The Making of a Photobook: Sanne Sannes’ Maquette for Diary of an Erotomaniac

This edition focuses on the maquette for Dagboek van een erotomaan by Sanne Sannes. Tamara Berghmans not only reconstructs the way Sannes shaped it over the years but also examines Sannes’ imagery and the international setting for nude photography in the Sixties. Although Sannes was not the only one to adopt female eroticism as his main theme, he proved to be a highly original photographer. Sannes had worked on the maquette from approximately 1964 until his death in 1967, and he was in the throes of negotiating an American edition for international distribution. This might well have led to his breakthrough outside the Netherlands. To say that Sannes was interested in women would be an understatement: he was obsessed by them and they are almost exclusively the subject of his photographs. Sannes was careful not to stray into pornography, a concern shared by his American agent who foresaw problems with US censorship if the book was too explicit. Sannes’ abrupt death put an end to these considerations (and to their discussion of other matters concerning the layout and the character of the book). — Testi: Berghmans Tamara. pagg. 56; 40 COL; rileg. rigida. Editore: Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller, Otterlo, 2008.