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7/10/2010

Illusions of reality

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

From 8 October 2010 to 16 January 2011, the Van Gogh Museum will be presenting Illusions of reality: Naturalist painting, photography and cinema, 1875-1918. The exhibition, curated by guest curator Gabriel P. Weisberg, Professor of Art History at the University of Minnesota, gives an overview of Naturalist painting in relation to photography and film, with work by artists including Léon Lhermitte and Jules Bastien-Lepage (France), Albert Edelfelt (Finland), Károly Ferenczy (Hungary), Anders Zorn (Sweden), and Thomas Anshutz (United States). In the last quarter of the 19th century, Naturalism was one of the dominant movements in painting. This photographic style transcended national borders, and fanned out throughout all of Europe and the United States. More than fifty works, many of which are extremely large, will be on display in the exhibition wing of the Van Gogh Museum. At the same time, the presentation Vincent van Gogh and Naturalism will also be on display in the museum. After Amsterdam, the exhibition Illusions of reality will be presented at the Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery of Art in Helsinki from 17 February to 15 May 2011.

The last quarter of the 19th century saw Naturalism become one of the dominant movements in painting. This photographic style transcended national borders, and fanned out throughout all of Europe and the United States. The themes were drawn from daily ‘modern’ life: labourers, farmers, the affluent middle classes; all layers of society served as subjects.

This exposition sheds light on the various aspects of Naturalism: its themes, painting practice and the response of critics and the public. More than fifty works, many of which are extremely large, will be on display in the exhibition wing of the Van Gogh Museum.

Naturalism
Naturalism in painting focused on subjects from the daily lives of ordinary people. Artists tried to approximate reality as closely as possible, and made frequent use of photography. These compositions, which were sometimes commissioned by the government, were exhibited at the Salon and World’s Fairs. Most, due to their large size, were sent to museums or exhibited in public spaces such as town halls or schools.
Hubert von Herkomer, On Strike, 1891, Lent by the Royal Academy of Arts, London

The central themes within Naturalism include labour (in the country, in cities, and in industry), religion, and youth. The painters often used simple peasants as their subject material, or the hard life of workers in the cities. The style of painting was particularly detailed, and the works have the appearance of snapshots of real life. Yet the subjects of these paintings were carefully composed and were meant to tell a story, sometimes with a moralistic message. These themes were often the same ones as those already described by the writer Émile Zola in his Naturalist novels and plays.

The exhibition also shows several film fragments based on the literature of Zola. These fragments illustrate the close interrelation with the Naturalist paintings, which seem to come alive as a result.

With Illusions of reality: Naturalist painting, photography and cinema 1875–1918 the Van Gogh Museum presents the first retrospective exhibition on Naturalism.

After Amsterdam, the exhibition Illusions of reality will be presented at the Ateneum Art Museum, Finnish National Gallery of Art in Helsinki from 17 February to 15 May 2011.

Catalogue
Illusions of Reality, Gabriel Weisberg et al., Van Gogh Museum, 250 pages, in English, Dutch, French, German, Swedish, Finnish, € 34.95.

Benefactors
Thanks to the Turing Foundation, the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, the BankGiro Lotterij, City of Amsterdam and the Vincent van Gogh Foundation for their generous support for the exhibition Illusions of reality: Naturalist painting, photography and cinema, 1875-1918.

Image: Hubert von Herkomer, In staking (On Strike), 1891, in bruikleen van de Royal Academy of Arts, London

Press Contact:
Aïda Jellinghaus Management Assistent Communicatie Van Gogh Museum
Kantoor/office: Stadhouderskade 55 Postbus 75366 - 1070 AJ Amsterdam
T +31 (0)20 570 52 78 (direct) F +31 (0)20 570 52 66 pressoffice@vangoghmuseum.nl

Opening 8 October 2010

Van Gogh Museum
Stadhouderskade 55, 1072 AB Amsterdam
Hours: daily from 10 to 18 (closed 1 January). On Friday until 22
Admission: Adults € 14, 0-17 years free

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