Rembrandt the Musical at Amsterdam's Carré theatreSaturday 15 July. 2006, marked the 400th birthday anniversary of Rembrandt, the greatest Dutch 17th-century painter - the perfect opportunity for some of the country's most important museums to shine the spotlight on his work throughout the year.
The special Rembrandt exhibitions and events are drawing hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors to the Netherlands, much to the delight of the country's tourism industry.
In addition, dozens of books have been published about the artist, his work and his life, and every school in the county has devoted special projects to him. All this attention will reach a highpoint on his 400th birthday with major festivities in several cities.
Boost to culture
The Rembrandt 400 Year has given a real boost to the cultural life of the Netherlands. On the painter's birthday, on Saturday, dozens of volunteers in Leiden created a tableau vivant of his masterpiece, The Night Watch. Every Dutch citizen with 'Van Rijn' as his or her family name [the same as Rembrandt] was invited to the city's most important museum.
Meanwhile, in Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, there was a free breakfast with enough food for thousands of people. But the highpoint of the day came in the evening when Rembrandt himself went on stage in the capital's main theatre, playing the main part in the premiere of a spectacular musical.
Romanticised
Watching the famous painter represented on stage casts a new light on his life. Who would have thought that he could sing masterfully, too? It's a fine example of how Rembrandt and his legend are being romanticised, probably because of the scarce amount of factual information we have about him.
We know much more about his works of art, and this knowledge has been growing in recent years. Studies are underway, by several specialised art historians, into the techniques and materials used by Rembrandt, and also into his development as an artist.
This research has enabled better conservation and restoration of his paintings and has fueled the discussion about whether some of them are genuine Rembrandt's or should be attributed to his apprentices. Tens of thousands of visitors have come to see the latest discoveries in the Rembrandt House Museum, the house where he lived between 1639 and 1658.
Exhibitions
The Rembrandt Year has led to many other high-profile exhibitions focusing on his work and there are more to come. Paintings, drawings and etchings have been shipped to Dutch museums from far and wide. The main exhibitions are in the Rijksmuseum and in the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam, but those in The Hague, Rotterdam and, of course, Leiden, are worth visiting, too.
In fact, Rembrandt's birthplace, Leiden, was one of the richest cities in his time, the Dutch Golden Age. For years, Leiden seemed oblivious of the painter's huge potential as a tourist attraction, but now, thousands of people flock to the city to listen to special concerts, watch street performances and join in children's games.
Rembrandt has become a major tourist brand and the total revenue for Dutch hotels, museums, restaurants and bars, including the special Rembrandt merchandising, has been estimated at 700 million euros. It's an amount that would have far exceeded the painter's imagination, as would a career as a musical star. Anything goes, in this Rembrandt year.
