Yesterday was the final day of the Maastricht Antiquarian Book and Print fair in Maastricht, MABP for short. It’s a fair where national and international antiquarians offer their books and prints for sale. It ranges from old maps to travel guides, from etchings to ancient children’s books. The location of the fair is also nothing short of gorgeous: the St. Jans Church at the Vrijthof. This was my first visit ever to this fair but next year I definitely will be going again!
Of course I’m always looking for all-things-photography and I certainly found something great: a book with photographs of Werner Mantz. Originally from Koln he came to Maastricht in 1932 with an atelier and settled for good here in 1938. I heard his name many times before, missed a big exhibition of his work in Maastricht a couple of years ago and somehow just never came around to look at his work properly. Until yesterday. At the stand of Libraire Stille I came across some books containing his work and didn’t take me long to buy one. His work is absolutely stunning, great use of available natural light, each image very carefully composed, almost as if directed.
I feel so free to post some of his images I scanned from the book to illustrate the beauty of his work. If this is in any way a violation of the rules, let me know and I’ll remove them right away.
There even is a blog about him (probably made by one of his children, maybe even grand children, not sure) if you’re keen on seeing more of him.
Really pleased with this book and hopefully more will follow soon!
Photography Contrastique - Alternative Photographic Processes 