Rutger ten Broeke (NL, 1944)

Rutger ten Broeke is a key figure in the development of photography in The Netherlands. In his work, the relation between the female body and nature is central.

Out of fascination and respect for women, Ten Broeke mainly works with female models. Throughout the development of his oeuvre, the nude became more and more of a metaphor. The model – a word that Ten Broeke hates as it depersonifies – is not just a woman to the photographer, she is the symbol of ‘The Woman’. The photographer returns her to nature; two elementary sources, engaging one another. In his book Rutger ten Broeke. Fourty Years (2009) he wrote: “I desperately try to let the two flow together, but I typically fail, no matter how hard I try… Fortunately in my efforts this search results in images I was not exactly looking for, but that I value all the same”. For Ten Broeke a good photograph, is a photograph that bares truth.

Ten Broeke never comes too close and hardly ever takes close ups. When he photographs nudes it is essential that there is a pure and archetypical rapport with their environment. The nude comments on the landscape or interior whereas the environment would, without human presence, be meaningless. It all boils down to a story about relationships, vulnerability and love.

Besides working as a photographer, Ten Broeke worked as an editor and journalist for Foto Magazine, organised the first Enschede Fotobiennale and founded Galerie F.32 in the late 80’s. He was also a teacher at the AKI art academy in Enschede for many years.