Johan Van der Keuken - Mise au Jour - 2015
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Description from the seller
Mise au Jour is a carefully edited selection of previously unpublished and little-known photographs by Johan van der Keuken, bringing to light images made between 1956 and 1982 with his Leica M3. Edited and designed by Willem van Zoetendaal, the book is the third publication dedicated to the photographer's archive, following Quatorze Juillet and Paris Mortel Retouché. Its title, which translates from French as "to bring to light" or "to uncover," perfectly reflects the project's intention: to reveal overlooked photographs that enrich our understanding of one of the most important figures in Dutch photography.
Rather than following a strict chronological or geographical structure, the book unfolds as a visual journey through France, Spain, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and the United States. Van der Keuken's photographs move effortlessly between street life, portraits, architecture and fleeting everyday moments, demonstrating his extraordinary ability to transform ordinary encounters into images charged with rhythm, tension and humanity.
What makes Mise au Jour particularly fascinating is that these are not forgotten outtakes or secondary works. Instead, they reveal the photographer's instinctive eye at work, showing how his visual language was already fully formed long before many of these photographs were published. The sequencing allows unexpected connections to emerge between images made decades apart, creating a dialogue that feels both spontaneous and carefully orchestrated.
Beautifully printed and elegantly designed, the publication is far more than an archival survey. It offers fresh insight into Van der Keuken's creative process while reaffirming his remarkable sensitivity to gesture, movement and the subtle relationships between people and the spaces they inhabit. The restrained design allows the photographs to breathe, encouraging the reader to discover new visual associations with every page.
More than a retrospective, Mise au Jour is a celebration of the enduring vitality of Johan van der Keuken's photography. It demonstrates that even decades after they were made, these rediscovered photographs retain an extraordinary freshness, confirming the photographer's lasting influence on the language of the photobook and documentary photography.
Johan van der Keuken (1938–2001) was one of the most influential Dutch photographers and documentary filmmakers of the twentieth century. Born in Amsterdam, he began photographing at the age of twelve and achieved early recognition when, at just seventeen, he published his first photobook, Wij zijn 17 (We Are 17), a remarkably mature portrait of adolescence that immediately established him as an important new voice in European photography.
After studying filmmaking in Paris during the late 1950s, Van der Keuken developed a unique practice that moved seamlessly between still photography and cinema. Rather than treating the two mediums separately, he considered them complementary ways of exploring perception, movement and the complexities of everyday life. Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, he produced over fifty documentary films alongside a series of highly influential photobooks.
His work often focused on the relationship between individuals and the social, political and economic forces that shape their lives. Whether photographing the streets of Paris, Amsterdam, Africa, Asia or Latin America, Van der Keuken approached his subjects with extraordinary curiosity and empathy, combining documentary observation with an experimental visual language that challenged conventional narrative structures.
Photobooks such as Wij zijn 17, Achter Glas and Paris Mortel are now regarded as landmarks of post-war European photography, admired for their innovative sequencing, poetic editing and cinematic use of the printed page. His influence extends well beyond photography, inspiring generations of photographers, filmmakers and book designers interested in the relationship between image, time and storytelling.
Although Johan van der Keuken is widely celebrated for his films, his photographic work has received increasing international recognition in recent decades through exhibitions, archive publications and facsimile editions. Today he is considered one of the great innovators of the European photobook, whose work continues to demonstrate how photography can observe reality while simultaneously questioning the way we see the world.
Seller's Story
Dartbooks is a specialized photography bookshop based in Barcelona, dedicated to photobooks, rare and out-of-print editions, and historically significant publications. With a strong focus on Japanese photography, Dartbooks was founded to provide continuity to a field that requires depth, expertise, and careful curation.
The bookshop was established after the closure of Kowasa, a landmark reference for photography books in Spain. Its disappearance left a clear gap for photographers, collectors, and institutions in need of a space with a serious and knowledgeable approach to the photobook. Dartbooks emerged in response to that need, not as a replacement, but as part of the natural evolution of a cultural ecosystem.
Dartbooks operates with a curatorial mindset, shaped by long-term engagement with photography and book collecting. The project functions as a book hunting platform for collectors, professionals, and libraries worldwide, and also provides advisory support to other bookshops seeking to develop coherent and specialized photography collections.
The catalogue includes new publications, rare and out-of-print titles, monographs, retrospectives, self-published works, signed copies, and editions produced directly by photographers through their own imprints. The selection reflects a sustained commitment to photography as a form of visual narration, where images construct meaning beyond text.
Although rooted in the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Dartbooks serves an international audience. Its community includes collectors, professionals, and institutions from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and beyond, both through the physical space and the online platform.
Dartbooks understands the photobook not merely as an object of consumption, but as a cultural artifact that documents artistic practices, historical contexts, and personal visions. The bookshop functions simultaneously as a place of discovery, an archive in constant growth, and a point of connection between photographers, publishers, and readers.
