“The picture with the ice bubbles was taken on the lake “Lake Abraham” in Canada. Despite the warnings of the lodge owner I went to the lake with its almost black ice. The picture is quite abstract, could also be pop art,” says Tom Jacobi

It’s Gallery Weekend in Berlin! Already last week the Hamburg photographer Tom Jacobi opened his exhibition “Into the Light” in the Berlin gallery SRC. Some of his large-format, black-and-white photographs were printed on silk by the Paris luxury label Hermès, which is unique to date. Tom Jacobi was a fashion photographer and art director for Stern magazine. Thereby he almost lost his passion for photography.

MyStylery: Congratulations on your coup with Hermès! How did that happen?
Tom Jacobi: Everybody takes photos on paper and so I had the idea to print on fabric, because I always look for a relation to nature. Silk was an obvious thought. Talks and tests followed and Hermès gave me an unexpected promise. Now the pictures are produced on original silk by Hermès in France.
MS: How old were you when you first held a camera in your hand?
TJ: 14 or 15. I was given a Novoflex and photographed the cat on the windowsill and sunsets.

Tom Jacobi: Peaceful Mind

MS: Back then, did you already have the idea of becoming a photographer?
TJ: Not until I was 17, when a photo of me was published in a book. It showed a Kendo master fighting with a Japanese sword. A sport that I practiced myself at that time. When you see a picture of yourself printed on paper for the first time, it’s a magic that I still feel today.
MS: Do you still print private photos?
TJ: Oh yes, I made a serious mistake when I gave my wife a photo album for her first birthday after we met, with self-adhesive photos, created layouts and handwritten comments. Since then I have been obliged to document our entire private lives and travels in old-fashioned photo albums. (laughs)

Tom Jacobi: Black Line

MS: Your father was the legendary journalist Claus Jacobi, editor-in-chief of Spiegel, Stern and BILD-Zeitung. Did that stop you from going into journalism yourself?
TJ: Totally. I would have exposed myself to the constant comparison. Through my friendship with Sven Simon, the son of publisher Axel Springer, I came to Bonn and worked there in his photo agency. I primarily photographed politicians such as Willy Brandt, Helmut Schmidt and Helmut Kohl. Later I was a photographer for the “Stern”. With all the risks. During a reportage in Iran they put me against the wall and wanted to shoot me because I was considered a spy.
MS: Was that the reason why you haven’t photographed for 14 years?
TJ: No, that developed during my time as a fashion and advertising photographer. This commercial work and the wishes of the customers, to shoot the coat from the left or rather from the right, the car from above or below, completely drove me out of passion at that time. And why should a well-filled bank account be of any use if all creativity is lost? I just wasn’t happy with it anymore and even sold all my cameras because I was convinced that I would never photograph again.

Tom Jacobi: The Majestic

MS: Now you’re back with the camera. For the current exhibition “Into the Light” you even travelled around the globe for two years together with your wife Kati.
TJ: That was an exciting time, also for us as a couple. We love to be together. Kati also has a big influence on what I photograph. She is my corrective. (smiles) You become humble when you are travelling in the White Desert of Egypt, camping there with two Bedouins, without worrying about safety. In retrospect, it was risky.
MS: It happens that you sit on a cliff for five hours waiting for the right light. What is the right light, the right moment?
TJ: That I cannot say. It’s a feeling. My work has a lot to do with patience and discipline, often I wait days for the right moment, although I have researched the motifs very carefully before.

Tom Jacobi and I in front of a photo in the Berlin gallery SR Contemporary Art, which shows a huge salt desert in Bolivia at an altitude of 4,000 meters. Only during the rainy season water stands on the salt and creates this perfect mirror effect

MS: You are often far away from everything. How do you bear silence?
TJ: I like that very much. Not everyone can stand silence. Once I was accompanied by a friend who got nervous after a short time, which stressed me again. At that moment, I decided not to take anyone with me anymore. I am completely one with myself, there is something very contemplative about it.
MS: Was there a dangerous situation on your journey?
TJ: As a photographer, you’re always a hunter who takes risks. In Iceland, I wanted to go to a waterfall, where I fell several times over an icy surface and slid down a slope. A wasteland without a mobile phone net or the chance to be found. Then I bought a satellite-supported emergency call system. To die because of a broken ankle is quite unnecessary. BvH

Exhibition “Into the Light”

Tom Jacobi’s art exhibition in the Gallery SR Contemporary Art, Niebuhrstraße 11a in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Until May 20

Contact Tom Jacobi

tomjacobi.de

More art stories you can find here.

