Following the Netherlands nationwide lockdown, the Rijksmuseum re-opened to the public on 1 June with the celebrated exhibition ' Caravaggio-Bernini. Baroque in Rome'. In compliance with guidelines issued by the Dutch Public Health Institute (RIVM), the Rijksmuseum has introduced pre-booked timed entries to offer visitors the safest and most enjoyable possible experience.
Taco Dibbits, General Director of the Rijksmuseum said, The Rijksmuseum is immensely grateful for the support of private donors, businesses and the Dutch government in these times that pose unprecedented financial challenges for the museum. This exhibition programme is a tribute to the perseverance and creativity of our curatorial team.
AUTUMN 2020
9 October 2020 to 10 January 2021, Photography Gallery
Mali, Young Woman, Willem Diepraam, 1980, on loan from W. Diepraam, AmsterdamDutch photographer Willem Diepraam (b. 1944) has had a major influence on the evolution of photography in the Netherlands. After working as a ground-breaking photojournalist in the 1970s, he went on to develop the medium as an art form. In 2009, Diepraam transferred his entire collection to the Rijksmuseum. This retrospective starting on 9 October brings together his earlier and later work for the first time in the Rijksmuseum.
Ed van der Elsken: Crazy World
30 October 2020 to 10 January 2021, Philips Wing
Ed van der Elsken. Visitors of a concert and an agent behind crowd barriers at a concert of the Lionel Hampton Big Band in the Houtrusthallen in The Hague, 24 March, 1956. gelatin silver print. ©Ed van der ElskenThe main focus of Ed van der Elsken: Crazy World is the photographer’s personal work archive. The Rijksmuseum and Nederlands Fotomuseum’s joint acquisition of Ed van der Elskens’ artistic estate at the end of 2019 has provided the ideal opportunity to shed light on the working practice of one of the Netherlands’ most famous photographers. The display of more than 100 objects – including prints, photo book designs and contact sheets – reveals Van der Elsken’s hand in his photographs, printing and experimentation.
This exhibition has come about through a partnership with Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam and is made possible with the support of Fonds21.
The collection was for a large part donated by Anneke Hilhorst, and partly purchased with the support of the Mondriaan Fund, the Rembrandt Association (thanks in part to its dedicated Photography and Video Fund and Dura Kunstfonds), BankGiro Lottery participants, the Paul Huf Fund/Rijksmuseum Fund and the Marque Joosten & Eduard Planting Fund/Rijksmuseum Fund.
Document Nederland Junior
8 October to 31 December 2020, Education Centre
This annual photography competition for students in secondary schools and further applied education is more relevant than ever before. The theme this year takes the form of a question: Who Are You? It’s about getting young people to take a more conscious look at themselves and what’s around them. The result is a collection of intimate photo series by young people that engage with topical subjects in the social sphere.
Document Nederland Junior is made possible in part by Janivo Stichting.
Highlights of the 19th Century
4 September 2020 to March 2021, Rijksmuseum Schiphol
Jozef Israëls, 'The Little Seamstress', 1850 – 1888. Gift of Mr and Mrs Drucker-Fraser, MontreuxTravellers visiting this exhibition will see the Netherlands through the eyes of 19th-century artists: the Romantic era paintings present an idyllic vision, while from the 1850s onwards artists went out into the world and painted it as they saw it. Includes work by Jozef Israëls, Anton Mauve and Willem Witsen.
Views of Amsterdam
November 2020 to May 2021, Print Cabinets
The Rijksmuseum has partnered with KOG, the Dutch royal archaeological society, for this presentation of 16th and 17th-century drawings and prints of views of Amsterdam. All the works on display come from KOG’s Atlas Amsterdam, one of the largest collections of drawings and prints of city views, important buildings, streets and squares.
SPRING 2021
Slavery
12 February to 30 May 2021, Philips Wing
Enslaved men working in the fields, anonymous, c 1850. Purchased with the support of the Johan Huizinga Fonds/Rijksmuseum FondsSlavery brings together ten real-life stories about people in slavery, about slaveholders, about people who freed themselves from slavery, and about people brought to the Netherlands in slavery. This exhibition centres on slavery in the Dutch colonial period spanning from the 17th to the 19th century, and sheds light on the countries and regions where the Netherlands was actively involved in slavery and the slave trade.
