Co Rentmeester - Witnessing Life

PRE-ORDER

An icon of photography: meet Co Rentmeester, the man behind images that became history. His work has shaped the way we remember the twentieth century. From the Watts uprising in Los Angeles to the battlefields of Vietnam, from portraits of Sukarno in Indonesia to the stillness of snow monkeys in Japan, his photographs balance precision and presence. Twice honored by World Press Photo, including the very first colour image ever to receive the top award, Rentmeester refused to conform to the visual codes of his time. He treated colour as a moral choice, the camera as as a means of reflection, and each frame as a proposition. His photograph of Michael Jordan, later known as Jumpman, was named by TIME Magazine as one of the 100 most influential photographs of all time and grew into a global icon. Alongside his many LIFE magazine covers, these works mark milestones in visual culture.
This book is not a retrospective but a lens: a journey through the archive of a photographer who turned witnessing into a lifelong practice, spanning war and protest, sport and spectacle, daily life and constructed myth. Historic. Ethical. Inventive. Enduring.

The exhibition Witnessing Life will be on show at Foam Photography Museum Amsterdam from 10 October 2025 until beginning 2026. 

Publication date: 14/10/2025

Published by Lannoo
Design: Jelle Jespers
Hardback
Number of pages: 256
Dimensions: 310 x 230 mm
ISBN: 9789059960138