Rembrandt’s Etchings and Echizen Paper

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Sugihara-san and Fukui paper makers attended the opening of the much anticipated exhibition: Rembrandt’s Etchings and Japanese Echizen paper at the Rembrandt House Museum!

The exhibition will be open to the public until September 20th, 2015.

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The Rembrandt House which once was his home is now a historical monument and museum, commemorating Rembrandt’s life and work located in Amsterdam. He lived and worked in this house from 1639 to 1658. Although the interior has been reconstructed since then, the overall architecture remains the same as it was in his time.

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On Friday June 12th 2015, the Rembrandt House Museum will open an exhibition devoted to Rembrandt’s extraordinary choice for paper from Japan. It has long been known that Rembrandt made prints on this kind of paper, but it remained unclear from which region it originated. Recently researchers in Japan and in The Netherlands (Rijksmuseum) have started research on whether the paper originated from Japan and more particularly from the region of Echizen, located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. Rembrandt was even a pioneer in the use of such valuable and exotic papers, starting around 1647. The only etched portrait of his son Titus was exclusively printed on Japanese paper. Dramatic comparisons with prints on western paper will reveal the effect of Rembrandt’s striking choice. (The Rembrandt House Museum, 2015)

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An etching on gampi paper

Remember Nishino-san ? (If you don’t, click here for the 2012 post on him)

Here he is, demonstrating his paper making skills:

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(Photo credit: Yoshinao Sugihara)

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