Latest news with #Rijksmuseum
The Star
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
In New York, Vermeer delivers the art of the love letter - sealed with a brush
Vermeer's 'Mistress And Maid' draws a visitor's gaze at The Frick Collection preview in New York, part of a three-painting exhibit exploring the art of seduction through the written word. Photo: AFP In a special exhibit featuring just three paintings, the Frick Collection in New York is inviting viewers to contemplate the age and the art of seduction by the written word. The show brings together a trio of paintings by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer: the Frick's own Mistress And Maid, The Love Letter on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and Woman Writing A Letter With Her Maid from the National Gallery of Ireland. They are three of six paintings by Vermeer (1632-1675) that focus on the reading and writing of letters. They also depict interactions between women of different classes. Each painting features a woman and a female servant who has likely become a confidante and an intermediary as her mistress conducts a romantic relationship, said exhibit curator Robert Fucci. "While the contents of the letters in Vermeer's paintings are not made clear, they are most likely amorous," he said. "Courtship and love letters were an important part of the artist's social context and a prevalent artistic theme." In Vermeer's era, women had increasing autonomy in choosing their life partners, Fucci noted. "Servants played a crucial role. Employers entrusted them with delivery, especially when messages needed to be shared covertly," he added. A debt with the baker Vermeer's Love Letters, on view until the end of August, is the first show on offer since the Frick reopened its doors in April following a top-to-bottom, US$330mil (RM1.4bil) renovation. The 20th century mansion filled with paintings, sculptures, and decorative pieces dating from the Renaissance to the 19th century now has 10 new galleries on its second floor, in what used to be the Frick family's private quarters. Two of the Vermeer paintings – worth a fortune today – helped the artist's wife, Catharina Bolnes, settle a debt with a baker after she was widowed with 11 children. The show is the first of the Dutch master's works in New York since 2001. The intimate offering is in sharp contrast to the sprawling Vermeer retrospective at the Rijksmuseum in 2023. Featuring 28 of his 35 known paintings, that was the largest collection of Vermeer's work ever assembled in one place, and drew thousands of art lovers. "Vermeer certainly continues to compel people and to inspire people today," said Aimee Ng, another curator at the Frick. – AFP
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
Stuffed animals strike a pose in Amsterdam
AFP A FEARSOME stuffed crocodile hangs menacingly from the roof, mouth wide open, sharp teeth ready to strike: welcome to the Art Zoo, the new offbeat museum opening in Amsterdam. Aiming to elevate taxidermy to high art, Art Zoo opened recently in the heart of the Dutch capital, in a famous building from the 17th century, a period that inspired the two artists that created the show. Artist Ferry van Tongeren said: "Our work is inspired by 17th-century sculptures and painters from the Golden Age, the Dutch painters who painted animal scenes." In that period, Dutch Golden Age painters drew inspiration from brightly coloured parrots, big cats and exotic animals captured in distant colonies and brought back to Europe to great amazement. They were often painted in theatrical poses, wings spread or neck extended, which the artists tried to replicate with their stuffed displays. A stuffed swan with wings deployed in defensive posture is a nod to "The Threatened Swan" by Golden Age master Jan Asselijn, hanging in the Rijksmuseum nearby. "It's a sculpture of a skinless animal but it's still a sculpture and we create the drama, we create the story," Van Tongeren said. He has been working with colleague Jaap Sinke for more than a decade as taxidermy-artists, a world away from the advertising industry where the two men met more than 20 years ago. Sinke, 52, said he had always enjoyed the varied nature of being an artist. "You're a little bit sculptor, you're a little bit surgeon, you're a little bit hairdresser and you're a little bit painter. "I think it's nice to combine all those crafts into one." In other exhibits, majestic tigers are displayed poised to attack, while birds of prey grip long snakes in their claws. To head off criticism from animal lovers, the artists have prominently displayed a sign with their "Golden Rule". "None of the animals in our taxidermy artworks was taken from the wild or bred specifically for the Art Zoo Museum. All died of natural causes, under the care of zoos and breeders." Eva Krook, museum director, described the exhibition as an "aesthetic tribute to nature, wonder, and everything fragile and cherished". "In a city where everything is becoming bigger, more high-tech and part of a chain, this museum offers an intimate space in the city centre where the art of taxidermy is celebrated in all its beauty."