SUMMER 2021
Ellsworth Kelly
28 May to 24 October 2021, Rijksmuseum Gardens
Ellsworth Kelly, White Ring, 1963. Fondation Beyeler, Riehen, Switserland. On loan from the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation.Nine monumental sculptures by the American artist Ellsworth Kelly (Newburgh 1923 – 2015 Spencertown) will be on display in the Rijksmuseum Gardens throughout summer 2021. Kelly is one of the most important abstract artists of the post-war period, and this is the first exhibition in the Netherlands to be devoted to his sculptures. The works come from the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation in Spencertown and New York State.
This exhibition has come about in close partnership with the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation in Spencertown and has been made possible by Art Mentor Foundation Lucerne, Pon and the Rijksclub.
Modern Japanese Lacquer - Out of the Box
25 June to 5 September 2021, Phillips Wing
Rokkaku Daijō, Japanese Cormorant, 1938. Purchased with the support of the Goslings NieuwBeerta Fonds/Rijksmuseum FondsThere’s something magical about Japanese lacquer art. The decorations are made with exceptional care and skill using dozens of layers of lacquer in a process that takes months if not years. In this exhibition, traditional depictions in gold, silver and black form the departure point for a journey into modernity, creativity and exuberant colours. The almost seventy objects on display trace this development in the early 20th century.
The exhibition is made in collaboration with Jan Dees. With works on loan from the collection of Jan Dees & René van der Star, and from Japan and the United States.
XXL Paper
25 June to 5 September 2021, Philips Wing
Panorama, anonymous, ca. 1850XXL Papier presents the largest works on paper in the Rijksmuseum collection, most of which have never been displayed before – due to their size. The selected works include actual-size design drawings of stained-glass windows for St Bavokerk in Haarlem, dating from 1541, and a vast 19th-century hand-painted panorama no fewer than 23 metres in width that was recently discovered in one of the Rijksmuseum’s depots.
The restoration of the panorama was made possible by the Bank Ten Cate & Cie. Fund/Rijksmuseum Fund.
Vincent Mentzel: The power of the image
25 June to 5 September 2021, Photo Gallery
Spectators during a football match between Ajax and Feyenoord in the Kuip in Rotterdam, Vincent Samuel Mentzel, 1969. Acquiredwith the support of BankGiro Lottery participants Vincent Mentzel (1945) has long been one of the Netherlands most iconic photographers. As a photojournalist at NRC Handelsblad he helped define the news image. As well as reporting on the national political scene for many years, he travelled the world to cover political and other current affairs. Mentzel has multiple World Press Photo and Silver Camera awards to his name. In the course of his career, he has seen photography rise from the status of poor relation to serious written journalism to become a self-contained and powerful medium with opportunities for artistry. The exhibition traces this development through Mentzel’s own work. In 2011 Vincent Mentzel transferred a large selection from his oeuvre to the Rijksmuseum.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Highlights of Italian Drawing in the Rijksmuseum
Till 23 November 2020, Print Cabinets
Rafaël, Study of the Head and Left Shoulder of a Woman, 1519 – 1520. Gift of I.Q. van Regteren Altena, AmsterdamWorks by the greatest Italian masters – Raphael, Michelangelo, Carracci, Barocci, Canaletto, Tiepolo and Piranesi among them – are now on view at the Rijksmuseum in a small display of drawings from the Print Room collection. The most exceptional of these, a Raphael dating from 1519-1920, is the artist’s study for a prominent figure in The Transfiguration, his last and most famous painting. This year is the 500th anniversary of the death of this Italian Renaissance master.
Night Watch Gallery
Operation Night Watch. Photo: Jan-Kees SteenmanOperation Night Watch is the most extensive ever study of The Night Watch. We are using the latest, most advanced technology to determine the most effective approach to conserving this masterpiece for future generations. The current research phase is expected to conclude at the end of 2020, with the subsequent restoration phase commencing in early 2021. Research and restoration are being carried out in a glass-walled chamber in the Night Watch Gallery, meaning visitors to the museum can follow its progress live.
AkzoNobel is the main partner of Operation Night Watch. Operation Night Watch is made possible by The Bennink Foundation, C.L. de Carvalho-Heineken, PACCAR Foundation, Piet van der Slikke & Sandra Swelheim, American Express Foundation, Familie De Rooij, AutoBinck Fund, Segula Technologies, Dina & Kjell Johnsen, Familie D. Ermia, Familie M. van Poecke, Bruker Nano Analytics, Henry M. Holterman Fund, Irma Theodora Fund, Luca Fund, Piek-den Hartog Fonds, Stichting Zabawas, the Cevat Fund, the Johanna Kast-Michel Fund, Marjorie & Jeffrey A. Rosen, Stichting Thurkowfonds and the Night Watch Fund.
