Rembrandt House Museum In Muscat
Rembrandt’s original etchings are on display in Muscat thanks to the joint efforts of the Embassy of Netherlands and Al Salmi Library

Rembrandt once said, “Without atmosphere a painting is nothing.” Grand Hyatt, Muscat is all set to give you the right atmosphere to feel and see Rembrandts marvellous etchings. Rembrandt’s original etchings are now in Oman and for the very first time in Gulf. This has been made possible by the joint endeavours of the Embassy of Netherlands and Al Salmi library. The exhibition had its grand opening on August 19, 2009 and the event was graced by His Highness Sayyid Haitham Bin Tariq Al Said. The Afrah ballroom has been transformed into a Dutch house with a massive doorway similar to that of Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam. This is an effort to make the atmosphere suitable for the paintings as this is what Rembrandt believed in.

Mayank Singh speaks to Abdullah bin Salem Al Salmi from Al Salmi Library about the show. Excerpts.

Al Salmi Library has been in the news for its efforts in bringing the Rembrandt etchings to Oman. Can you tell us something about the library?
Al Salmi library is one of the oldest libraries in Oman, and was established by our grandfather Nooruddin Salmi in 1898, who was a scholar and historian. The library has four sections – documents, manuscripts, books and references with around 6,000 titles and a small museum. The library is a part of the Nooruddin Salmi school which is in Bidiya.

How did the idea of doing this exhibition materialise?
Our society seems to be too dependent on the government to initiate everything and there is a need for the community to come up with new initiatives and ideas. This was where the idea germinated. Secondly, we believe that we need to interact with other cultures to understand each other, this will ease misunderstanding and mistrust. An exchange of art, knowledge, ideas and even religion can bring about more coherence between cultures. Keeping this in mind we started communication with Rembrandt House. While they were happy about the proposal, they were initially a bit hesitant about 100 original etchings going to the Middle East. But once they visited Oman they became confident about the security of the paintings and other issues.

What were the concerns that needed to be addressed for such an event and what kind of a response are you expecting?
Executives from the Rembrandt House came here and visited the venue, they checked the humidity and temperature levels and the handling of the paintings. They were reassured that there are companies and institutions that were capable of handling such high value paintings.

In addition we have insured the etchings for a big sum of money as a precautionary measure. The paintings will be accompanied by people from Rembrandt House during the duration of the exhibition to ensure that they are in good condition. We tried to select etchings that have some relevance to Eastern society and culture. There is a lot of enthusiasm about the event and we expect expats from the GCC to visit Oman to have a look at these etchings.

Who are the other key partners involved with the effort apart from Al Salmi Library and what kind of expenses are expected?
The Al Salmi Library is organising the whole exhibition and is footing the entire cost. We have received a lot of support from the Netherland’s Embassy and Rembrandt House, the government too has supported us. Overall, we are spending anywhere between RO300,000 to RO350,000 on the effort.


 

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