CTV News
4 days ago
- General
- CTV News
1,000-year-old sword decorated with spiritual symbols found in Dutch river
A medieval sword has gone on display at a museum in the Netherlands after its chance discovery during a dredging operation on a river in the centre of the country. The sword was found during routine maintenance at the Linschoten Estate on March 1, 2024, and has been donated to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) in Leiden, according to a statement from the museum on Tuesday. Dating from around 1050 to 1150 and measuring one metre (3.3 feet) in length, the sword is inlaid with gold-colored copper forming the shape of a cross and a spiritual symbol known as an endless knot, the museum added. It features a long crossguard and a nut-shaped pommel, said the museum, which added that it was made from high-quality iron mined at Veluwe. 'The sword remains remarkably well-preserved after a thousand years. Only the organic components – such as the wooden grip and any leather wrappings – have succumbed to time,' reads the statement. 'The iron is barely corroded due to the oxygen-poor environment of the wet soil. Traces of the wooden hilt are still visible on the preserved sword,' it added. Sword Ruben de Heer It appears that the sword was deposited in the river on purpose, and there were no traces of a scabbard found nearby. 'Medieval swords were deeply personal possessions: they were either buried with their owner or – alternatively – ritually deposited into water,' said the museum. 'In the latter case, they are often exceptionally well preserved,' it added. At the time it was forged, the area would have been ruled by the Bishop of Utrecht, a nearby city, although he would have been in frequent conflict with the Counts of Holland and Flanders, who were becoming increasingly powerful. 'This era also saw a shift in military tactics and weaponry: vertical slashing from horseback gave way to horizontal thrusting between pieces of armour,' said the museum. 'This sword, which could be wielded with one hand, embodies that transitional phase – suited to both techniques.' By Jack Guy, CNN
CNN
4 days ago
- General
- CNN
1,000-year-old sword decorated with spiritual symbols found in Dutch river
A medieval sword has gone on display at a museum in the Netherlands after its chance discovery during a dredging operation on a river in the center of the country. The sword was found during routine maintenance at the Linschoten Estate on March 1, 2024, and has been donated to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) in Leiden, according to a statement from the museum on Tuesday. Dating from around 1050 to 1150 and measuring one meter (3.3 feet) in length, the sword is inlaid with gold-colored copper forming the shape of a cross and a spiritual symbol known as an endless knot, the museum added. It features a long crossguard and a nut-shaped pommel, said the museum, which added that it was made from high-quality iron mined at Veluwe. 'The sword remains remarkably well-preserved after a thousand years. Only the organic components – such as the wooden grip and any leather wrappings – have succumbed to time,' reads the statement. 'The iron is barely corroded due to the oxygen-poor environment of the wet soil. Traces of the wooden hilt are still visible on the preserved sword,' it added. It appears that the sword was deposited in the river on purpose, and there were no traces of a scabbard found nearby. 'Medieval swords were deeply personal possessions: they were either buried with their owner or – alternatively – ritually deposited into water,' said the museum. 'In the latter case, they are often exceptionally well preserved,' it added. At the time it was forged, the area would have been ruled by the Bishop of Utrecht, a nearby city, although he would have been in frequent conflict with the Counts of Holland and Flanders, who were becoming increasingly powerful. 'This era also saw a shift in military tactics and weaponry: vertical slashing from horseback gave way to horizontal thrusting between pieces of armour,' said the museum. 'This sword, which could be wielded with one hand, embodies that transitional phase – suited to both techniques.'
CNN
4 days ago
- General
- CNN
1,000-year-old sword decorated with spiritual symbols found in Dutch river
A medieval sword has gone on display at a museum in the Netherlands after its chance discovery during a dredging operation on a river in the center of the country. The sword was found during routine maintenance at the Linschoten Estate on March 1, 2024, and has been donated to the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (National Museum of Antiquities) in Leiden, according to a statement from the museum on Tuesday. Dating from around 1050 to 1150 and measuring one meter (3.3 feet) in length, the sword is inlaid with gold-colored copper forming the shape of a cross and a spiritual symbol known as an endless knot, the museum added. It features a long crossguard and a nut-shaped pommel, said the museum, which added that it was made from high-quality iron mined at Veluwe. 'The sword remains remarkably well-preserved after a thousand years. Only the organic components – such as the wooden grip and any leather wrappings – have succumbed to time,' reads the statement. 'The iron is barely corroded due to the oxygen-poor environment of the wet soil. Traces of the wooden hilt are still visible on the preserved sword,' it added. It appears that the sword was deposited in the river on purpose, and there were no traces of a scabbard found nearby. 'Medieval swords were deeply personal possessions: they were either buried with their owner or – alternatively – ritually deposited into water,' said the museum. 'In the latter case, they are often exceptionally well preserved,' it added. At the time it was forged, the area would have been ruled by the Bishop of Utrecht, a nearby city, although he would have been in frequent conflict with the Counts of Holland and Flanders, who were becoming increasingly powerful. 'This era also saw a shift in military tactics and weaponry: vertical slashing from horseback gave way to horizontal thrusting between pieces of armour,' said the museum. 'This sword, which could be wielded with one hand, embodies that transitional phase – suited to both techniques.'
