Amidst the recent heavy rainfall in Germany that led to flooded streets and disrupted rail transportation, the staff at Berlin's Gemäldegalerie took action to safeguard their precious artwork. Plastic sheeting was carefully applied to shield a painting by Rembrandt from potential leaks. David Grubbs, a professor at Brooklyn College who noticed the situation during his visit to the Berlin museum last week, expressed his concern on Twitter. He described the scene of a monumental Rembrandt painting covered in plastic and secured with duct tape, while droplets steadily fell into a bucket placed just inches away from the artwork. Grubbs admitted that the situation was stressful to witness.
The painting protected by the plastic sheeting is titled "Portrait of the Mennonite Preacher Cornelius Claesz Anslo and his Wife Aaltje Gerritsdr Shouten" (1641). It was commissioned by Cornelius Claesz Anslo, a wealthy Dutch shipowner and cloth merchant, to commemorate the purchase of his new house. The artwork prominently depicts Anslo in his role as a preacher, gesturing towards an open book, while his attentive wife listens to his lecture. This particular painting is one of twenty works by Rembrandt housed in the museum's collection, which also includes a wealth of other Dutch masterpieces by artists such as Petrus Christus and Vermeer.
The Gemäldegalerie in Berlin in the Kulturforum complex credit: Oursana via wikipedia
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a museum's collection has faced threats due to rainfall this year. Following catastrophic flooding in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region, museums across the country increased entry ticket prices by one euro. The additional funds were intended to contribute to a $1 billion aid package aimed at salvaging the remaining art and artifacts held in local museums affected by the flooding. Last year, a similar crisis unfolded in Australia when a so-called "rain-bomb" caused widespread damage to cultural centers, museums, and galleries, resulting in the loss of numerous artworks.
Jean Dubreil