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Giovanni Battista Moroni: Portrait of the nobleman Prospero Alessandri (ca. 1560)

Vienna is, as you know, always worth a visit! The Albertina is currently showing more than one hundred outstanding paintings and sculptures from the exquisite collections of the Princely House of Liechtenstein (until June 10) – magnificent Old Masters, from Rubens to Makart. A good reason to visit the Danube metropolis. For a first impression (and for those of you who won’t make it to Vienna) I share my favorite selection of the most beautiful exhibits.

Antico: Bust of Marcus Aurelius (ca. 1500)

The House of Liechtenstein’s magnificent art collections rank among the most important and largest private collections in the world, comparable only to those of the British royal family. They comprise imposing sculptures and paintings of the Renaissance and the Baroque by Adriaen de Vries, Peter Paul Rubens und Anthonis van Dyck, superb works by the Italian and French artists Giambologna aka Giovanni da Bolgna, Canaletto and Hyacinthe Rigaud, masterpieces of the Viennese Biedermeier by Friedrich von Amerling and Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, as well as exquisite paintings of the Makart era.

Hans Makart: The Death of Cleopatra (1875)

The House of Liechtenstein, originally an Austrian noble dynasty, had held vast possessions in Lower Austria and Moravia since the Middle Ages. In 1599, Karl I von Liechtenstein converted from the Protestant faith to the Catholicism. In 1608 he received the title of bereditary prince and thus laid the foundation for the rise of the House of Liechtenstein. In the early eighteenth century the princely family’s diverse castles and palaces were transferred to the City Palace in Vienna.

Salviati: Portrait of a Man (ca. 1543-48)

Three hundred years ago, in 1719, Emperor Charles VI elevated the neighboring estates of Vaduz and Schellenberg to the status of Imperial Principality: Liechtenstein became a sovereign state within the Holy Roman Empire. From 1807 onward, Johann I von Liechtenstein had the extensive picture gallery transferred from the Viennese City Palace to the Summer Palace outside the town walls. In 1810, five years after Duke Albert, the Albertina’s founder, the House of Liechtenstein likewise made its collections accessible to the public.

Lucas van Valckenborch The Elder: The Parable of the Blind leading the Blind (after 1568)

A year earlier Prince Johann I von Liechtenstein had fought side by side with Generalissimo Archduke Carl in the Battle of Aspern (1809). He had this first victory over Napoleon’s troops, captured in a monumental painting by Johann Peter Krafft (now on view in the Albertina’s staterooms as a permanent loan from the Princely Collections).

Quentin Massys The Elder: The Tax Collectors (ca. 1525-30)

In the nineteenth century, Prince Alois II and his son, Johann II, became the most prominent patrons and collectors of Viennese Biedermeier art. Hundreds of Paintings by Waldmüller, Fendi, Amerling and Rudolf von Alt in today’s Viennese Collections go back to Johann II’s donations. The House of Liechtenstein’s collections survived the First World War and the downfall of the Habsburg monarchy unscathed.

Osias Beert The Elder: Large Still Life with Apples, Grapes and a Vase of Flowers (ca. 1600-20)

In the final weeks of the Second World War, they were relocated from Vienna to the neutral Principality of Liechtenstein for reasons of safety. In days of economic hardship and dispossessions following Europe’s division into East and West, many paintings were sold, including key works by Leonardo, Canaletto and Rubens. Only under Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein has the family’s art collection began to grow again substantially. Exhibiting the most beautiful and important masterpieces from the Princely Collections, the Albertina is celebrating the Principality’s 300^th anniversary in the palace of Duke Albert and Archduke Carl, both of whom once maintained such close relations with the House of Liechtenstein.

Source: Albertina Wien

Me infront of Ruben’s Portrait of his daughter Clara Serena (ca. 1616)

…come a bit closer…

Franz Jansz. van der Uyl: Breakfast Still Life with a Pewter Flagon (1635) – Fascinating details such as the silver bowl and the light reflections on the pot as to be seen here

Jan van Huysum: Flowers in a Terracotta Vase (ca. 1725) …note the three-dimensional depiction of the putti on the vase!

Peter Paul Rubens: Venus infront of the Mirror (ca. 1614/15) …and here the bangle of Venus as well as the mirror perspective!

