Jacobus Willem Rentmeester (born 28 February 1936), nicknamed "Co" or "Ko", is a Dutch

rower Rowing, often called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars (called blades in the United Kingdom) are attached to the boat using rowlocks, while paddles are ...

. He later became a

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

and covered the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

among other newsworthy events.

Life and career

Rentmeester was born in 1936 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. He competed with

Peter Bakker Peter Bakker (born 1 August 1961) is a Dutch businessman who currently serves as president of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Education Bakker has a master's degree in Economics from Erasmus University Rotterdam and a ...

double scull A double scull, also abbreviated as a 2x, is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for two persons who propel the boat by sculling with two oars each, one in each hand. Racing boats (often called "shells") ar ...

and won bronze at the

1959 European Rowing Championships The 1959 European Rowing Championships were rowing championships held on the Mâcon regatta course on the Saône in Mâcon, France. The event for women was held from 14 to 16 August, and 16 races were held. The event for men was held from 20 to 2 ...

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

, France. Bakker and Rentmeester reached the finals in

for

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where they came fifth. In early 1961, Rentmeester moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and studied

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

at the Art Center College in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. After receiving his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

, Rentmeester initially started his career as a freelance photographer in 1965 for Life Magazine. A short time later, he joined the LIFE Staff from April 1966 thru 1972 when LIFE Magazine folded. He first covered the

Watts Riots The Watts riots, sometimes referred to as the Watts Rebellion or Watts Uprising, took place in the Watts neighborhood and its surrounding areas of Los Angeles from August 11 to 16, 1965. The riots were motivated by anger at the racist and abus ...

in Los Angeles, documenting many of the dramatic events, which earned him his first accolades as a photographer. Between late 1965 and 1969 Rentmeester was in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, where he particularly covered the Vietnam war. One of his pictures showed an M48 tank gunner looking through a gunsight. It was selected as

World Press Photo of the Year The World Press Photo of the Year award is part of the World Press Photo Awards, organized by the Dutch foundation World Press Photo. Considered one of the most prestigious and coveted awards in photojournalism, the World Press Photo of the Ye ...

and notably it was the first color photograph to win the award. He was also in Hong Kong during the extensive civil disturbances in 1967. After Rentmeester was wounded by a

Vietcong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the Communism, communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vi ...

sniper near Saigon, he returned to the U.S. in 1972. His pictures from a trip through

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

were shown in the

Van Gogh Museum The Van Gogh Museum () is a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in the Museum Square in Amsterdam South, close to the Stedelijk Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw. The museum opened o ...

, the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

in Washington, DC, and Asia House in New York. In the following years, Rentmeester worked for numerous major publications as a photojournalist and as an advertising photographer.

Awards

* 1967:

, 1st prize * 1972: Magazine photographer of the Year, School of Journalism, University of Missouri * 1973: World Press Photo, 1st prize in category ''Sports'' * 1976: New York Art Directors Club award for his photo essay on Thomas Jefferson * 1979: World Press Photo: 2nd prize in category ''Color picture stories'' * 1980: Missouri School of Journalism, award for an essay on the U.S. Air Force * 2001: KLM Paul Huf Award , Amsterdam The Netherlands * 2018: Lucy Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement in Sports Photography

Publications

* "Three Faces of Indonesia," 1974, Thames & Hudson Ltd. * "Holland on Ice," 1998, First Edition. * 'FOOTPRINTS" Co Rentmeester 2007, Uitgeverij de Kunst, Weesp, The Netherlands

References

External links

Official Website Co-Rentmeester.com

Co Rentmeester at worldpressphoto.org

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rentmeester, Ko 1936 births Living people Dutch male rowers Olympic rowers for the Netherlands Rowers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Dutch photojournalists Photography in Vietnam War photographers Rowers from Amsterdam Life (magazine) photojournalists European Rowing Championships medalists Photographers from Amsterdam 20th-century Dutch sportsmen