The Diocesan Museum of Genoa presents, from March 27 to July 29, 2026, the photographic exhibition TIMELESS. Portraits between Flemish Rigor and Contemporary Spirituality, dedicated to Dutch artist Danielle Van Zadelhoff. The initiative is promoted by the Diocesan Museum and Fondazione San Lorenzo social enterprise, in collaboration with VisionQuesT 4rosso Gallery in Genoa, with curators Clelia Belgrado and Paola Martini.
The exhibition project focuses on the timeless character of the images made by Van Zadelhoff, in which light and its absence assume a structural role. Indeed, the control of brightness and chiaroscuro constitutes the element of continuity with the Flemish pictorial tradition of the 17th century, evoked through a rigorous construction of the image. The photographs present visual effects that refer to the luministic solutions of Nordic painting, while maintaining a clear place in the present.
The photographs in the exhibition emphasize rigorous compositional construction and special attention to detail. The portraits feature models who in some cases wear clothes inspired by Flemish painting between the 16th and 17th centuries. The images take on a symbolic dimension, restoring moods and existential conditions traceable to everyday experience, including loneliness, vulnerability and emotional exposure. The portrayed faces maintain a strong contemporaneity, accentuated by the presence of visible marks on the skin, such as bruises or tattoos, which help define a non-idealized image. The installation is developed in the museum’s three new exhibition rooms and partly along the permanent path, with the intention of creating visual relationships between the photographs and some of the works in the collection. The dialogue between different languages is one of the central elements of the project.
The exhibition can be visited during the museum’s opening hours, with an entrance fee of 8 euros, reduced to 6 euros for discounted categories. In conjunction with the exhibition Van Dyck the European, there is a reciprocal reduction for visitors presenting a ticket for either exhibition.
Danielle Van Zadelhoff was born in 1963 in Amsterdam and lives and works in Eeklo, Belgium. She was trained in an arts-conscious family, with a father active as a painter and sculptor. An encounter with photographer Leopold Beels van Heemstede introduced the artist to the language of photography. In his research, Van Zadelhoff confronts themes related to existence, trying to return elements that are difficult to perceive but constantly present. In some works, an explicit reflection on religion emerges, also in relation to his education, which intertwines a Protestant upbringing, a Catholic family presence and a humanist orientation.
The artist has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions and international fairs, including Paris Photo and Photo London. His works are held in several museum institutions and collections, including Musea Brugge in Belgium, CAC Málaga in Spain, MIT Boston in the United States, Reith Hoffman in the United States, Pio Monte della Misericordia in Naples, Stads Museum Harderwijk, the National Museum of Art in Bucharest, and 212 Photography Istanbul.
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| Genoa, Van Zadelhoff's portraits between Flemish light and contemporary sensibility |
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