Anthonis van Dyck: Portrait of a Woman (1618) …impressive filigree of lace and jewelry …

Anthonis von Dyck: Saint Jerome (ca. 1615/16)

Roelant Savery: A Bouquet of Flowers (1612)

Guiseppe Arcimboldo: Terra (Earth) ca. 1570

One of my favourite paintings of this exposition: “Landscape with the Young Tobias” by Jan Brueghel The Elder (1598). Even in the depth of the picture you will discover the finest detail depictions

Adriaen de Vries: Saint Sebastian (ca. 1613/14)

Peter Paul Rubens: Jan Vermoelen (1616)

Anthonis van Dyck: Maria de Tassis (ca. 1629/30)

Five centuries of art history

Gerrit Adriansz. Berckheyde: The Market Square in Haarlem (1661)

Frans Snyders: The Lioness (ca. 1620/30)

View into the exhibition rooms of the Albertina, in the back “The Battle between the Romans and Sabines” by Sebastiano Ricci (ca. 1700)

Domenico Guidi: Bust of Maria Annunciata (ca. 1670)

Franz Eybl: The Strawberry Seller of Hallstatt (1844)

Friedrich Wilhelm Schadow: Felix Schadow (ca. 1830)

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller: Roses (1843)

Franz Anton Zauner: Seated Figure of Clio (1779) – in the background paintings of Batoni

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller: Flowers in a Porcelain Vase with a Candlestick and Silver Vessels (1839)

Friedrich von Amerling: Princess Maria Franziska von Liechtenstein (1836)

Contact Albertina:

albertina.at

You can find more articles about art and culture here.

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Bruges – Belgian pearl of medieval architecture. Here the market place “Markt”

For me as a Lübeck-native, a visit to the Belgian city of Bruges is like a déjà vu. Only that my hometown can not keep up with this collection of picturesque patrician houses, baroque city palaces and classical façades. Walking through Bruges’ old town, the many canals and bridges are reminiscent of Amsterdam. You can feel it in every corner of Bruges, that this architectural jewel was one of the most successful commercial cities from the 13th to the 15th century and it impresses me in which historical homogeneity the city still presents itself seven centuries later.

Bruges was never destroyed by wars or large-scale fires, which is why the famous historic center – since 2002 Unesco World Heritage Site – has been preserved

To get in the mood for my visit to Bruges, I watched the US film “In Bruges” with Colin Farrell and asked myself how they kept away the tourist crowds during filming. I was warned by my Belgian friend Winny: “Yes, it is always crowded in Bruges. Nevertheless, you should have been there once.” Maybe not on a weekend and certainly not when 20,000 football fans storm the city and celebrate the championship title of their club FC Bruges at the market in the old town. Day tourists flood the historic walls in every season from no later than 11 am and roll through the narrow streets of this picturesque village in West Flanders. Those who want to escape the crowds during the day simply walk beyond the respective squares such as “Markt” and “Burg” and suddenly find themselves in quiet residential areas or in greened patios. A break is also offered by the Beguinage, which is indeed a sightseeing highlight, however in which groups have no access.

Fancy a break? The Beguinage is a green oasis of peace, but in the center of the city

Culinary, Bruges has adjusted to the tourists: around the market, castle and other “places to see” there are many restaurants, unfortunately not always good, and often with overpriced food. And although I know, you should spare mussels in months without the letter “r”, I ordered Moules Frites. The Belgian specialty is offered here all year round, is frozen foods and of doubtful quality. My tip: have lunch or dinner at one of the many Michelin and Gault Millau restaurants, many of which offer comparatively affordable lunch menus. Or one discovers the locals’ spots beyond the tourist paths, such as the café “Sanseveria” in the Predikherenstraat.

Discover the locals’ spots beyond the tourist paths, such as the “Sanseveria” in the Predikherenstraat: The hip side of medieval Bruges

When the night comes over Bruges, the day tourists have left again, and the city and its inhabitants sigh recognizably. The old town dives into a special light, which effectively stages the old walls. Just around the corner from my hotel Prinsenhof lies the gourmet restaurant Guillaume. I enjoy a delicious menu and a super nice service. On the way to the hotel I experience the now deserted streets of Bruges by moonlight. Pure romance! A feeling that would hardly have come up a few hours earlier.  BvH

Bruges at night

Triennale Bruges

Art installation by Studio KCA at Jan van Eyck place

Attention, art fans: Until September 16, the Triennale Art Exhibition in Bruges awaits with 15 – partly accessible – works and installations that are spread over the entire Old Town. Central theme: Liquid Society highlights the implications of ever-changing interpersonal relationships. Art and city can thus be jointly explored by a tour.

