Portraits by Michiel Hendryckx
This selection of portraits displayed throughout the library feature prominent Flemish and Dutch writers, actors, theatre makers, and dancers. Together, they offer a glimpse into the cultural landscape of the Low Countries from the second half of the 20th century, as seen through the lens of Belgian photographer and contemporary Michiel Hendryckx (°1951).
The photographs were part of a retrospective exhibition Schoonheid als verzet (‘Beauty as resistance’) held at Sint-Pietersabdij in Ghent in 2025-2026. Each portrait is accompanied by a personal reflection from the photographer himself, capturing friendships, stories, and encounters that emerged from a lifetime spent observing people through the lens of a camera.
Window side
A.L. Snijders (1937-2021)
Dutch writer A.L. Snijders, pseudonym of Peter Cornelis Müller, is best known as the creator of the “very short story” (in Dutch: Zeer Kort Verhaal or ZKV), a literary genre consisting of concise, often witty observations on everyday life.
Klein-Dochteren (NL), January 2018. Dutch writer A.L. Snijders invented a new literary genre known as the 'very short story' (ZKV). I liked the man.
Guido Lauwaert (°1945)
Flemish writer, actor and director Guido Lauwaert in Ghent's Muinkpark in 1986. Michiel Hendryckx also took another picture of Guido Lauwaert in 2016 in Oostakker. This second photograph is not on display, but it is commented on in the quotation below.
Ghent, 1986, and Oostakker, 2016. Through sunshine, rain, and everything in between, I have always remained friends with the enfant terrible Guido Lauwaert. Here he is bare-chested in Muinkpark, and later at home in Oostakker. In the black-and-white photograph he still had his original heart; in 2016 he was living with his second, transplanted heart. Medically speaking, the man is a miracle. And not only medically.
Harry Mulisch (1927-2010)
Harry Mulisch was one of the most influential Dutch post-war writers, known for his novels, essays, and philosophical reflections on history and human nature. His novels De aanslag (‘The Assault’) and De ontdekking van de hemel (‘The Discovery of Heaven’) are among the classics of Dutch-language literature.
Amsterdam, November 1999. Harry Mulisch welcomed us graciously into his apartment overlooking Amsterdam's bustling Leidseplein. To the questions posed by journalist Laurens De Keyzer, the master replied with little more than 'yes' and 'no'. After barely five minutes, a somewhat perplexed Mulisch asked: 'Mr De Keyzer, could it be that you've only read interviews with me?' Laurens truthfully replied: 'Indeed.' Mulisch could hardly conceal his astonishment. 'Under normal circumstances, I would now grab you by the scruff of the neck and throw you down the stairs. But since my books don't sell all that well in Belgium, a full-page interview in De Standaard [a Flemish newspaper] is not to be refused. Please sit down at that table. I shall dictate both the questions and the answers, and tomorrow you may fax me the typed text for approval.'
Tom Lanoye (°1958)
Tom Lanoye is one of the most translated contemporary Flemish authors, known for his novels, essays, poetry, and theatre work.
Sint-Niklaas, 29 June 1985. Tom Lanoye between his parents on the day their butcher's shop closed for good. Visiting them together was a spur-of-the-moment idea. As soon as we walked in, Tom's mother burst into tears and disappeared into the back room. His father, less emotional, grumbled: 'Did you really have to come here with him today?'. I was completely puzzled until Tom quickly explained that the previous weekend, he had told his parents he had a boyfriend, and they had apparently assumed that I was him. To clear up the misunderstanding, I spent some time sitting next to his mother, reassuring her that I was indeed Tom's friend, but strictly in the platonic sense. In fact, I added, I was a wholehearted admirer of women.
Gerrit Komrij (1944-2012)
Gerrit Komrij was a Dutch poet, novelist, essayist, and critic, renowned for his sharp wit, provocative style, and literary criticism.
