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Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Dutch, b. 1958

Original Ruud van Empel photocollages and prints have a number of disquieting aspects to them. The Dutch artist has gained an international following that includes Elton John, who dedicated a song to him.

Van Empel’s wide-eyed children, both of African and of European descent, project an innocence reminiscent of storybook illustrations or even the kitschy big-eyed kids painted by Margaret Keane. They are often exquisitely dressed, in clothes that look stylish but slightly out of date. They frequently inhabit improbable settings — a lush forest setting, a moonlit desert or jungle — again reminiscent of fairy tales. But the unreality of these beguiling kids owes much to the process by which they were created.

They have been photoshopped into being through a patchwork of features manipulated on the computer. The settings they inhabit also come about through photocollage: The Guardian reported that van Empel wanders “through Dutch forests, in search of fine leaves, perfect branches, and the right waters. Only to tear it apart and spend weeks reconstructing it all until both the person and the setting match his desired standard of photorealism.”

Van Empel was born in the small town of Breda and studied at the local art academy before moving to Amsterdam to pursue a serious career as a fine-art photographer. The earliest series to attract critical interest, “The Office” (1995), depicted staid office workers amid improbable props, referencing early 20th-century photomontage. As he has matured as an artist over the past 25 years, however, he has mastered a kind of realism that is somewhere between magical and dangerous.

Find original Ruud van Empel photography on 1stDibs.

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Artist: Ruud van Empel
Moon #7 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Moon #7 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography) Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 33 x 23 1/2 inches Edition of...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Moon #6 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Moon #6 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography) Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 23 1/2 x 33 inches Edition of 10 + 2 APs Ruud van Em...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Moon #5 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Moon #5 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography) Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 23 1/2 x 33 inches Edition of...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Moon #4 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Moon #4 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography) Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 33 x 23 1/2 inches Edition of 13 + 2 APs Ruud van Em...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Moon #3 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Moon #3 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography) Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 46 3/4 x 33 inches Edition of 10 + 2 APs Ruud van Em...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Moon #2 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Moon #2 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography) Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 33 x 23 1/2 inches Edition of...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Mood #8 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Mood #8 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography) Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 27 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches Edition of 10 + 2 APs Ruud va...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Mood #6 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Mood #6 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography) Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 27 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches Edition of 10 + 2 APs Ruud va...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Archival Pigment

Mood #7, 2016 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Signed, dated inscribed with title and numbered on label on reverse Archival pigment print 27 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches From an edition of 10 + 2 APs Ruud van Empel (b. 1958) is one of th...
Category

2010s Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

Mood #4 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 27 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches From an edition of seven Ruud van Empel (b. 1958) is one of the most innova...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Digital

Mood #1 - Ruud van Empel (Colour Photography)
By Ruud van Empel
Located in London, GB
Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 27 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches Edition of 4 + 2 APs Ruud van Empel (b. 1958) is one of the most innovative...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Ruud van Empel Portrait Photography

Materials

Photographic Paper

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Mood #3
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Signed, dated, inscribed with title and numbered on reverse Archival pigment print 27 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches Edition of 4 + 3 APs
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Mood #3
H 27.5 in W 19.5 in

Ruud Van Empel portrait photography for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Ruud van Empel portrait photography available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Ruud van Empel in archival pigment print, pigment print, paper and more. Not every interior allows for large Ruud van Empel portrait photography, so small editions measuring 20 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Hendrik Kerstens, Yvonne Michiels, and Ariel Shelleg.

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