Hats on for Rembrandt

"I started working on the hat without a design. Meanwhile, I looked in the mirror every now and then. I'm not shy. My mother often take pictures of me. I like to have my mouth closed when somebody takes my picture. The photographer said: "You look like a queen.' When I saw the photo, I immediately thought: I'll put it in my room. On the inside of my closetdoor. I like it better than ordinairy photos. Because I made the hat myself. And light is in my eyes. One eye is darker than the other eye. Actually I have dark brown eyes, really dark. My parents loved the photo. My father put it in his mobile phone. The hat is in our storeroom now. Rembrandt would have said: "It looks like a real Rembrandt' . Everything is Rembrandt, except for my face."
Dilian Balkan

What would Rembrandt do with a digital camera? With this question as a startingpoint Photographer Marije van der Hoeven made portrets of more than threehundred children from different backgrounds. Together with hatdesigner Tineke Koelewijn the children designed a hat for themselves. A simple studio was improvised at school. The children posed with their hats on. Classmates took care of the lighting with torchlamps in the same light/darkness atmosphere that Rembrandt loved so much. The best photo's were used for a beautiful and very special book.A wonderful project with amazing results!