Kate Middleton dévoile ses portraits sublimes de survivants d’Auschwitz

Kate Middleton n’a jamais caché son goût pour la photographie, au contraire: l’épouse du Prince William a réalisé elle-même quasi tous les portraits officiels de ses enfants, dévoilant au passage un talent certain et un art pour jouer avec les lumières. À l’occasion des 75 ans de la libération d’Auschwitz, elle a dévoilé un nouveau projet, qui met en lumière des survivants du camp de manière à la fois incroyablement artistique et émouvante.

 

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As part of the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the end of the Holocaust, The Duchess of Cambridge has taken photographs of two Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren. The first photograph features Steven Frank with his granddaughters, Maggie and Trixie. Alongside his mother and brothers, Steven was sent to Westerbork transit camp then to Theresienstadt. Steven and his brothers were 3 of only 93 children who survived the camp – 15,000 children were sent there. The Duchess also photographed Yvonne Bernstein with her granddaughter Chloe. Yvonne was a hidden child in France, travelling in the care of her aunt and uncle and frequently changing homes and names. The Duchess said: “I wanted to make the portraits deeply personal to Yvonne and Steven – a celebration of family and the life that they have built since they both arrived in Britain in the 1940s. The families brought items of personal significance with them which are included in the photographs. It was a true honour to have been asked to participate in this project and I hope in some way Yvonne and Steven’s memories will be kept alive as they pass the baton to the next generation.” The portraits will form part of a new exhibition opening later this year by @holocaustmemorialdaytrust, Jewish News and @royalphotographicsociety , which will feature 75 images of survivors and their family members. The exhibition will honour the victims of the Holocaust and celebrate the full lives that survivors have built in the UK, whilst inspiring people to consider their own responsibility to remember and share the stories of those who endured Nazi persecution. Portraits ©The Duchess of Cambridge

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jan 26, 2020 at 2:05pm PST

 

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Today is #HolocaustMemorialDay, which takes place each year on the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and honours survivors of the Holocaust, Nazi Persecution, and subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. Earlier this month, The Duchess of Cambridge met two Holocaust survivors, Steven Frank and Yvonne Bernstein, as she took photographs for a project by @holocaustmemorialdaytrust, Jewish News and @royalphotographicsociety to mark 75 years since the end of the Holocaust. The Duchess’s photographs will be included in an exhibition of 75 images of survivors and their family members, which will open later this year. “The harrowing atrocities of the Holocaust, which were caused by the most unthinkable evil, will forever lay heavy in our hearts. Yet it is so often through the most unimaginable adversity that the most remarkable people flourish. Despite unbelievable trauma at the start of their lives, Yvonne Bernstein and Steven Frank are two of the most life-affirming people that I have had the privilege to meet. They look back on their experiences with sadness but also with gratitude that they were some of the lucky few to make it through. Their stories will stay with me forever.” – The Duchess of Cambridge Photographs © Kensington Palace

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Jan 27, 2020 at 2:07am PST

Inspirée par Anne Frank et Vermeer

Pour ses portraits, qui réussissent le pari d’être à la fois sombres et incroyablement lumineux, la Duchesse a choisi de mettre des survivants d’Auschwitz en scène dans des tableaux dont elle a pensé chaque détail, en s’inspirant notamment d’Anne Frank et de Vermeer. Dans un communiqué sur l’Instagram officiel de William et Kate, cette dernière a révélé l’importance de ce projet.

Je voulais prendre des photographies extrêmement personnelles, et intégrer pour ce faire des objets que les familles ont apporté le jour du shooting. Ces portraits sont une célébration de leur vie depuis qu’ils sont arrivés en Grande-Bretagne”.

Face à son objectif, on retrouve Steven Frank, venu avec ses petites-filles Maggie and Trixie, et Yvonne Bernstein en compagnie de sa petite-fille Chloe. “Les horreurs impensables de l’Holocauste seront à jamais dans nos coeurs”, a commenté Kate Middleton, ajoutant qu’elle n’oublierait jamais le privilège d’avoir pu rencontrer Steven et Yvonne et les immortaliser.

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