Tracing a career of more than thirty years, this celebration of the prodigiously talented Dutch photographer includes vibrantly colored portraiture, landscapes, still lifes, abstract compositions and fashion editorials. From her early African-inspired work to her more recent experiments in interventionist techniques, Viviane Sassen has gained international acclaim for her striking, dynamic images that explore a range of themes and subjects-from identity, gender, and the body, to race, fashion, and the environment. This retrospective book brings together both well- and lesser-known works and includes pieces from her recent series, "Paint Studies," in which early photographs are reimagined with ink and painterly marks, and "Venus and Mercury", a collection of exquisite photomontages based on the history of the Palace of Versailles. An introductory essay and interview with the artist combine with additional illuminating texts to make this the definitive overview of an important and ever-evolving photographer.

This mid-career retrospective volume focuses on Viviane Sassen's fine art photography, revealing a surrealist undercurrent in her work. Sassen recognizes Surrealism as one of her earliest artistic influences, seen in the uncanny shadows, fragmented bodies, and otherworldly landscapes she captures in her work. In addition to images from the acclaimed series "Umbra," this volume draws from the series "Flamboya," in which she returned to Kenya, "Parasomnia," a dreamlike exploration of sleep, the "Roxane" series, a mutual portrait created with her muse, Roxane Danset, "Of Lotus and Mud," a study of procreation and fecundity, and "Pikin Slee," a journey to a remote village in Suriname. This book features a contextualizing essay and an insightful interview with the artist. Throughout, Sassen emerges as a poetic photographer obsessed with light and shadow and a brilliant technician, who is a master of both vibrant color and muted hues. Selected by Sassen herself from across the last ten years, the images draw on the surrealist strategies of collage and unexpected juxtapositions to give a survey of her practice.

What happens when new masters pick up where old masters left off? On the occasion of the bicentenary of the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the museum asked contemporary photographers to reflect on the permanent collection. Which masters capture their imagination? How do they interpret 17th-century art? The result: 16 new works by 16 contemporary photographs, including Erwin Olaf, Rineke Dijkstra, Anton Corbijn and Stephan Vanfleteren, one for each room in the Mauritshuis. The new works will be displayed alongside the 17th-century works that inspired them and will be put equally next to each other in this luxury book. The photographers were entirely free to select what they wanted to work with. For some it was a painting, for another a detail from a painting, or even an entire room in the museum. Expect to see original and surprising reflections on 17th-century art: counterparts, commentaries, alternatives. None of the photographs is a remake of the original painting. One thing is certain: you will never look at Rembrandt, Vermeer or Steen in the same way. Text in English and Dutch.