Fra Bartolomeo. The Divine Renaissance

Paintings by Fra Bartolommeo have never been seen in the Netherlands before; some have never even left Italy. After five hundred years these paintings will be reunited with their preparatory studies in Rotterdam. Loans are coming from some of the world’s greatest museums, including the Uffizi in Florence, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Louvre in Paris. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has the largest collection of works by Fra Bartolommeo in the world. With hundreds of drawings from the two famous albums owned by the Florentine collector Niccolò Gabburri, the museum has a world-class treasure trove. The exhibition will showcase more than 150 drawings and ten paintings. Marvel at the masterfully drawn preparatory studies, practical aids in the working process, but also works of art in their own right. The paintings, ranging from a small diptych to impressive altarpieces four metres high, are the glorious end result. The celebrated portrait Fra Bartolommeo painted of his spiritual source of inspiration, the hellfire preacher Girolamo Savonarola, is also coming to Rotterdam. This major exhibition – a unique opportunity to learn about and understand this great master artist and the time in which he lived – will be staged in Rotterdam only.