The Glory of the Rijksmuseum
The copy for this issue of the Journal was already laid out when Her Majesty the Queen opened the Glory of the Golden Age exhibition at the Rijksmuseum on Friday 14 April. But the show is so spectacular that we decided to stop the proverbial press.
None of the country's newspapers and magazines have missed this event. Even the Rijksmuseum's own press office has called it 'an unprecedented survey of the finest art of seventeenth-century Holland'. A daring boast, but more than justified. Pardonable too, since the whole Rijksmuseum is in party mood, celebrating its two hundredth anniversary and ... well, in the euphoria of the festivities it is sometimes possible to forget decorum. But what a party!
First and foremost, the Golden Age is the age of Old Masters. They are well represented here. The very best: Vermeer, Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Pieter Saenredam, Jacob van Ruisdael, Aelbert Cuyp, Abraham van Beyeren; and only their finest works. In fact the whole list is worth mentioning, each painting is superb. There's little point lauding the individual paintings, since the abundance of beauty is enough to make a person dizzy and confused. It has to be seen to be believed.
What makes it all the more exciting, is that it is not just paintings that are on show; other works of art from the period are also featured. This opportunity to see three-dimensional objects provides a welcome alternative. And they are no less spectacular. Here again, the pieces presented are the very finest: splendid terracottas by Artus Quellinus and Pieter Xavery, the underrated portrait busts by François Dieussart and Rombout Verhulst; a bronze by Adriaen de Vries and of course the incomparable Van Vianen silver and the breathtaking salts by Johannes Lutma. Van Mekeren's cabinet is beautiful, but in my opinion a little more furniture would have been appropriate.
Another breakthrough is the presentation. The boring grey walls have at last been replaced by colourful backgrounds. A tremendous improvement. The paintings come to life wonderfully on the coloured walls: not only are they more beautiful, they also appear more authentic.
That appalling grey first appeared in the 1960s and '70s. The colourless idea behind it was that works of art should be isolated and were at their best against a contrasting background. The greyness was perhaps more than anything a reflection of the art-historians who taught their university students not to find art beautiful, or of the museum directors who dismantled the period rooms, complained that they interfered with academic objectivity. At last, this exhibition has signalled the end of this type of nonsense at the Rijksmuseum. Although ... visitors still have a unique opportunity to enjoy the old grey-sprayed structured wallpaper above the colour panels, as well as the matching speckled grey carpet in the main gallery. And don't forget the - grey, of course - perforated iron benches.
If only for that reason, the Glory of the Golden Age is a triumph. It presents the Golden Age in a seventeenth-century environment. At the opening, seventeenth-century music was played and seventeenth-century poetry was recited. The catalogue has been written with vision and awareness of the seventeenth-century world. It is a unique enterprise. These are writers indulging in art history, not 'objective' art historians indulging in writing. Glory of the Golden Age has set a new benchmark.
After the major restoration programme, the Rijksmuseum's presentation and interior will improve even further. The painted panels used for this exhibition will be replaced by colourful damask backdrops. And the auricular tables and the Van Vianen silver, the Hendrick de Keyzer sculptures, the Delftware pottery and the Kangxi porcelain will be presented alongside the paintings of the Golden Age on a permanent basis.
Glory of the Golden Age has shown that Old Masters can sparkle in the Rijksmuseum, that they will continue to delight together with other works of art for another two hundred years in a harmony that has too long and wrongly been denied.
WJH