Portrait of Erna, Paul Huf, 1942

gelatin silver print, h 25cm × w 20cm More details
© erven Paul Huf/Maria Austria Instituut

After the Second World War, Paul Huf was one of the first professionals to pursue fashion, advertising, and glamour photography in the Netherlands. He became familiar with the work of other ‘great’ photographers through magazines. By his own account, Huf shot this early portrait in the style of the well-known Hollywood photographer George Hurrell. He will have been referring primarily to the dark background, against which the face – lit by a single lamp – stands out.