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Emanuel de Witte: Master of Light, Alkmaar

Studio OTW

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Designer
Studio OTW
Client
Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar
Floor area
270.00 ㎡
Completion
2017

A temporary exhibition Emanuel de Witte - Master of Light opened in the Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar at the end of September 2017. A selection of twenty-five of De Witte’s paintings is witness to his talent and diversity as an artist. He painted portraits, interiors, market scenes, but his special interest was in the church interiors. His focus on light, warm and alive, was equally the primary focus of the exhibition design.

Within the smooth, black box of the museum gallery, an abstract interior of a church evolved. On that set, the only protagonist was the light. The paintings, like altarpieces, lined the perimeter of the space. And above them, the light projection pierced the mute, solid walls with imaginary church windows.
On the walls, another recurring element of Emanuel de Witte’s creations appears - the man in a red cape. His ephemeral presence projected around the room refers to the many characters the master himself placed in his interiors. The interior is contemplative, immersive, and alive.

The game of shadows and light is played out on the floor. The light shines through the virtual windows and moves across the room. Light designers Theater Machine produced a half-hour sequence of projections mapped out over the entire gallery floor. Details of illusion are stunning including the shadows of tree branches gently moving in the imaginary wind and the clouds casting over the sun. The shadows elongate with time and disappear as the sun sets.