Liberty! The relief of leiden 1574-2011

30 september 2011 - 8 january 2012

De Lakenhal presented a major exhibition on The Relief of Leiden. A presentation featuring historical facts, stories and artefacts with a new contemporary historic piece created by the distinguished and famous photographer Erwin Olaf.

Liberation

For the last four centuries, each year the city of Leiden celebrates the liberation from the Spanish by the Beggars (‘Geuzen’) on October 3, 1574. The exhibition related how, in 400 years time, this major hisotrical moment and fact grew to be the largest local people’s feast in The Netherlands.

October 3 Society

Museum De Lakenhal has joined forces with the October 3 Society of Leiden (‘Leidse 3 October Vereeniging’) to present an ambitious interactive family exhibition, full of stories and artefacts, partially donated by or on loan from the people of the city of Leiden themselves.

Standard Project

Visitors could also participate in the exhibition by means of a Standard Project (‘Vaandelproject’). In both the Museum De Lakenhal and the city of Leiden was a festive programme of acitivities and events.

New historic piece by Erwin Olaf

For more than 25 years Erwin Olaf has been named as one of the most renowned photographers in The Netherlands. By commission from Museum De Lakenhal and Universiteit Leiden Olaf created the contemporary historic piece The Siege and Relief of Leiden. Olaf used inhabitants of the city of Leiden as his models for this piece, with the photoshoot taking place in the Church of Saint Peter (‘Pieterskerk’). That very location also features as the interior for the 19th century historic piece The Divine Service after the Relief of Leyden (‘De Gebedsdienst na Ontzet Leyden’) by Jan Hendrik van de Laar. Erwin Olaf took inspiration from historic events, facts and figures, from exisisting historic pieces and new scientific material concerning “October 3”. This commission piece was Olaf’s largest to date: a photographic composition measuring approximately 2 x 3 meter, featuring the main historic characters in a dramatic scene setting. Olaf also added contemporary details like an iPod carried on a historic costume or an S&M leather belt attached to the armory of a Spanish soldier. Apart from this monumental contemporary historic piece which is on permanent display at Museum De Lakenhal, Erwin Olaf also created two still lifes and six portraits of historic figures such as Magdalena Moons, Jan van Hout en Jan van der Does.