Netherlands celebrates Rembrandt’s 400th birthday

Year-long celebrations surrounding the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt van Rijn’s birth began in the Netherlands this week.

Queen Beatrix kicked off the festivities on Wednesday with her official launch of an art exhibition at the De Lakenhal Museum in Leiden, the 17th century master’s hometown.

The exhibit, titled Rembrandt’s Mother: Myth and Reality, has gathered works from collections across Europe and North America by Rembrandt, many of them featuring a single familiar face.

The artist did dozens of paintings, etchings and drawings of Corneilia Willemsdr van Zuytbrouck, also known as Neeltgen. Most art experts believe that the elderly woman is his mother.

The Netherlands will host more than 20 major events in 2006 to celebrate the anniversary of the prolific artist. These include walking tours of Leiden showing where Rembrandt lived and worked and the biographical show Rembrandt, the Musical at the renovated Royal Carre’ Theatre in Amsterdam.

Born in 1606 to a large family, Rembrandth established his reputation as a young painter while living in Leiden and later moved to Amsterdam. He was very prolific and may have painted more than 600 canvases, as well as drawings and etchings that are in collections around the world.

Rembrandt survived the death of his first and second wife and four of his children. He was a teacher and art dealer as well as an artist, but went bankrupt in 1656. He died in Amsterdam in October 1669.

The Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam plans an exhibit of his works alongside those of Caravaggio, the Italian artist renowned, like Rembrandt for his use of chiaroscuro.

Amsterdam’s famed Rijksmuseum has plans to bring out the stars of its collection — by Rembrandt and other favourite artists — for a “Masterworks” exhibit in 2006.

Other anticipated events include the release of British filmmaker Peter Greenaway’s Nightwatching, a biopic about Rembrandt centred on the creation of The Night Watch, one of his most famous paintings.

The Rijksmuseum, where The Night Watch is displayed, plans to mount an installation related to the Greenaway film next to the painting.

Officials hope to attract at least 250,000 visitors to the Netherlands for the festivities.

- Netherlands celebrates Rembrandt’s 400th birthday, 15 Dec 2005, CBC

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