Mise au Jour is a carefully edited selection of previously unpublished and little-known photographs by Johan van der Keuken, bringing to light images made between 1956 and 1982 with his Leica M3. Edited and designed by Willem van Zoetendaal, the book is the third publication dedicated to the photographer's archive, following Quatorze Juillet and Paris Mortel Retouché. Its title, which translates from French as "to bring to light" or "to uncover," perfectly reflects the project's intention: to reveal overlooked photographs that enrich our understanding of one of the most important figures in Dutch photography.
Rather than following a strict chronological or geographical structure, the book unfolds as a visual journey through France, Spain, Italy, Greece, the Netherlands and the United States. Van der Keuken's photographs move effortlessly between street life, portraits, architecture and fleeting everyday moments, demonstrating his extraordinary ability to transform ordinary encounters into images charged with rhythm, tension and humanity.
What makes Mise au Jour particularly fascinating is that these are not forgotten outtakes or secondary works. Instead, they reveal the photographer's instinctive eye at work, showing how his visual language was already fully formed long before many of these photographs were published. The sequencing allows unexpected connections to emerge between images made decades apart, creating a dialogue that feels both spontaneous and carefully orchestrated.
Beautifully printed and elegantly designed, the publication is far more than an archival survey. It offers fresh insight into Van der Keuken's creative process while reaffirming his remarkable sensitivity to gesture, movement and the subtle relationships between people and the spaces they inhabit. The restrained design allows the photographs to breathe, encouraging the reader to discover new visual associations with every page.
More than a retrospective, Mise au Jour is a celebration of the enduring vitality of Johan van der Keuken's photography. It demonstrates that even decades after they were made, these rediscovered photographs retain an extraordinary freshness, confirming the photographer's lasting influence on the language of the photobook and documentary photography.
Johan van der Keuken (1938–2001) was one of the most influential Dutch photographers and documentary filmmakers of the twentieth century. Born in Amsterdam, he began photographing at the age of twelve and achieved early recognition when, at just seventeen, he published his first photobook, Wij zijn 17 (We Are 17), a remarkably mature portrait of adolescence that immediately established him as an important new voice in European photography.
After studying filmmaking in Paris during the late 1950s, Van der Keuken developed a unique practice that moved seamlessly between still photography and cinema. Rather than treating the two mediums separately, he considered them complementary ways of exploring perception, movement and the complexities of everyday life. Throughout a career spanning more than four decades, he produced over fifty documentary films alongside a series of highly influential photobooks.
His work often focused on the relationship between individuals and the social, political and economic forces that shape their lives. Whether photographing the streets of Paris, Amsterdam, Africa, Asia or Latin America, Van der Keuken approached his subjects with extraordinary curiosity and empathy, combining documentary observation with an experimental visual language that challenged conventional narrative structures.
Photobooks such as Wij zijn 17, Achter Glas and Paris Mortel are now regarded as landmarks of post-war European photography, admired for their innovative sequencing, poetic editing and cinematic use of the printed page. His influence extends well beyond photography, inspiring generations of photographers, filmmakers and book designers interested in the relationship between image, time and storytelling.
Although Johan van der Keuken is widely celebrated for his films, his photographic work has received increasing international recognition in recent decades through exhibitions, archive publications and facsimile editions. Today he is considered one of the great innovators of the European photobook, whose work continues to demonstrate how photography can observe reality while simultaneously questioning the way we see the world.
Seller's Story
Dartbooks is a specialized photography bookshop based in Barcelona, dedicated to photobooks, rare and out-of-print editions, and historically significant publications. With a strong focus on Japanese photography, Dartbooks was founded to provide continuity to a field that requires depth, expertise, and careful curation.
The bookshop was established after the closure of Kowasa, a landmark reference for photography books in Spain. Its disappearance left a clear gap for photographers, collectors, and institutions in need of a space with a serious and knowledgeable approach to the photobook. Dartbooks emerged in response to that need, not as a replacement, but as part of the natural evolution of a cultural ecosystem.
Dartbooks operates with a curatorial mindset, shaped by long-term engagement with photography and book collecting. The project functions as a book hunting platform for collectors, professionals, and libraries worldwide, and also provides advisory support to other bookshops seeking to develop coherent and specialized photography collections.
The catalogue includes new publications, rare and out-of-print titles, monographs, retrospectives, self-published works, signed copies, and editions produced directly by photographers through their own imprints. The selection reflects a sustained commitment to photography as a form of visual narration, where images construct meaning beyond text.
Although rooted in the Gràcia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Dartbooks serves an international audience. Its community includes collectors, professionals, and institutions from France, the United Kingdom, Japan, and beyond, both through the physical space and the online platform.
Dartbooks understands the photobook not merely as an object of consumption, but as a cultural artifact that documents artistic practices, historical contexts, and personal visions. The bookshop functions simultaneously as a place of discovery, an archive in constant growth, and a point of connection between photographers, publishers, and readers.
Details
Number of books
1
Subject
Photography
Book title
Mise au Jour
Author/ Illustrator
Johan Van der Keuken
Condition
As new
Publication year oldest item
2015
Height
32.9 cm
Edition
1st Edition
Width
21.9 cm
Language
French
Original language
Yes
Publisher
Van Zoetendaal
Binding/ Material
Softback
Number of pages
112
