The TikTok trend explained
- Elon Musk's Neuralink chip is ready to embark on its first clinical trial. Here's how to sign up.
Recommendation
Big Lots store closures could exceed 300 nationwide, discount chain reveals in filing
Amal Clooney Wears Her Most Showstopping Look Yet With Discoball Dress
Former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson says Rudy Giuliani groped her on Jan. 6, 2021
Extreme heat, coupled with chronic health issues, is killing elderly New Yorkers
Drones warned New York City residents about storm flooding. The Spanish translation was no bueno
Detroit Tigers hire Chicago Blackhawks executive Jeff Greenberg as general manager
When is the next Powerball drawing? No winners, jackpot rises over $700 million
Negligence lawsuit filed over Google Maps after man died driving off a collapsed bridge