[press release – translated by Google]
Special stamps with informal portraits of the royal family
The Hague, 16 September 2019. The latest stamps from PostNL contain 5 penetrating portraits of King Willem-Alexander, Queen Máxima and the princesses Amalia, Alexia and Ariane. The photos were taken by photographer Erwin Olaf, who is celebrating his 40th anniversary this year.
Royal Christmas card
In the background of the stamp sheet is a group photo of the king, queen and their 3 daughters. This photo, also by Olaf, decorated the royal Christmas card of 2018. The issue of the new stamps with the 5 royal portraits is an initiative of PostNL.
Self-Guided
In 2019 there were various anniversary exhibitions with the work of Olaf, including in the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag and the Fotomuseum Den Haag. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima also visited these exhibitions, where they were shown around in person by Olaf. Olaf: “The overview exhibitions showed how I changed from an angry young man to a visual artist who looks at the world more thoughtfully and with contemplation. This also applies to the almost abstract and absurd discovery of the portrait as a medium, with techniques such as cropping and broaching. How close can you come to the essence of man? I applied those lessons to these portraits of the royal family. ”
High-profile artists
PostNL very much wanted to put the informal photos of the royal family on stamps, explains Stephan van den Eijnden, commercial director Mail of PostNL. “On the 5 stamps released earlier this year with Olaf’s most important work, there was no room for it. Now these accessible and penetrating photos get all the attention they deserve. Today’s issue is also in line with our tradition of regularly commissioning high-profile artists for stamp designs. For example, the permanent stamps with King Willem-Alexander were designed by Studio Job, based on a portrait by photographer Rineke Dijkstra. ”
Erwin Olaf
Erwin Olaf (Hilversum, 1959) attended the School for Journalism in Utrecht and after graduating focused successively on reportage photography and staged photography. In 2013, Olaf designed the statue for the new euro coin with King Willem-Alexander. The photographer has won many prizes, including a Lucie Award (for Achievement in Advertising) and in 2011 the Johannes Vermeer Prize, the Dutch state prize for the arts.
Availability
The stamp sheet The Royal Family has 5 different stamps with the value indication Netherlands 1, intended for mail up to and including 20 grams with a destination within the Netherlands. The stamps can be ordered now via the website and at Collect Club customer service on telephone number 088 – 868 99 00. The validity period is indefinite.
