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Tainan Chimei Museum

Head to Tainan's most popular landmark, the Chi Mei Museum, to view the museum's collection of more than 4,000 cultural treasures and immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Chinese and Western art. Take a stroll through the museum square and admire Apollo's chariot pulled by four horses with different expressions, coupled with the spectacular water dance show of the Apollo Fountain, which perfectly presents the majestic sight of the sun god leaping from the sea. After passing the Bridge of the Gods with twelve gods, this large museum full of ancient Greek style will come into view. When you enter the museum park, you will be shocked by the rich collection of artworks, from Egyptian artifacts from the 8th century BC, the world's top precious musical instruments, to Japanese samurai swords hundreds of years ago, classics of the Renaissance and Barbizon schools of painting. These dazzling art masterpieces from all over the world will definitely make you indulge in them. Tainan Chi Mei Museum takes you to appreciate the cultural essence of the world, and is one of the must-see attractions in Tainan!

[Painters: Entering the Dutch painting era of the 16th and 17th centuries]

An important chapter in the history of Western art, revealing the secrets of paintings across time and space! This exhibition is based on the Dutch painting collection, providing a lens that travels through time and space to observe the painting environment, patterns and strategies of painters at that time, and takes you into the Dutch painting market where a hundred schools of thought contend. 2024 also marks the 400th anniversary of the Netherlands’ emergence on the stage. The exhibition allows visitors to see the art and society of the Netherlands (now the Netherlands, western Belgium, and northern France) in the 17th century and look at world history from a macro perspective.

Four major themes of the exhibition

• [Theme 1: What kind of era was that?] The exhibition opens with the painting “The World Homage to Apollo”, highlighting the prosperity and wealth of the Netherlands at that time. With the continuous prosperity of economic trade, collecting and appreciating art is no longer the exclusive domain of the royal family and aristocracy. We should pay attention to how a specific time and space background affects the development of painters and the shaping of the painting industry. What kind of era was that?
• 【Theme 2: How to become a painter? 】 After clarifying the huge demand of the painting industry, how did painters come into being? The painter workshops and training in the Netherlands at that time are clearly presented in "The Creation of Oil Painting"; in addition, the thriving Guild of St. Luke in the Netherlands, which managed art-related transactions and production, was also an important driving force. In a highly competitive market and under the influence of the master-apprentice system, how can we bring innovation under the existing work image? This is also the focus of this unit.
• 【Theme 3: What are the themes of the works? 】 The most talked-about thing about Netherlandish painting is that painters had more freedom and stimulation to develop subjects other than religious painting. Still life, customs, landscapes and other elements that used to serve as backgrounds have now become independent subjects of paintings. Painters have escaped from the market dominated by religious paintings and portraits in the past, and have focused on exploring the themes and genres that they love and are good at.
• 【Topic 4: What difficulties did you encounter? 】 Since each work was created a long time ago, the changes in time, preservation conditions, and restoration intervention by later generations have made the paintings we see now may be different from what the painter wanted to present at the time. These differences are sometimes difficult to detect, and sometimes they also lead to more difficult to solve problems. This exhibition area leads everyone to explore the various difficulties that may be encountered when studying paintings from the perspectives of art history and scientific testers.