Van Oostsanen: the first Dutch old master
Amsterdam Museum, Amsterdam (NL), 2014
The painter Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen is regarded as the first Dutch old master. An exhibition takes visitors back to Catholic Amsterdam.
A medieval master’s Catholic Amsterdam
Accompanied by an 11-metre-long projection of a medieval procession, visitors walk through a city that no longer exists: Catholic Amsterdam. In Van Oostsanen’s day, many pilgrims visited the city every year to see the Miracle of Amsterdam: a host that had survived being thrown into the fire. Van Oostsanen earned money from selling Catholic images to the pilgrims from his studio on Kalverstraat.
A bird’s-eye view of Amsterdam
A highlight is a painting that doubles as the oldest known map of Amsterdam. During the exhibition, a touchscreen application supplemented the work with information from various archives. It showed visitors which building on Kalverstraat housed Van Oostsanen’s studio and what went on at other addresses, bringing medieval Amsterdam close by.
Van Oostsanen in Alkmaar
A related exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar focused on Van Oostsanen’s importance in art history. An introductory film recalled the artistic and historical high points of his era, placing his oeuvre in context. And a third exhibition at Alkmaar’s Grote Sint Laurenskerk highlighted Van Oostsanen’s ‘The Last Judgement’, painted on the vaulted ceiling. An application let visitors zoom in on the work, which reminds mortals of what will happen if they lead a sinful life.
Credits
Client
Amsterdam MuseumContent Design
Studio LouterSpatial & Graphic Design
OPERA AmsterdamFilm & Interactive Media Production
Studio LouterAudio Production
Big Orange