Two remarkable exhibitions at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam

From July 1 to September 4, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam will host two exhibitions featuring fascinating works of art. Modern Japanese Lacquer features some 70 works of Japanese lacquer art dating from 1890 to 1950. Lacquer art originated in Chinese culture, but has also been deeply rooted in Japan and other East Asian countries for more than 1000 years. Around 1890, aspiring artists in Japan could study at the new academies. Lacquer art was one of the fields of study and was now considered less a craft than an art form. The works were designed to be less decorative and more personal − often depicting quiet moments of nature observation.

The eye-catcher of the second exhibition is a 23-meter-long painting exhibited for the first time. It is a section of an original 1500-meter panorama of Swiss, Austrian and Italian landscapes from around 1850. The section shown lay rolled up in the museum's depot for decades and is now being presented to the public for the first time after being rediscovered and restored. The exhibition title XXL Paper - Big, Bigger, Biggest! is by no means an exaggeration: A 16-meter-long print, a 12-meter-high preparatory drawing for a church window, and an 18-square-meter drawing by Jacobien de Rooij are also on view. Since many works on paper are lost or destroyed due to the fragile material, this compilation of monumental works is truly special.