Vila Pouca da Beira, 1999. Gerrit Komrij lived with his partner Charles Hofman in a Palladian-style villa on the edge of a Portuguese village. We arrived in the afternoon and were warmly welcomed. After the interview, I photographed the poet with his little dog on his lap and later outside, just after sunset. To include the house in the background, I had to use a flash. Once the work was done, we were invited to join them for dinner. Only then did it become clear whose house we were really visiting. Not Komrij, but Charles occupied the seat of honour. After an excellent meal, served by local elderly women, we retired to the sitting room. At first, the conversation reflected the erudition of our host: classical music, architecture, and the charms and hardships of life in the Portuguese countryside. Komrij drank beer from a small glass that he constantly refilled. Eventually, the drinking influenced the conversation. After some delightfully malicious gossip about Harry Mulisch, it was time for music. The poet had a great fondness for the early Beatles and, in a beautiful falsetto voice, sang I Want to Hold Your Hand.
Julien Schoenaerts (1925-2006)
Julien Schoenaerts was one of Flanders’ most celebrated actors, known for his powerful performances in theatre, film, and television.
Ghent, 1981. Julien Schoenaerts is rehearsing at the Arca Theatre. The premiere of The World-Fixer by Thomas Bernhard is only a few days away. I ask whether he would be willing to step outside for a moment. I know that the Castle of the Counts is waiting for us there. Schoenaerts nods, rolls himself a cigarette, and leads the way. He takes his position and poses. Without saying a word, he then goes straight back inside. A few weeks later, acting on the recommendation of a colleague, I attend the performance. An experience I never quite recovered from; I have never encountered anything like it since.
Ivo van Hove (°1958)
Ivo van Hove is known for his innovative productions and for serving as artistic director of Internationaal Theater Amsterdam.
Antwerp, 1997. Theatre director Ivo van Hove at home on Lange Leemstraat. While I was taking the picture, his partner, scenographer Jan Versweyveld, was carefully watching from the sidelines.
Josse De Pauw (°1952) and Fumiyo Ikeda (°1962)
Josse De Pauw is a Belgian actor, author, and theatre maker known for his work in theatre, film, and literature.
Fumiyo Ikeda is a Japanese dancer and choreographer who became internationally renowned through her long association with the contemporary dance company Rosas.
Ghent, 1984. The idea came from Josse De Pauw, who wanted to use the photograph to announce his new relationship with the Japanese dancer Fumiyo Ikeda. They posed against the white wall of Josse's apartment. On the invitation card beneath the photograph, the title ‘“Le Mariage’” was printed. Marriage as an exercise in balance. Whoever hurts the other mainly hurts themselves. Josse is an excellent actor. Like many actors, he enjoys playing an elevated version of himself. As detached and serene as he appears in this photograph, I have never known him in real life.
Other side
Johan Anthierens (1937-2000)
Journalist, columnist, and professional provocateur, Johan Anthierens was known for his sharp pen and outspoken criticism of Belgian society.
Dilbeek, February 1986. This photograph was taken for the cover of Johan Anthierens' polemical booklet Het Belgische Domdenken ('Belgian Foolish Thinking'). He wanted it to look like a pamphlet: modest, but powerful, and featuring the author himself on the cover. At the time, Anthierens was living alone with his children in a cramped townhouse. He insisted on wearing his new cap for the photo. In the low winter light, he looked remarkably good. I asked him to stay where he was and took the picture from where I was sitting. That slight downward angle seemed perfectly suited to the scathing critique he was about to write."
Hugo Claus (1929-2008)
Hugo Claus was a novelist, poet, playwright, filmmaker, and artist. His novel Het verdriet van België ('The Sorrow of Belgium') is considered one of the classics of Dutch-language literature.
