New Zealand Academy of Fine ArtsAn excited crowd welcomed the return of Rembrandt Remastered to the Academy Galleries on Thursday evening with the opening of this new exhibition of digitally remastered reproductions of dozens of masterpieces by this timeless artist. They were joined by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, H.E. Mr Ard van der Vorst, the Current Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Mexico, H.E. Mr Alfredo Bravo, and the Ambassador of Hungary, H.E. Dr Zsolt Hetesy, with their partners and other members of the diplomatic community. John Dow opened the exhibition with an explanation of its origins and creation, and thanked all those who had contributed to making it happen.
This was the 14th exhibition of this collection in New Zealand, John explained, although the first time they had returned to Wellington since 2015, and the final time these wonderful works would be displayed together. Some 50 of the digitally remastered masterpieces from the exhibition will be offered for auction at its close. Proceeds from the auction will go to Jemima’s Wish, the charity established by Jemima Gazley to fund research for a cure for the rare brain cancer that sadly took her young life. The online auction will start next week and close shortly before a live auction begins at the Academy Galleries at 6pm on Friday 15th March.
Ambassador van der Vorst acknowledged the close cultural and historic connections between New Zealand and The Netherlands, and noted that “The Nightwatch” was being painted at the same time that Abel Tasman was exploring the western coast of New Zealand for the Dutch East India Company (VOC).
Academy President Wayne Newman explained what made the exhibition especially valuable in his eyes was the ability to get close enough to the works on display to be able to see the mind and hand of the artist at work. Although he had seen over two dozen of the originals of these works, nowhere could a casual observer get close enough to discern the individual brush strokes and how an effect was created by this superb master painter, as you can in this exhibition.
Many of the guests took the opportunity to do just that, quickly being drawn into the works and identifying favourites. Cellist Emma Goodbehere of Let’s Twinkle provided the musical background to the evening, while KiaoraKai Catering supplied a fresh and delicious buffet generously sponsored by the Royal Dutch Embassy.
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