Over a decade ago, the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum organized an exhibition, presenting works of Rembrandt and Caravaggio side by side. Some of the most important paintings from the greatest museums in the world were on display.
Now, with thanks to the Rijksmuseum, rExhibition.com show you images of this exhibition with links to the original works where possible.
rExhibition is a non-commercial initiative. With donated time and/or money, our team of volunteers recreates original exhibitions close to the original intent. Our vision is a site and an app that uses the latest technologies to recreate the original exhibition, including in 3d. In the interim and with the means available, we try to sequence pictures in the original intent with the original information present.
How can you help? We are looking for people with knowledge of web technologies to sequence pages and images in order to reconstruct an exhibition. We're also looking for 3d talent able to create VR. And, we are looking for funding in order to hire such talent.
In 2006, The Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam jointly presented a unique encounter between the two geniuses of Baroque painting: Rembrandt van Rijn and Il Caravaggio. For the first time, an exhibition was organised with works from these two 17th-century masters of chiaroscuro. Over 25 monumental paintings on loan from various international museums offered a visual spectacle with powerful images of love, emotion and passion. The Rembrandt-Caravaggio exhibition could only be seen in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam during a short few months in 2006.
They both picked grand hemes from the bible, history and mythology, they both chose the most crucial and narrative of moments, often at the very height of emotion. They both depicted a raw reality of actual people. They both used deep contrast between black and white and worked with vibrant colours.
Despite their many similarities, both painters had a different background and different clients. Caravaggio's customers in Catholic Italy largely were nobility and Church. The protestant Rembrandt had wealthy patrons of various religions who had made their wealth in the republic.
The exhibition provided the first opportunity to compare the corresponding qualities of the two painters in a wide selection of works.
