Ground-breaking series that first brought art exhibitions to cinemas globally returns with new event film
Vermeer and Music: the Art of Love and Leisure at the National Gallery, London
Screens worldwide on 10 October 2013
“The chance to see great art like it’s never been before” Canberra Times, Australia
“A treat for the eyes” Globe and Mail, Canada
Award-winning arts documentary maker Phil Grabsky & Seventh Art Productions in association with BY Experience, the global leaders in alternative content, continue to connect major exhibitions from across the world with art lovers in more than 30 countries with their first of a kind series specifically for cinema, EXHIBITION ON SCREEN.
The latest film in the series – Vermeer and Music: the Art of Love and Leisure at the National Gallery, London screens worldwide from 10 October 2013. (Pre-production is also now underway for cinema art events for five major global exhibitions in 2014.)
Audiences in more than 1000 cinemas throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America are able to enjoy, marvel and delight at the works of some of history’s greatest ever painters, in the comfort of their local cinema.
A Young Woman Standing by a Virginal in foreground, National Gallery – 22 June copyright Seventh Art
Appropriately the series began at the National Gallery, London with Leonardo Live (November 2011) the first ever exhibition from a museum or gallery shown in cinemas. That was followed by Manet: Portraying Life from the Royal Academy, London and Munch 150 from Oslo’s National Gallery and Munch Museum.
For many, Vermeer is the most startling and fascinating painter in history – and this event film will show, for the first time ever, more than half of his stunning paintings in high-definition glory on the big screen. Not only will it capture a fascinating exhibition that explores the musical pastimes of 17th-century Netherlands by combining the art of Vermeer and his contemporaries with rare musical instruments, songbooks and live music from the Academy of Ancient Music – “A seductive show that lives up to the master’s erotic side” (Jonathan Jones, The Guardian) – it will also provide an in-depth look at Vermeer’s biography and artistic output.
As well as London, it has been filmed in New York – where audiences are treated to the first large screen images from the new Vermeer room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring all five of their Vermeers hanging together for the first time – and also Washington, where four more works by the Dutch master hang. Back in Europe, the film visits Amsterdam and then The Hague & Delft to explore these masterpieces such as the iconic Girl with a Pearl Earring and to find out more about the life of the man who created them – along the way with expert comments from the world’s leading authorities and also help from bestselling novelist Tracey Chevalier, whose novel led to the best-selling 2003 film, Girl with a Pearl Earring, starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson.
Dr Nicholas Penny, Director of the National Gallery, London said “The National Gallery believed it was doing something both novel and of great value in bringing together Vermeer and his contemporaries with the music of that period – however another innovative feature of this exhibition is its partnership with Phil Grabsky and EXHIBITION, as it is through the medium of film that this partnership between painting and music can also be enjoyed all over the globe.”
Phil Grabsky says “To have launched the 2013 season with three stunning shows from three world class venues has been an absolute thrill – and I have been bowled over by the positive audience response. So many people simply would never have a chance to see these exhibitions – nor, often, these paintings in such detail nor these artists’ biographies in such an accessible and engaging way. I want to encourage people to go to galleries but if you live thousands of miles away or indeed are elderly, infirm or simply can’t get child-care, then people are delighted with what we are doing”.
Echoing Grabsky’s comments, host of the Vermeer show, leading arts broadcaster Tim Marlow added “I think that standing face-to-face with some of the greatest works of art ever made is one of the most powerful experiences in life. ‘EXHIBITION ON SCREEN’ gives us the opportunity to convey something of this power in a cinematic format which brings the viewer as close to the real thing as possible. Sometimes, the camera reveals even more than the naked eye …”
Tickets for Vermeer and Music: the Art of Love and Leisure at the National Gallery, London are on sale now at participating venue box offices and on-line at www.ExhibitionOnScreen.com. The events are supported by DSAT Cinema, www.dsatcinema.com.
“Seeing an exhibition through a camera (especially an HD camera) is far better than not seeing it at all” Roberta Smith, New York Times
“Informative & intelligent” Philip French, The Observer