Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen

The hidden treasures of Belgian photo history 17 December 2010 – 12 March 2011

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Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen (1884 – 1966)

The hidden treasures of Belgian photo history

The Belgian photo history is one of the richest in Europe but at the same time one of the best kept secrets in art history. A fascinating, but slightly forgotten, period in the history of photography is certainly pictorialism. Pictorialism can be considered the impressionism in photography. Pictorialism takes us back to the beginning of the previous century when certain photographers tried to move away from technical and documentary photography and tried to conquer a place for photography amongst the internationally recognised forms of art. This quest resulted in a new language and technique. Photographs with soft focus and somewhat blur representing the ideal world became the photographer’s answer to impressionism. With artisanal and unique prints. The extreme opposite of what we see in contemporary photography. Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen (1884_1966) was an amateur photographer from Antwerp playing an important role in the pictorialist movement in the beginning of the 20th Century. Having his daily professional activities in the Antwerp Harbour, he was also an active amateur photographer, as were most pictorialists. He was amongst others the president of the photo society “Iris” and the drive behind many photographic societies of those days. He published in international publications in the Twenties and Thirties. The Antwerp Fotomuseum dedicated an exhibition to Borrenbergen in 1984 and published for this occasion a catalogue of his work.

Contrary to his comtemporary Léonard Misonne, Borrenbergen was wrongly a little forgotten in time.

One of the First international publication of “Een zonnig hoekje” by Borrenbergen in “Photograms of the year 1924”.

The themes in Borrenbergen’s photography In his early years Borrenbergen focused mainly on the simple rural life of the Antwerp Kempen, which was slowly disappearing due to the industrial revolution. But at the same time he photographed the upcoming activities in the Antwerp Harbour, which was his professional habitat.

Landscapes, city views and still lives were the typical themes of the pictorialist photographer. Borrenbergen gave a very unique and personal interpretation of these themes.

His work is characterised by an extreme focus on composition and light. He was the master of print, preferring the bromoil, one of the most difficult alternative processes. A bromoil is a photographical technique based on oil and pigments. An artisanal technique giving the photographer a lot of freedom and creativity in the print of the photograph.

Even in the Fifties, when others had already given up the bromoil, he remained convinced of the value of this technique. But this didn’t prevent him from experimenting with modernist techniques and his photographic language evolved in time.

Being the president of the photo society “Iris” in Antwerp and the published of the magazine carrying the same name, he influenced an entire generation of photographers.

Magnum opus Borrenbergen’s magnum opus certainly is his portfolio Rivierenhof made in 1926. A collection of 30 large print photographs on the Antwerp park Rivierenhof.

The portfolio is not a documentary of a location of a sample of Borrenbergen’s photographic talent. The portfolio shows the park in all seasons. The eye catchers are certainly the landscapes in the snow.

Characteristic are the largeness of the prints. Usually the prints from this period were rather small in size due to the technical limitations. It must have been a real challenge for Borrenbergen to produce 30 magnificent prints of 30 x 40cm.

One of the top prints is number IX, De Tenisspelers. The subject is so atypical for the pictorialist period which was mainly static. This photograph is a snapshot put in a pictorialist setting. The light in the fence and the subject are modernist whereas the finish is impressionist. The photographer’s point of view and the balanced composition add a voyeurist element to this image.

The combination of these puts Borrenbergen on the level of the great French, German, English and American pictorialists.

04 Na de aanvaring Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4150,0) 1923, Belgium Bromoil 27,5 X 22,5 cm

30 Eerste zonnestralen, Brugge Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4163,0) 1925, Belgium Bromoil 36,8 X 25,7 cm

45 From the portfolio Rivierenhof I Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4165,0) 1926, Belgium Bromoil 37,6 X 28,2 cm

32 From the portfolio Rivierenhof XXVII Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4167,0) 1926, Belgium Bromoil 28,5 X 38,8 cm

15 From the portfolio Rivierenhof IV Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4181,0) 1926, Belgium Bromoil 27,2 X 37,1 cm

