This month art lovers are flocking to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The museum is highlighting works by one of the world’s greatest artists: Rembrandt van Rijn. The masterpieces are being shown in a single exhibition—”All the Rembrandts”—for the first, and likely the last, time.
From imposing portraits to intimate sketches and prints that usually stay cocooned in dark, climate-controlled storage, the Rijksmuseum (RIKES-moo-zay-oom) is exhibiting 22 paintings, 60 drawings, and some 300 etchings in the blockbuster show.
“I think the exhibition wonderfully explains who Rembrandt was as a person,” says Pieter Roelofs, the museum’s head of paintings and sculpture. “[The exhibition] gives a wonderful overview of Rembrandt as one of the most experimental and innovative artists in Western art history.”
Museum Director Taco Dibbits thinks such a show is unlikely to be repeated. He says the reason is that “the works on paper are incredibly fragile.”
“All the Rembrandts” is part of a number of shows at museums across the Netherlands this year. The events mark the 350th anniversary of the artist’s death.
The former Dutch queen, Princess Beatrix, formally opened festivities last month at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, home to another important collection of works by Rembrandt.
The Rijksmuseum show gives an extraordinary overview of Rembrandt’s progression from precocious young artist to the master of the Golden Age. The mature Rembrandt was one of the first artists to depict his subjects just as they were—warts, funny faces, and all. Because of Rembrandt’s tendency to paint things as they were, Dibbits says, “I often say he’s the first Instagram.”
(Detail of Rembrandt’s “Self-portrait as the Apostle Paul” [oil on canvas, 1661] with his signature seen left, close to the frame. AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