Ghent, March 1983. Before moving permanently to Antwerp, Hugo Claus lived at no fewer than eleven different addresses in Ghent. Here he is in the stately ground-floor apartment he rented on the Kasteellaan. The photograph was commissioned by the Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad to accompany a review of The Sorrow of Belgium. It is an early Saturday morning, and I arrive precisely on time. Claus is solving the crossword puzzle in the newspaper. I photograph him where he is sitting and ask whether he worked on the novel in that room. Not there, he says, but in a room at the back of the house, where he wrote the final chapters. We walk through a dark corridor. I take photographs only in a small garden room. On our way back, he suddenly stops halfway down the corridor, puts a finger to his lips, opens a door, and beckons me over with a mischievous grin. Lying on the bed is a young blonde woman, asleep on her stomach. Claus quietly closes the door again and whispers, with boyish pride: 'I spent the night with her.'
Stefan Hertmans (°1951)
Stefan Hertmans is an acclaimed contemporary Flemish author and alumnus of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy. Known for his novels, essays, poetry, and theatre texts, he gained international recognition with Oorlog en terpentijn ('War and Turpentine'), a novel inspired by the notebooks of his grandfather.
Ghent, 16 June 2010. This portrait was commissioned by publishing house De Bezige Bij to mark the publication of Stefan Hertmans' novel Oorlog en terpentijn ('War and Turpentine'). I met the bewildered writer in the corridor of the Ghent Academy of Fine Arts. He had just been informed that, in a surge of youthful enthusiasm on the part of the institution, he was being sent into early retirement from his position as a literature lecturer.
Eriek Verpale (1952-2015)
Eriek Verpale was a Flemish author celebrated for his deeply personal, often autobiographical writing. His work draws on memories of family, friendship, love, and life in the working-class communities of the Ghent Canal Zone, with Zelzate occupying a special place in his literary universe.
Zelzate, February 1991. Across the canal, in Café ‘De Moedige’ in the ‘De Katte’ neighbourhood. Writer Eriek Verpale together with the landlady, Mother Zulma, at the epicentre of his autobiographical novel Alles in het klein ('Everything in Miniature'). Everyone in the photograph, except for the boy on the far right, has since passed away. Mother Zulma too. She never recovered from a fall she suffered while trying to break up a fight in the café. Verpale's Katse Nachten, published in 2000, was dedicated to her.
Herman Brusselmans (°1957)
Ghent, 2001. We see hair. Lots of hair. A nose, lips, and a prominent Adam's apple. No eyes, and yet everyone immediately recognises Herman Brusselmans. The people's writer has become an icon, an essential piece of our collective household furniture. This photograph is dear to me. Not only because Herman is in it, but especially because the intervention is minimal while the effect is substantial. A variation of the portrait (with a cigarette) once appeared on the cover of DS Magazine [magazine of Flemish newspaper De Standaard], and it generated a great deal of negative reaction. How wonderful it once was to live in a country where the general public could be so thoroughly upset by something as simple as a magazine cover.
Jan Decleir (°1946) and Kyoko Scholiers (°1981)
Jan Decleir is a Belgian actor, renowned for his work in theatre, film, and television.
Kyoko Scholiers is a Belgian actress and writer. She began performing at a young age and has since built a career in theatre, film, television, and literature.
Ghent, 1997. Jan Decleir with Kyoko Scholiers in Ten Oorlog ('To War') by the Blauwe Maandag Compagnie, a Shakespeare adaptation by Tom Lanoye and Luc Perceval.
Ariane van Vliet (°1971)
Ariane van Vliet is a Dutch actress who became known to Belgian audiences through her work with the innovative theatre company Blauwe Maandag Compagnie and its successor Het Toneelhuis.
Ghent, 1997. Ariane van Vliet in Ten Oorlog ('To War') by the Blauwe Maandag Compagnie, a Shakespeare adaptation by Tom Lanoye and Luc Perceval.
Often regarded as one of the most influential productions in Flemish theatre history, Ten Oorlog brought together a remarkable cast and offered a bold reinterpretation of Shakespeare's history plays.