14 From the portfolio Rivierenhof XXX Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4184,0) 1926, Belgium Bromoil 27,3 X 38,0 cm

19 From the portfolio Rivierenhof IX Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4188,0) 1926, Belgium Bromoil 27,8 X 38,9 cm

01 Antwerp Cathedral Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4155,0) 1949, Belgium Bromoil 36,3 X 26,8 cm

02 Lichtpünktchen Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4145,0) 1936, Belgium Chlorobromide 22,0 X 28,5 cm

03 In the harbour Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4156,0) 1933, Belgium Pigment print 38,0 X 28,0 cm

39 Jeu de lignes à Paris Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4162,0) 1950, Belgium Bromure 37,5 X 27,5 cm

01 Antwerp Cathedral

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4155,0)1949, BelgiumBromoilExcellent36,3 X 26,8 cm1200,0 Euro

02 Lichtpünktchen

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4145,0)1936, BelgiumChlorobromideExcellent22,0 X 28,5 cm1200,0 Euro

03 In the harbour

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4156,0)1933, BelgiumPigment printGood38,0 X 28,0 cm250,0 Euro

04 Na de aanvaring

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4150,0)1923, BelgiumBromoilGood27,5 X 22,5 cm250,0 Euro

05 De Zeehaven


06 Dikke lucht

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4152,0)1951, BelgiumMediobromExcellent38,4 X 28,5 cm950,0 Euro

Published in: Andries, Pool, “Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen,fotograaf, 1884 - 1966”, Museum voor Fotografie, Antwerp,1984Exhibitons:Antwerp, 1950Newport, 1953Stockholm, 1952Edinburg, 1953

07 Reflex


08 Cranes


09 L’ Eclaircie


10 Harde werkers


Label on the back: XXV Salon Internacional de Fotografia,Zaragoza, Octubre 1949.

11 Springsnow


12 In our Campine

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4161,0)1952, BelgiumMediobromExcellent27,0 X 38,0 cm850,0 Euro

Stamp on the back: Seattle International

13 Rural scene

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4148,0)1917, BelgiumVintage silver printExcellent28,8 X 40,0 cmEuro

14 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XXX


15 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” IV


16 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” VI


17 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XIII


Published in: Andries, Pool, “Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen,fotograaf, 1884 - 1966”, Museum voor Fotografie, Antwerp,1984

18 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” VII


19 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” IX


20 Een zonnig hoekje


Publication:Photogram of the Year, 1924Exhibitions:London, 1924Seattle, 1924Cannes, 1932

21 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XI


22 Waterspel


From the portfolio “Rivierenhof

23 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” V


24 Two beautiful dogs


25 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XII


26 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XV


27 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” II


28 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XVII

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4186,0)1926, BelgiumVintage silver printExcellent26,5 X 36,5 cm750,0 Euro


29 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XIV



30 Eerste zonnestralen, Brugge



31 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XXI


32 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XXVII


33 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XXX


34 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XXIV


35 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XXIII


36 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XXII


37 Winterzon


38 Spring at Bruges


Published in: Andries, Pool, “Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen,fotograaf, 1884 - 1966”, Museum voor Fotografie, Antwerp,1984Exhibitions:Pittsburg, 1928Dunkerque, 1928Roubaix, 1928Stockholm, 1929Lancashire, 1929

39 Jeu de lignes à Paris

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4162,0)1950, BelgiumBromureExcellent37,5 X 27,5 cm850,0 Euro

Exhibitions:Wenen, 1950Innsbruck, 1950Klagenfurth, 1950Japan, 1952

40 Self-portrait

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4157,0)+/- 1950, BelgiumVintage silver printExcellent29,0 X 39,0 cm500,0 Euro

41 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” VIII


42 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XX

Jozef Emiel Borrenbergen, (id 4173,0)1926, BelgiumVintage silver printExcellent28,0 X 38,3 cm750,0 Euro

43 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” XXVI


44 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” III


45 From the portfolio “Rivierenhof” I


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