It takes a split second these days to create an image, and how many millions are recorded daily on mobile phones, possibly never to be looked at again? You can see it all happening in the palatial surroundings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, definitely one of those tick-off destinations on many travellers' bucket lists, where those in search of instant pictorial satisfaction throng the imposing statue-lined staircase for a selfie or pout for a photo in the café under the spectacular cupola. But we're not in Vienna for a quick fix, we're at the KHM to admire something more enduring in the shape of art produced almost 500 years ago by Rembrandt and his pupil Samuel van Hoogstraten that was intended to mislead your eyes into seeing the real in the unreal. Artistic deception is the story at the centre of Rembrandt--Hoogstraten: Colour and Illusion , one of the most engrossing and best-staged exhibitions we've seen this year. And, somewhat surprisingly, a show wi...
You don't really need an excuse for a Rembrandt exhibition, but 2019 provides a perfect diary date: it's the 350th anniversary of his death, and some of the Netherlands' biggest galleries (and the Dutch tourism authorities) are celebrating with a year-long programme of events.
Let's start at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where they have two big shows planned. The gallery, home to the Night Watch, has the world's biggest collection of Rembrandts, and from February 15 to June 10 it's planning to display 22 paintings, 60 drawings and the 300 best examples of his prints in All the Rembrandts of the Rijksmuseum.
Towards the end of 2019, there's the mouth-watering prospect of a show comparing Rembrandt and his Spanish close contemporary Velazquez in what the Rijksmuseum says will be a comprehensive overview of paintings by the two great masters, with paintings hung in pairs. It's a collaboration with the Prado in Madrid, which is celebrating its 200th anniversary next year, and we're also promised Hals and Vermeer, Murillo, Zurbaran and Ribera. Rembrandt-Velazquez starts in Amsterdam on October 11 and will run through to January 19, 2020. The Prado hasn't announced its dates yet.
Back in Amsterdam, the Rembrandt House Museum, in the building where the artist lived and worked for two decades, has got a series of exhibitions throughout 2019, including Rembrandt's Social Network, devoted to his family, friends and acquaintances.
A highlight to close the year will come in Leiden, Rembrandt's home town, where the Lakenhal museum, due to reopen in spring 2019 after renovation, will host Young Rembrandt, an exhibition featuring some 40 paintings as well as drawings and etchings.
There are other opportunities to join the Rembrandt trail in Britain before then. Rembrandt: Britain's Discovery of the Master is the major exhibition at this year's Edinburgh Festival and is on at the Scottish National Gallery from July 7 to October 14. It brings together key works by Rembrandt in UK collections, as well as some that are no longer in Britain, such as The Mill, now in the National Gallery in Washington, and will also feature paintings by British artists influenced by Rembrandt, including Hogarth, Reynolds and Auerbach.
And late next year, the Dulwich Picture Gallery presents Rembrandt's Light, featuring 35 loans from international collections focusing on his illumination and storytelling, including another masterpiece from Washington, Philemon and Baucis. It runs from October 2 to February 2, 2020.
The more enticing-looking exhibitions seem to be later in the year, so an enterprising pre-Christmas 2019 trip to Holland could take in Young Rembrandt in Leiden, Velazquez at the Rijksmuseum and Maes in The Hague, as well as another Golden Age favourite, Pieter de Hooch, who's the subject of his own show at the Prinsenhof in Delft, starting on October 11 next year.
Let's start at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where they have two big shows planned. The gallery, home to the Night Watch, has the world's biggest collection of Rembrandts, and from February 15 to June 10 it's planning to display 22 paintings, 60 drawings and the 300 best examples of his prints in All the Rembrandts of the Rijksmuseum.
The commemorations actually get under way on November 24 this year with an exhibition at the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden in the north-east Netherlands entitled Rembrandt and Saskia: Marriage in the Golden Age. Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenburgh, who was from the city, in 1634, and she was the model for a number of his works.
Leeuwarden is a bit off the classic exhibition circuit, but it's one of Europe's capitals of culture this year, and the museum has put on a couple of eye-catching shows recently, including the very enjoyable one on Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema that travelled to Leighton House in Kensington last year. Rembrandt and Saskia in Leeuwarden runs until March 17.
Leeuwarden is a bit off the classic exhibition circuit, but it's one of Europe's capitals of culture this year, and the museum has put on a couple of eye-catching shows recently, including the very enjoyable one on Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema that travelled to Leighton House in Kensington last year. Rembrandt and Saskia in Leeuwarden runs until March 17.
Also starting early next year is a show at the Mauritshuis in The Hague featuring the 18 paintings in its collection currently or previously attributed to Rembrandt, including the iconic Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp. The aim is to look at the shifting perception of Rembrandt down the centuries.
Displays in the Mauritshuis's smallish new exhibition space are by no means the blockbusters the museum once put on but they do tend to be enlightening and well thought-out. This one can be seen from January 31 to September 15. It'll be followed by an exhibition with 30 paintings by Nicolaes Maes, a pupil of Rembrandt perhaps best known for his domestic scenes, running from October 17 to January 19, 2020.
Back in Amsterdam, the Rembrandt House Museum, in the building where the artist lived and worked for two decades, has got a series of exhibitions throughout 2019, including Rembrandt's Social Network, devoted to his family, friends and acquaintances.
A highlight to close the year will come in Leiden, Rembrandt's home town, where the Lakenhal museum, due to reopen in spring 2019 after renovation, will host Young Rembrandt, an exhibition featuring some 40 paintings as well as drawings and etchings.
Among the works on loan will be the Man in Oriental Costume from the Met in New York. This show is being put on in collaboration with the Ashmolean Museum, and after its run in Leiden from November 3 next year to February 9, 2020, it will be in Oxford from February 27 to June 7.
And late next year, the Dulwich Picture Gallery presents Rembrandt's Light, featuring 35 loans from international collections focusing on his illumination and storytelling, including another masterpiece from Washington, Philemon and Baucis. It runs from October 2 to February 2, 2020.
Images
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul, 1661, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Rembrandt van Rijn, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, 1632, Mauritshuis, The Hague
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait, Royal Collection Trust. (c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018
Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait, Royal Collection Trust. (c) Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2018
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