The Frans Hals Museum, Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar and Teylers Museum are organizing the first major retrospective exhibition on Maarten van Heemskerck. With 50 paintings, 16 drawings and 68 prints by Heemskerck, the museums offer a representative impression of  Van Heemskerck’s large body of work, in this exhibition at three locations. No fewer than half the paintings attributed to the artist will be brought together in the Netherlands.

Maarten van Heemskerck at Teylers Museum

In the print room, Teylers Museum exhibits prints by Maarten van Heemskerck. He owed his success not only to his talent, but also to his entrepreneurial spirit. After his return from Italy, he followed the example of artists such as Raphael and drew his designs for prints on a large scale. However, he outsourced the time-consuming work of engraving, etching, printing and selling to professional engravers.

The result is a large production and rapid fame, as almost all prints made from his designs bear his name. Biblical depictions, lessons for daily life, and world history: the goal of Van Heemskerck’s designs is to educate. His prints were a source of inspiration for many artists. Rembrandt, for example, copied parts for his own prints. The Teylers Museum has an important collection of sixteenth-century drawings and prints, including works by Van Heemskerck. A selection of his finest prints will be on display, supplemented by loans from the Noord-Hollands Archief and the Rijksmuseum.

Research and publication

Prior to the exhibition Professor Emeritus Ilja Veldman, guest curator at all three museums, has performed extensive research. Her work has produced some important new insights, including changes to attributions, identifications of portrait subjects, and also new information on Heemskerck’s network and process.

A book on the life and work of Maarten van Heemskerck written by Ilja Veldman, with additional contributions on Heemskerck’s materials and techniques by Jessica Roeders and Mireille te Marvelde (conservators at the Frans Hals Museum), will be published to accompany the exhibition.

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