Rembrandt #nofilter Exhibition

Events to mark the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death started off on 4 October 2019 with the opening of our temporary exhibition Rembrandt #nofilter, which the Friends of Kenwood were able to sponsor thanks to a large private donation and support from lighting supplier TM Lighting.

Alongside a special display of Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait with Two Circles, visitors to the exhibition were invited to take a selfie on a computer tablet, which would be incorporated into a large digital artwork.

“We’ve called the exhibition #nofilter because we are trying to say that Rembrandt, an artist famous for his self-portraits, was showing himself with no filter, just as some people take selfies with no make-up,” Senior Curator Wendy Monkhouse explained.

We were delighted that our curators Esmé Whittaker and Louise Cooling, aided by Wendy Monkhouse, worked with the various lighting, software and graphics partners to deliver an excellent result on time and on budget.

Rembrandt #nofilter opened to the public on the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death on Friday 4 October following two well-attended breakfast previews. The display received media coverage in The Times, Ham & High, Town and Country and The Lady, as well as listings on the Londonist, Art Fund and CODART websites, in addition to pieces in the EH Member’s Magazine and e-newsletter. There was also favourable coverage on both the National and Regional EH social media channels, including an Instagram story featuring Louise Cooling (4 October).

Visitor feedback from volunteers was overwhelmingly positive and the digital photomosaic element proved popular with a wide audience, necessitating the shrinking of the image size in order to allow for more images to be added. Approximately 4,000 people participated in the artwork by taking their own self -portrait.

A cohort of Kenwood’s dedicated team of volunteers delivered twice-weekly ‘spotlight talks’ on the themes of the display, alongside curatorial talks and tours. Additionally, there were a number of learning events for primary and secondary school classes.