Te Papa Sends Rembrandts On The Road

MEDIA RELEASE

(for Immediate release)

Museum of New Zealand- Te Papa Tongarewa and the Whangarei Art Museum

Te Papa Sends Rembrandts On The Road

Rembrandt - The Experimental Etcher showcases twenty etchings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) from the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. The exhibition will show at Whangarei Art Gallery Te Wharetaonga o Whangarei from late June, then at Tauranga Art Gallery and Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History.

The works are drawn from a group of fifty-six prints from the Bishop Monrad collection returned to Te Papa in 2007 from the Alexander Turnbull Library where they have been held since 1923. Featuring typical religious subjects, Rembrandt - the Experimental Etcher also shows scenes of daily Amsterdam life and portraits including a self-portrait of Rembrandt himself.

‘The works of this great master are exquisitely detailed and Te Papa is proud to present a selection of these unique works for tour’, said Te Papa’s Chief Executive, Dr Seddon Bennington.

Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) is widely recognised as the greatest etcher in the history of the medium, and his etchings have always been famous and sought after by collectors. He produced about three hundred etchings, often with the addition of drypoint and engraving. His prints were conceived and executed as independent works of art, not as reproductions of his paintings.

Bishop Ditlev Gothard Monrad (1811-1887) was prime minister and a high ranking churchman in Denmark but left his country due to his sense of responsibility for the defeat of Denmark and loss of Danish territory in the Danish-Prussian war of1864.
In 1866 Monrad, together with his family and five young Danish men who wished to emigrate, came to New Zealand and purchased land at Karere in the Manawatu. The family brought with them a large library of books and works of art – including etchings and engravings by Rembrandt, Durer and Van Dyck.

Bishop Monrad and his wife returned to Denmark after three years. Before returning, Monrad generously donated his collection of six hundred European prints to the New Zealand government which became the founding collection of the National Art Gallery (that amalgamated with the Dominion Museum to become Te Papa).

Rembrandt - The Experimental Etcher

For further information and Images please contact:

whangareiartmuseum@wdc.govt.nz.

ENDS

May 2009 Change to Whangarei Art Museum Opening Hours for the winter season and foreseeable future:

The Whangarei Art board have resolved that the art museum will be closed to the public on Mondays as of 4th May 2009.

New Opening Hours:

Tuesday to Friday: 10am – 4pm

Weekends: 12 noon – 4pm

Closed: Mondays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday.

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