The exhibition was set up around a number of themes from the work of Bloemaert. These can be seen on the ground floor of the exhibition-halls; the walls are hung with the paintings, the graphic arts are exhibited on tables in the middle of the room. The tables containing the graphics are positioned in such a way that the viewer will commonly recognise the relation between the sketches and drawings on the tables and the paintings on the walls. Since the graphic arts and paintings require different lighting conditions, ceiling cloths have been stretched above the tables to temper the light. The jaunty shape of the cloths was inspired by the jaunty lines in Bloemaert’s work.
In three places in the exhibition cabinets were built containing work by a Dutch artist indebted to Bloemaert, who was a pioneer in representing bodies and a specific way of colour display within each painting.
The two mezzanines in the space are dedicated to deepening the artist’s work: which pigments were used and where did they come from, what are the visual similarities between penciled studies and the final painting, which subsurfaces were used and how were they prepared. A studio has been established in the museum’s attic where the visitors can investigate the themes of the exhibition for themselves.
Surface: exhibition 1200 m2, workshop 90m2.