Saturday, December 10, 2016

Vatican hosting its first Rembrandt exhibition

Detail from Rembrandt's The Three Crosses (1653).The Vatican has opened an exhibition of works by Rembrandt van Rijn: the first exhibit of the Dutch artist ever shown at the Vatican Museums.

Antonio Paolucci, the director of the Vatican Museums, said that the exhibition is an indication of the ecumenical priorities of Pope Francis, “who made the unity of Christians one of his goals.” 

The Rembrandt exhibition opened just over a month after the visit by Pope Francis to Sweden, to join in the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

Queen Silvia of Sweden was in Rome for the opening of the Rembrandt show, as was Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands.