The Rembrandt Connection
The NGV organised a major Rembrandt exhibition in September 1997. We invited Dutch artists in Australia to display a work with a recognisable connection to Rembrandt. This time Dirk Eysbertse and Isabelle Roosenburg were no longer available and Jan Stracke was the main organiser. Dutch Consul General David van Iterson was also a major contributor, particularly in attracting sponsors.
The project was almost stranded by the untimely death of Jan Stracke. However, his daughter Wil, a VCA graduate and practising solicitor, came to the rescue. Together with much help from Thea Winoto they managed to complete the organisation of the exhibition.
This time we did not have one major sponsor but a number of smaller ones, with OC Australia the largest together with Lease Plan, Hartman Pacific, the Dutch Consulate and Jan and Margreet Boer. The total budget was about $13,000.
The Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok was visiting Melbourne. His wife Mrs Rita Kok-Roukema accepted our invitation to open the exhibition on 12 November 1997 in the Malthouse. The opening was by invitation only but over 100 guests were present.
The list of potential artists of Dutch decent was now quite large at about 200 and 143 artists were invited to contribute. Out of these 33 artists were selected, amongst others the famous sculptor Peter Schipperheyn. See list.
A colourful foldout 4-page brochure was produced that had short summaries of all works displayed. The exhibition ran till 6 December 1997 in the Malthouse, as the NGV Access Gallery was not available. It was open Mo-Fr 16:30 to 21:00 hrs, Sat 10:00- 17:00 (Closed Sunday). We provided staffing.
Continue: Bonegilla-Where Waters Meet