Course-related excursions are an important component of the IES Abroad Amsterdam course, AH 315 - Highlights of Dutch Art: From Rembrandt to Mondriaan and Beyond, taught by Professsor Mariëtta de Bruïne.
A few weeks ago, one of the excursions led the group to the Oude Kerk (meaning “Old Church” of the early 14th century, as opposed to the “New Church” of the early 15th century). The distinction is important because at one point in time, Amsterdam had more than 150 places of Christian worship.
While visiting the Oude Kerk, the group was approached by Alexander Zeverijn, an accomplished photographer whose photographs have been published in the Guardian, Africa Geographic, as well as various Dutch newspapers. Zeverijn asked if the group would do a practice sitting for them—in other words, a free interpretation of the famous Rembrandt painting de Staalmeesters. He was looking for poses for a shoot he is working on with a number of important people in the Dutch museum/culture scene.
The result is below–our students engaging in a free interpretation, or as Professor Mariëtte describes it, in the style of Mannerism (Late Renaissance). We must say, they’ve created a masterpiece!
