The marvelous Mauritshuis in the Hague, renowned for its collection of 17th Century Dutch paintings, is taking on a modern look in September with a show called Dali Meets Vermeer: Modern Masters Come to Visit at the Mauritshuis.
“Modern” is to be taken seriously — these are not in any way contemporary. Their names include Van Gogh, Monet, Beckmann, de Chirico, and Dalà and all the works were made between 1860 and 1960.
But what makes the exhibit noteworthy to me is its design: each of the Modern paintings is paired with a Dutch masterpiece from the Mauritshuis’s permanent collection and they are shown one pair to a room. The curator, Carel Blotkamp, Professor Emeritus of Modern Art at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, is striving to encourage visitors to really look — and compare. As the press release puts it:
The confrontations will invite comparison and closer examination, revealing how painters of different eras grappled with the same artistic problems.
So, Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1665, will be installed next to DalÃ’s Couple aux têtes pleines de nuages, 1936 (below) — to encourage people to see “surprisingly similar silhouette and colouring effects.” In another room, Rogier van der Weyden’s Lamentation of Christ (above) will be hung next to Francis Bacon’s Fragment of a Crucifixion (at right), showing two interpretations of the passion of Christ.
Jan Both’s Italian Landscape from 1645 will be juxtaposed with Cezanne’s La Montagne St. Victoire from 1888, illustrating two views of Mediterranean light, and Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait from 1688 will be contrasted with Charley Toorop’s Self-Portrait With Palettes from 1952.
There are 11 pairings in all in this exhibit, which opens Sept. 15. (I’ve emailed the press rep for a complete list and will post it when I receive it.)
UPDATE: Here’s the link to all the pairings.
This is a wonderful way for museums whose collections do not encompass modern and contemporary art to include those eras in their programs — and, I think, the other way around, too. Now wouldn’t that be nice, if a very contemporary museum brought in older works and made the comparison. (I touched on this subject in another recent post.)
The Mauritshuis press release signalled another possible wave of the future: Although there will be no catalogue for the show, a Dutch magazine called Kunstschrift will publish a special issue dedicated to the exhibit.