Amsterdam Art and Art History Trip review

Year 12 Art History A Level Student Rose gives her review:

During the Easter holidays Year 12 and 13 art students went on an immersive Amsterdam Art and Art History trip. Over the course of a packed four days we saw a collection of inspiring and thought-provoking artworks at Foam photography museum, the Stedelijk museum and smaller galleries such as the Fons Welters and Annet Gellink, my personal highlights were: the Van Gogh museum, Rembrandt van Rijn’s house, and the renowned Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum.

In particular, the painting of Vermeer’s which captured my interest was “The Love Letter” (c. 1669 - 1670) as at first glance it seems like the epitome of his oevre, two women conversing in a domestic setting. However, I found it intriguing that the key subject (the woman adorned in a gold and fur cloak) has a very similar gaze to the women in Vermeer’s series of paintings between 1664 - 1667 where he produced many studies of women gazing at the viewer up close, similarly to how she observes her maid. Conversely, here the composition is rendered to create a very different perspective for the spectator. Rather than being seductive and one could say submissive, as pictured in his most famous painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (c. 1665), she is far back from the picture plane, so much so that the spectator is placed in the adjoining room and almost feels intrusive.

As a Dutch baroque period painter, it was unusual for Vermeer to use chiaroscuro (a style of painting using intense light and shadow), which is typical to the baroque period. The style, whilst being almost dismissive of the spectator, can also make one feel as if the subjects are completely unaware of the outer presence. To me, this is an unsung skill of Vermeer’s which is not often attributed to him, so I felt it important to acknowledge.

In Rembrandt’s vibrant house, adorned with crimson and lime green shutters, and full of small beds tucked away in cupboards, all his painting materials, preparatory drawings, collected objects for paintings (including suits of armour, classical sculptures, and a plethora of shells) were preserved and it was incredible to see how an artist of his high acclaim worked.

The second artwork I’d like to mention was at the Stedelijk museum, which was an unrenowned Andy Warhol screen print of a police photograph, “Bellevue II” (1963), which depicted a bird’s eye view of responders bending over a body of someone who jumped to their death from a tall building. Although such a poignant and moving subject, it takes a minute to realise what the photograph is depicting. This photo has been repeated and screen printed in dark ink in order to produce a cinematic wishy-washy finish, creating a sense of intrigue and mystery, which leaves the viewer uneasy yet curious.

In addition to all the art, it was so great to experience the bustling city of Amsterdam for the first time, visiting the Noordmarkt and trying their world-famous apple pies gave me an insight into the Dutch culture and cuisine. The trip was an amazing opportunity which really enriched my art historical knowledge and I loved experiencing the day-to-day life of such an exciting city!