Ed van Wijk | Evacuation of citizens during the North Sea flood, Stavenisse (1953)
Ed van Wijk
Ed van Wijk's name is inseparably linked with The Hague: a major part of his archive consists of photographs taken in that city. He preferred to work in black-and-white. One of his first assignments, however, was to photograph the stained-glass windows of church at Gouda in colour before they went into storage for the duration of the war.
During the war Van Wijk took his first important black-and-white pictures of The Hague. In the very first days of the German occupation he took to the More »
Ed van Wijk's name is inseparably linked with The Hague: a major part of his archive consists of photographs taken in that city. He preferred to work in black-and-white. One of his first assignments, however, was to photograph the stained-glass windows of church at Gouda in colour before they went into storage for the duration of the war.
During the war Van Wijk took his first important black-and-white pictures of The Hague. In the very first days of the German occupation he took to the streets with his camera. The morning after the devastating bombardment of Rotterdam he was there taking pictures. He also recorded the events of Tuesday, September 5 1944, when liberation seemed imminent, the evacuation of the Hague district of Marlot, the bicycle raids of October 1944, the rounding-up of people for forced labour on November 21 1944, the aftermath of bombing on Bezuidenhout, food-droppings at Duindigt and a host of pictures of the liberation of The Hague. Compared with the work of Menno Huizinga, who also photographed in The Hague during the war, Van Wijk's archive is more limited in size and scope. Nevertheless, his photographs bear witness to a keen eye for detail, drama and lighting. The two latter characteristics may have something to do with his other wartime occupation: taking photographs of performances of the Residentie theatre company.
One of Ed van Wijk's most important postwar activities was the compilation of a series of photo-books commissioned by the Hague publisher W. Hoeve between 1953 and 1963. These collections clearly reflect his leanings toward the Subjective Photography propagated by Otto Steinert. Ultimately, though, he went his own way, giving precedence to professionalism and efficiency.
His photo-books were slightly overshadowed by the comparable series published by Contact, but even so they drew attention to him as a photographer. Several institutions invited him to teach photography; he thus played a significant part in the training of countless young photographers. « Less
