City break in Amsterdam with a tattoo: Rembrandt for the poor – travel

The only way out of most major museums is through the Gift Shop, which is usually rudely placed just before the exit. Inspired by the encounter with art, the departing visitors should open their wallets and take a piece of the experience home with them to touch. From pencils to limited prints, there is something for every budget. The gimmicks should not only sweeten going out and co-finance the museum sponsor, but also promote going in. After all, every souvenir is also an advertising medium that could make viewers want to tour the exhibition.

But honestly, a cheese cutting board with carved Van Gogh sunflowers, coasters for the wine glass with Dalí’s burning giraffe, even the hand-blown Hieronymus Bosch bottle, the Mona Lisa Monopoly or the golden earrings in the shape of Joan Miró’s “Parler seul “Drops don’t lure someone out from behind their smartphone so quickly that they immediately travel to London, Paris, New York or Milan. The depots of the Prado or the Louvre, the Tate Modern or the Moma are not only filled with art treasures, but also with odds and ends to be sold.

But now a message from Amsterdam makes hip culture enthusiasts sit up and take notice. The operators of the Rembrandt House of all people want to radically rejuvenate their audience with an ingenious idea. After all, the museum has existed for 112 years – and shows art from the 17th century. Rembrandt lived here until his bankruptcy. The main exhibits are etchings by the master and reconstructions of his living quarters. A lot of old stuff that is now supposed to attract young people in droves.

Does a baroque DJ spin fat motet beats or funky harpsichord sonatas? Could Beyoncé and Jay-Z be coming to make a video like the one in which they stand so grim in front of the Mona Lisa that four years ago gave the Louvre the biggest increase in audience in its history? Much better! Visitors to the Rembrandt House can have tattoos with motifs by the painter for a week.

A group of tattoo artists around scene star Henk Schiffmacher, who also decorated Lady Gaga, Kurt Cobain and the Red Hot Chili Peppers and whose works are exhibited in museums, uses details from Rembrandt’s paintings and tattoos for a ridiculous price of 100 to 250 euros etchings, his signature or his monogram on the body. Not just Rembrandt for the poor, but Rembrandt for the poor – if you follow Henk Schiffmacher, who describes tattoos as “the art of the little man”. So the campaign is called “The Poor Man’s Rembrandt Project”. Appointments booked online faster than dipping a needle into ink.

No wonder, since things that have long belonged together come together here. Craftsmanlike, because etchings, like tattoos, are created from drawings that are applied to the respective substrate. In terms of time, because Rembrandt is immortal and the tattoos will never disappear again. Art cannot get any closer than under the skin.

The author once bought a funny t-shirt at the Tate Modern. It shrunk the first time it was washed and couldn’t be worn anymore.

(Photo: Schifferdecker)

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