Hans Dukkers (1920-1985),

Couture hat design by Barend van den Brink, 1953.

Gelatin silverprint, printed 1996, size 36,5x36cm, not signed, not stamped, incl. mount and frame size 80x60cm.

Provenance: printed for the exhibition Blondies and Beauties, Modefotografie Hans Dukkers 1950-1970 in Amsterdams Historisch Museum, 1996.

Hans Dukkers (1920-1985) photographed fashion from 1947 onwards. In it he was a pioneer for the Netherlands and he was very inventive. Dukkers introduced the subject of a photomodel, which did not exist before. Hans Dukkers (and not Paul Huf) was from the first half of the fifties until the second half of the sixties the most influential fashion and couture photographer in the Netherlands. The special thing about his photography was that he managed to transform a fashion image into a woman’s image: the woman made by the clothes that framed her. From 1952 he worked for the great Amsterdam couturiers such as Dick Holthaus, Max Heijmans, Frank Govers and especially Ferry Offerman.

Wiet Palar was a Dutch dancer from the former Dutch Indies. She worked as such at the Scapino Ballet during the season 1946/47, the Ballet of the Dutch Opera in the period 1947/51 and the following season at the Ballet der Lage Landen. She also worked, as a professional photo model.