Fotografieke

As I’ve been to a stunning exhibition of John Everett Millais’ masterpieces at Tate Britain in London last year I thought it would be worth my time to watch them again in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. So I did. I have to say the paintings and drawings were still as magnificent. The exhibition style less so.

I’m fond of a simple manner of showing artwork, white and peaceful or just using the charm of the environment. What the organizers at the Van Gogh museum did is firing spots at the biggest paintings and paint the walls as dark as possible. Get a gloomy atmosphere going. Hmm. It distracts me from the artwork and gets me in a depressed mood while I want the art to define my mood. Long story short: too much.

But still, there’s pre-raphaelite art out there, so go! It’s available to drool in front of (not on..) until the 18th of May in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. As a bonus you will be able to walk past a few photographs inspired by Millais’ Ophelia from Rineke Dijkstra, Inez van Lamsweerde and others on the ground floor.