Oct 21, 2012 20:48 BST The Museum presents 'the Dutch Michelangelo', Cornelis van , with audio tour by imagineear

(Photo: Banquet of the Officers of the Company of St. George, Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem, 1599)

Amsterdam. imagineear is proud to have been asked by Haarlem’s to produce an audio tour in Dutch and English covering the majority of works in the exhibition on Cornelis van Haarlem, ‘the Dutch Michelangelo’, which runs from 29 September 2012 - 20 January 2013.

Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem (1562-1638) was an important Dutch Mannerist painter who lived and worked in the city from 1562 till 1638. Together with the engraver and artist's biographer , Cornelisz founded the ‘Haarlem Academy’, which provided the opportunity to draw from live models and plaster casts. Before this time, no Dutch artists studied the nude, but Cornelisz made the naked figure the principal motif of his drawings. Van Mander described him as the greatest artist of his day.

Cornelisz produced historical pieces inspired by biblical scenes, or those from classical mythology, which he tried to depict in as compelling and striking a manner as possible. In his paintings, which were usually very large, Cornelis van Haarlem rendered drama on a grand scale to sublime effect. Restless compositions, pronounced colour effects, expressive gestures, violent emotions and muscular nudes in contorted poses astound the viewer. His paintings are conclusive proof of his unbridled artistic curiosity. They represent Dutch Mannerism in its most daring and experimental form.

The exhibition brings some 45 works by Cornelis Corneliszoon together in one place and, in addition to the museum’s own collection, are drawn from the National Gallery in , the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin and several private collections.

The imagineear tour of the exhibition, offered in the entrance price to the museum, also covers an extensive selection of works from the museum’s excellent permanent collection. This includes the world's largest collection of works by Frans Hals, as well as works by Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan van Goyen, Pieter Saenredam and many other 16th and 17th Century Dutch Masters.

About The Frans Hals Museum

The museum was founded in 1862 in the newly renovated former cloister located in the back of the Haarlem city hall known as the Prinsenhof, although the older pieces of the collection, consisting primarily of religious themes, date from the Reformation in 1648, when all Roman Catholic art was formally seized by the city council. Frans Hals himself worked as the first official restorer for some of these pieces. The collection today includes more than a dozen paintings by Frans Hals, for whom it is named, but also contains other interesting Haarlem art from the 15th century up to the present day. The beautiful 17th Century building in which the Frans Hals Museum is housed was formerly an almshouse for men of 60 years and over who were honest Haarlem residents, and single. They were required to bring their own bed, a chair with a cushion, a tin chamberpot, three blankets, six good shirts and six nightcaps.

‘The Dutch Michelangelo’ Cornelis van Haarlem (1562–1638) is presented from 29 September 2012 to 20 January 2013 at the Frans Hals Museum, Groot Heiligland 62, Haarlem, the . Opening times are Tuesday – Saturday: 11am–5pm, Sundays and public holidays: noon–5pm. The exhibition is closed on Mondays, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

For more information about the Frans Hals Museum, please visit www.lakenhal.nl/en Contact

Monique van Royen, PR & Communications Officer [email protected] +33 23 511 5783

About imagineear

Enhancing Visitor Experiences imagineear is a young and dynamic full service interpretation company, offering multimedia tours to arts and sporting venues, cultural sites and visitor attractions around the world. We have a highly experienced team and are based in London, with regional headquarters in Singapore and . Offering stand-out value for money, we use our experience to drive innovation, and create additional revenue streams from rental and retail models, both on- and off-site.

For more information about imagineear, please visit www.imagineear.com

Contact

Andrew Nugée, Chief Executive [email protected] +44 (0)845 680 7770

Contacts

Andrew Nugée Press Contact Founder & Chief Executive [email protected] +44 (0) 845 680 7770