I remember it so clearly. The day I made the decision of going to Museum Jacquemart-André for their exhibition in partnership with the Galleria Borghese. I was in my Amsterdam apartment, about to eat lunch and selecting my entertainment for the meal. I was in a “Let’s feel smart” mood and decided to watch a documentary about Persepolis. Before the start of the documentary I saw an ad, and I bought the ticket for my next trip home.
I did go. It was not my first experience in a Museum at all but everytime I do feel weird going to those places. It’s that feeling of not belonging somewhere, of being on the outside of a universe. Anyways, I still went in obviously.
I really liked it, some pieces more than others, and one really stood out to me. I don’t know what it was that attracted me so. I remember that I had moved on to the next room, but it did not leave my mind. I went back, facing the crowd, just to take a picture. I still vividly remember the great lightning, the colors popping, the fun details. I was sort of mesmerized.
It’s a painting by Gerrit van Honthorst called The Concert (Le vol de l’amulette), from 1626.
Cut forward to 9 months later when I visit the Utrecht Centraal Museum. I have this déjà-vu impression when I look at a painting and sure enough, the paintings I am seeing have been made my the same artist. It does make sense, his name sounded very Dutch now that I think about it.
Anyways, I chuckled at first, but that coincidence kept replaying in my head for weeks. At the time (and honestly now as well) I was really early in my art discovery journey and had never thought about researching artworks from specific artists to kind of schedule visits around them. And then I had this idea that kept growing. That’s how I started this project.