Dutch Photographers since 1938

Tepe, Richard

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  Richard Tepe, Zwarte roodstaart (mannetje) zittend op stokrozenstok, Apeldoorn (1917)
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  P.L. Steenhuizen, Richard Tepe op de rug van een onbekende man (mei 1902)

Name variations

 

Family relationships

 

Short description

The start of Richard Tepe’s photographic career coincides with a growing interest in nature conservation in The Netherlands. The first Dutch associations for nature conservation were founded around 1900 and, by means of popular literature, more... »

The start of Richard Tepe’s photographic career coincides with a growing interest in nature conservation in The Netherlands. The first Dutch associations for nature conservation were founded around 1900 and, by means of popular literature, biologists tried to build up an interest with the general public in native plant- and animal species. In conjunction with this biological awakening, Dutch photo pioneers ventured out to systematically record the (vanishing) flora and fauna in various nature areas and on large estates.

Together with Paul Louis Steenhuizen (1870-1940), Richard Tepe can be considered to be among the very first nature photographers in the Netherlands. In the years 1898-1902 Tepe made his earliest known photographs in the area surrounding Amsterdam, near the Naardermeer (Naarder-lake) and on the island of Texel. In the early years he concentrated mainly on photographing birds. The lack of (flexible) roll film and tele-lenses made this a particularly cumbersome undertaking, especially when the habitat of these edgy animals was in watery and marshy areas. This required the use of long electric cords and electro-magnets to be able to control the camera from a large distance- at times even from a rowboat. The photographer often had to wait for a period of time then randomly click the shutter, after which he returned to the nesting area to replace the exposed glass negative with a new one, then, once again, wait and repeat the action. It often cost Tepe hours to make only two photographs of a nest without even knowing whether the bird had actually been there; something which he would only find out after having developed the plates.

It’s not surprising that Tepe compared the photographing of such skittish animals with hunting, an activity which, from his point of view, was just as exciting and unpredictable. He describes this in “Hunting with a Camera” (1909). This publication was one of the first nature photographers handbooks. Later, Tepe worked, among others, together with the well known biologists and authors Jac P. Thijsse and Rinke Tolman.

Birds and their nests are the recurring theme in the work of Richard Tepe, but house- and farm animals, trees and mushrooms are also regularly reappearing subjects. He photographed flowers and plants, both in their natural surroundings as well as in the green-room of his home.

Just like Karl Blossfeldt (1865-1932) Tepe “isolates” his subjects and reproduces them in all their simplicity as a form of nature, be it in less detail and from a greater distance than does his German contemporary. Toward the end of his life he mainly photographed his friends and the landscape in the area surrounding his cottage.

His collection of glass negatives (a gift from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam) consists of a variety of numbered series, described in detail by the photographer; a series which has been kept together as much as possible. Prints from the negatives of Richard Tepe can be found, among others, in the collections of the Rijks Museum in Amsterdam, the Studie- en Documentatiecentrum voor Fotografie (Study and Documentation Center of Photography) in Leiden and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. « less...

Place/date of birth

Amsterdam 1864-08-28 

Place/date of death

1952-05-16 

Nationality

Nederlands 

Discipline

fotograaf 

Subject

natuur, vogels, planten, bomen, bloemen, dieren, stillevens
 

Product

fotoboeken  

Material

gelatine glasnegatief, zoutdruk, ontwikkelgelatinezilverdruk, albuminedruk, daglichtcollodiumzilverdruk, daglichtgelatinezilverdruk 

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Go to this photographer in RKD-Artists 

Latest editing

2011-10-31 (rvl) 

Places/periods of working

Amsterdam
Watergraafsmeer (Amsterdam)
Bloemendaal
Apeldoorn
 

Publications

 

Education

 

Pupil of

 

Teacher of

 

Winner of

 

Member of

NAFV (Nederlandse Amateur Fotografen Vereniging)
Nederlandsche Fotografen Patroons Vereeniging (NFPV) 

See also

  

Sources

 

Additional remarks