Bertien van Manen

In the 1980s the Rijksmuseum commissioned Van Manen to document the emerging women’s movement and she also made a series on the wives of male ‘guest workers’ in the Netherlands. With this, her transition to documentary photography was complete. She spent many years photographing around the world, in the United States, China and Russia. Everywhere she went she immersed herself in the local culture to get as close as possible to the subjects of her work. Her photographs, books and international exhibitions earned her international fame. Van Manen’s famous image of Turkish women protesting now hangs in the Gallery of Honour of the Netherlands Photo Museum, and her work is displayed in museums all over the world.