'Rijks, Masters of the Golden Age' brings us face to face with more than 64 iconic paintings from the Rijksmuseum's Gallery of Honor. With the exquisite details of the artworks and commentaries by contemporary critical thinkers such as Erwin Olaf, David Allen, Angela Missoni and Jimmy Nelson, this book is a true tribute to the 17th-century masterpieces.
Bookcases full of books have been written about the Rijksmuseum, yet - amazingly - until now no book has done justice to the aesthetic class and scope of the precious treasure that the Gallery of Honour holds. Marcel Wanders, with his project (which is in keeping with the Rijksmuseum's philosophy of opening up the collection of the Gallery of Honor to a wide audience and underscoring its contemporary importance), has made up for this shortcoming.
With the book "Rijks, Masters of the Golden Age," Wanders manages to present the paintings magisterially - in an attempt to capture the timelessness of the works. As extraordinary as the choice of subject matter is, the execution is sublime. In no less than three different book editions, the RIJKS project will take shape. Each edition will feature large-scale reproductions of the selected masterpieces in great detail, using the highest achievable printing technique. This will make the reader undergo a lifelike experience, as it were, and be sucked into the work of art. This effect is further enhanced by the angle chosen, which forces the reader to look at the images with new eyes.
It also zooms in on surprising details from the works of art. The choice of these will be made clear in the 'BEHIND THE SCENES'-book that will be supplied separately (in the case of the coffee table book, the text is incorporated into the book itself). In this book, a selection of internationally very diverse personalities - who have won their spurs in either art, pop music, politics, photography, science or haute couture - will provide text and explanation of the chosen detail from the perspective of his or her field of expertise or work. This provides surprising and innovative insights. It shows that the works in the Gallery of Honor have lost nothing of their eloquence.
Marcel Wanders has succeeded in delivering a true work of art with this book, improbably beautiful and luxuriously executed, with an eye for special details. Each book is meticulously crafted with special attention, using first-class materials such as genuine leather, high-end metal, complicated foil techniques and custom-made paper - all to Marcel Wanders' unique design. Finally, each book is manufactured with extreme precision by passionate artists and qualified craftsmen who understand their craft - graphic technology and manual bookbinding - like no other.
With its class, grandeur and craftsmanship, the book breathes bygone days and at the same time is a feat of modern techniques and insights coupled with artistry and inspiration - a one-of-a-kind!
Specifications
Author: Marcel Wanders
Publisher: comma
Size: 250 x 340 x 51 mm
Size: 440 pages
Weight: 3608 grams
Language: English
Material: Hardcover
