Formafantasma designs Caravaggio-Bernini exhibition at Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam presents 'Caravaggio-Bernini. Barocco a Roma' from February 14 to June 7, 2020, exploring the dawn of European Baroque in Rome around 1600. Produced in collaboration with the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, the exhibition features over seventy masterpieces by Caravaggio, Bernini, and followers like Ludovico and Annibale Carracci, Guido Reni, Stefano Maderno, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Bartolomeo Manfredi. Curated by Fritz Scholten, the show's design was entrusted to Formafantasma, the duo of Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin, based in Amsterdam. Instead of the typical dark rooms and dramatic lighting, they opted for neutral, contemporary display methods inspired by Carlo Scarpa's work at Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo and Museo di Castelvecchio in Verona. Paintings and sculptures are mounted on fabric-covered panels in colors like acid yellow, lilac, deep amaranth, and two blues designed by Raf Simons, produced by Kvadrat. The colored panels reduce contrast with white walls and uniform light, allowing the artworks to speak for themselves. Formafantasma avoided painted surfaces to keep the focus on the paintings' own pigment. The exhibition spans over 1,000 square meters at the Rijksmuseum.