AMSTERDAM.- Wanrooij Gallery in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, presents a solo exhibition of the Dutch photographer Julius Rooymans from 10 March until 14 May 2022. The gallery shows with The Shadow of the Master a new series of monumental artworks and portraits. Paintings of Rembrandt, Vermeer and Jan Steen come alive. The layered images, full of scenes and symbolism, reflect the Golden Age in an extra large format.

Artist Julius Rooymans is a passionate storyteller with a fascination for history and large projects. In 2019 he realized the project Nightwatch360 - The Other Side of Art, a photographic reconstruction with lookalikes and a fictitious backside of the iconic painting by Rembrandt, that is exhibited in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

In the new art project The Shadow of the Master, the works of world-famous Dutch master painters come together and the dark sides of artistry are highlighted such as love, self-irony, poverty, sadness and misfortune. As with the Nightwatch360, 180 lookalikes were sought for this project who resemble their predecessors 350 years older.

Thanks to the cooperation of renowned institutions such as Allard Pierson, Museum Het Rembrandthuis, Museum Vrolik and well-known collectors and antique dealers, the photographic works show numerous original objects, crockery, weapons and sets. With the expertise and unbridled dedication of craftsmen such as make-up artist Arjen van der Grijn, costume designer Catherine Cuykens and art historian Marieke de Winkel, the costumes, jewelry and hairpieces are historically accurate down to the smallest detail.

Julius Rooymans grew up in an artist family and studied photography at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. He is a photographer for almost 25 years and made covers for Newsweek and The New York Times. The autonomous work of the visual artist has been presented at art fairs such as Art Miami and KunstRAI and is included in the collections of private collectors and companies. Rooymans lives and works in Amsterdam.

In addition to the exhibition at Wanrooij Gallery, The Shadow of the Master is on permanent display at the AFAS Theatre in Leusden. Five painters are central here: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jan Steen, Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. Eyecatcher is an Anatomical Theatre of 22 metres wide. There is also a making-of documentary about the art project and an audio tour with art-historical background information. The AFAS Theatre is organizing an event with the presentation of the photographic artworks on three dates: 26 March, 23 April and 21 May.