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The Arts Intel Report

XXL Paper

July 1 – Sept 4, 2022
Museumstraat 1, 1071 XX Amsterdam, Netherlands

The preparatory drawings for Haarlem’s St. Bavokerk stained-glass windows (1541) are so large they need to be displayed on an enormous skateboard ramp. Similar in size and majesty are the projections for a cathedral designed four centuries later—St. Martin’s Cathedral in Utrecht, dated to 1926—which is displayed across 70 one-meter sections. Amazing city views, including a detailed Venetian map by Jacopo de Barbari and a two-meter wide depiction of Amsterdam by Jan Saenredam, are detailed and monumental. Pulling out the stops, this exhibition presents the biggest and most intimidating works on paper from the museum’s collection. Most pieces haven’t been on view for centuries, due to their impossible size. —E.C.