Metamorphoses exhibition at Rijksmuseum featuring at least 80 masterpieces

The Rijksmuseum houses more than eighty international works of art that depict stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Visitors are confronted with paintings, sculptures, precious metals, ceramics and modern photography that show themes of passion, lust and deception in mythological context. In parallel is the exhibition FAKE! dedicated to early experimental photographic collages and photomontages.

The Metamorphoses exhibition was curated in collaboration with the Galleria Borghese in Rome and was designed by Aldo Bakker, with graphic designs by Irma Boom Office. The collection exhibits more than eighty objects from museums and private collections worldwide. Works by Titian, Caravaggio and Rubens, among others, show icons of classical antiquity in new contexts, complemented by sculptures by Rodin, Brancusi and contemporary artists such as Bourgeois and Magritte. Passion, desire and jealousy are central to the stories recorded by Ovid around AD 8. An audio tour in the voice of writer Stephen Fry takes visitors through the mythological stories and extraordinary works of art.

FAKE! - Early Photo Collages and Photomontages is an exhibition on the third floor in the Rijksmuseum's photo gallery. Fifty earlier examples of photomanipulation are on display here, with work dating back to 1860. This exhibition highlights the experimental sides of collage and photomontage, strongly associated with artists from the Düsseldorf School of Photography and Dutch collections. Both exhibitions run synchronously in the same time period, allowing visitors to experience multiple art disciplines in one museum. There is also a concert series exploring the musical dimension of the Metamorphoses, and afternoon lectures with experts highlighting the mythological and artistic heritage.

The exhibition combines ancient masterpieces with modern art forms that retell Ovid's stories again and again.

In addition to these exhibitions, the Rijksmuseum is preparing a new sculpture garden, made possible by a major donation. The exhibitions demonstrate the ongoing interest in classical narratives and experimental imagery, providing insight into the richness of art through the ages.