Starting March 21, the Stedelijk Museum Zutphen will be the first museum in the Netherlands to showcase a unique collection of etchings by Rembrandt, along with his predecessors, contemporaries, and followers.
More than fifty etchings by Rembrandt are seeing the light of day for the first time in a hundred years. These objects remained safely stored and were forgotten for a century. The owner and collector of the etchings, Charlotte Meyer, inherited the extraordinary art collection from her grandfather and discovered the prints in a vault in 2020. Meyer chose the Stedelijk Museum Zutphen as the first museum in the Netherlands to make these etchings accessible to the public.
Charlotte Meyer had the etchings examined by the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam, which is when the true significance of this find became clear. Today, she is dedicated to researching and expanding the collection. Thanks to Meyer’s passion for collecting, the collection has now grown to over seventy Rembrandt etchings, and her latest acquisitions will also be on display. Additionally, she collects etchings by the master’s predecessors, contemporaries, and followers, placing Rembrandt’s work in a broader context and making the exhibition truly unique. Finally, select etchings from the collections of the Stedelijk Museum Zutphen and Museum Henriette Polak will also be featured.
The exhibition highlights key themes from Rembrandt’s life, such as his early years, his periods of prosperity and mourning, and his life in poverty. To provide a multi-sensory experience, scent and interactive elements have also been added for visitors.
Rembrandt: From Darkness to Light was made possible with the support of the Cultuurfonds, the Mondriaan Fund, and the Municipality of Zutphen.