Below the blue whale, the gourmet restaurant Spinola has built up its kitchen. Art enjoyment from close proximity

Speaking of enjoyment: This café on the Biskajersplein square is only available during the Triennale

Stretching towards the sky: Sculpture Lanchals – long necks – by John Powers reminiscent of a gooseneck

Temporary bridge installation by Jaroslaw Kozakiewicz

Want to cool down? From the pink plastic pavilion of the Spanish architect Selgascano you can dare to jump into the canal

Urban Model Belgian artist Wesley Meuris called his triennial contribution to architecture and urban life

Minne Floating School by Kunlé Adeyemi: A kind of floating school, dealing with climate change and an incentive to create renewable energy

Planning is everything: What is where at the Triennale Bruges 2018?

Where to bed in Bruges

There are some promising boutique hotels in Bruges such as the Van Cleef, Hotel Die Swaene or the Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce. The Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce is beautifully decorated (I love the Belgian interior with its soft colors) and is right by the canal. With its historic façade, it is one of the most photographed spots in the city. An aspect that causes some unrest. I decide for the Prinsenhof, which is within walking distance of three minutes from the market in a quiet side street.

Boutique Hotel Die Swaene

The Hotel Relais Bourgondisch Cruyce is right by the canal…

…and beautifully decorated. I love the Belgian interior with its soft colors

Rozenhoedkaai: one of the most photographed spots in the city. What a terrific view!

Hotel Prinsenhof…

…with its pretty lobby and Delft tiles surrounding the fireplace

My spacious room is decorated with beautiful fabrics and equipped with a separate toilet. The service is professionally friendly, but unfortunately not cordial

Bruges and Culinary

I let myself be spoiled in the star restaurant Guillaume. The gourmet restaurant Guillaume in Korte Lane is located in an old cottage. From the outside it seems almost a bit unspectacular, so we almost passed it. I opt for the three-course menu “Crazy Creations” for 52 euros: Amuse Gueule from reinterpreted Vitello tonato, roast beef and pike-perch. As a starter: lobster, Fois Grois, Iberico ham and exotic fruits. Followed by guinea fowl with roasted diced tomatoes and a raspberry slice for dessert. We renounce the wine and choose the Rosé Luberon from Provence, 32 euros a bottle.

I let myself be spoiled in the star restaurant Guillaume

As a starter: lobster, Fois Grois, Iberico ham and exotic fruits…yummy!

At the Aux Merveilleux at “Eiermarkt” place you not only enjoy the view to an imposing chandelier …

…but also a delicious breakfast with oven-warm bread and croissants

Welcome to chocolate paradise: Belgium’s chocolate is legendary, but there are also qualitative differences here. Therefore, not every truffle praline offered on the Wollestraat in umpteen side-by-side laying confectioneries, is of superior quality…

…A feast for the eyes: The chocolate mountains tower up high

The Assiette Blanche restaurant is cozy with its wood paneling. A lunch menu is served for 37€:

After the Amuse-Gueule – Anchovy and Parmesan-stuffed Macaron – a deep-fried sole with lettuce and aioli is served…

…followed by grilled hip of lamb with blanched and pureed carrots and wildflowers

Dessert: Rhubarb and strawberries with meringue and vanilla ice cream. A glass of open white wine from the Macon is offered for 7 euros. The service is excellent and especially friendly

Lovely Bruges

Passage to “Burg” place

Richly designed facades on the houses around “Burg” place

Here the town hall

Lush Baroque, wherever you look

Long waits and queues in front of the boat launchers for a ride on the canals of Bruges. Tip: Boots take a half-hour trip to neighboring Damme three times a day, the formerly important trading city. Previous reservation required

Beautiful architecture in “Kortewinkel” street as here the bar Groot Vlaenderen

…with impressive door details

…and again …

…and an imposing private door portal

Above the rooftops of Bruges

Impressive I find the roof structures with the winding chimneys and playful towers. What a splendor!

Does Harry Potter live here?

It’s best to always keep your eyes turned upwards so that nothing escapes you

…such as this magnificent house facade

I love the Belgian style with the pale red clinker and the darkened door and window frames. Sooo noble!

Places of silence

Yes, they exist, the tranquil places of peace and silence in Bruges

…like this delightful red-clinker cottage located right by the canal

Meeting point for the ducks and swans of Bruges to the opposite of the Beguinage

Tower with a view and beautiful shutters

The enchanted garden paradise in the middle of the city of Bruges and directly by the water: more is not possible

Idyllic street café Terrastje

Only a few cobblestone streets away from the Bruges hustle and bustle, you enter a quiet residential area that reminds a little of London with its bay windows and front yards

And of course, windmills are as much a part of Bruges as the old rampart along the canals, on which they were once built

Info Triennale Bruges

triennalebrugge.be

More travel tips you find here!

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