Saturday, October 04, 2008

125 Reasons to go to Amsterdam


125 years ago, the Rembrandt Association was founded by a group of individuals who were bent on keeping and returning significant works of Dutch art to the country. In the late 19th Century there was little governmental support for retaining important works of art, and the museums didn't have the financial resources to compete for acquisitions with foreign collectors. The Rembrandt Association began bringing works by artists such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Davidsz de Heem and Hendrick TerBrugghen back to the Netherlands. In its 125 year history, the Association has participated in the purchase of more than 2500 works for public ownership.

2008 marks the 125th anniversary of the Rembrandt Association. To celebrate the occasion a major exhibition is being mounted at Amsterdam's fabulous Van Gogh Museum. It will run 3 October 2008 - 18 January 2009.

More than thirty Dutch museums have collaborated to stage this one-time exhibition showcasing a selection of the best works of art the Rembrandt Society has helped them to acquire over the years.

It was due to the Association’s efforts that paintings by Rembrandt and Vermeer were purchased for public collections. In later years the Association also turned its attention to foreign and modern works of art, which enabled museums to become more than simply temples of the Dutch artistic heritage. In this exciting exhibition some 125 of the most important and striking acquisitions will be shown together for the first and only time.

The Van Gogn Museum website provides details of the five sections of the exhibit: 1) key purchases of the last 125 years; 2) works of Dutch art that returned to the Netherlands and works that were retained in the country; 3) old masters by non-Dutch artists; 4) modern and contemporary art; and 5) a selection of acquisitions of the last ten years.

The Van Gohn Museum is also home to the world's largest Van Gogh collection.