![]() ![]() ![]() Only when you turn the corner into one of these busy lanes might you stumble upon the factory hall-turned-gallery of Anouk Beerents. Etched remains of a forgotten past, centuries-old engravings and mismatched tiles announce the labyrinthine De 9 Straatjes, a maze of independent ateliers interlocked with tipsy buildings occupied by specialists, goldsmiths, antique dealers and fashion studios. The city itself has long been a potent source of artistic inspiration. Designed by Irma Boom, the catalogue delves into 37 richly printed works – a portal into both the intricate details of the paintings themselves, and the stories and places that inspired them. ![]() Accompanying the exhibition, the Vermeer catalogue showcases an abundance of new insights into the painter’s life, techniques and surroundings – erudition conveyed by an international team of experts overseen by Pieter Roelofs and Gregor JM Weber. A recent, sold-out Rijksmuseum exhibition explores the works of the Baroque painter, who came to prominence with his thoughtful compositions and his ability to transcend life’s inconspicuous moments – as his masterpieces Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) and The Milkmaid (1657–1658) attest. The Netherlands has served as the landscape for many a Dutch old master, including, of course, Johannes Vermeer. It’s a city that makes you inquisitive luckily, local residents and shopkeepers are no strangers to exhibitionism, inviting glances through picturesque Baroque windows. Nothing beats the reflective 17th-century canal houses in autumn, nor the picnic boating scenes of the summer, nor carefree ice-skating in the freeze when the canals come alive. ‘The Venice of the North’ is a destination for all seasons. Even the sticky pubs teem with trinkety crystal vases filled with drooping tulips and friends meeting around bendy burning candles, bashing together fluitjes of beer and swirling their herrings. Beeping bikes aside, when strolling through Amsterdam’s streets, one witnesses gezellig (very roughly: convivial) moments at every step. ![]()
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