Cartoons give Rembrandt brush off as top museum event
AN EXHIBITION about Manga – the Japanese art of comic books – beat Rembrandt to become the most visited show at the British Museum last year.
The exhibition, the largest display of manga material ever assembled outside Japan, attracted an average of 1,920 paying visitors each day, according to a survey. The Art Newspaper found that beat
the museum’s Rembrandt: Thinking on
Paper by around 100 visitors a day, despite the Dutchman’s drawing being displayed free of charge.
Tracing the style from its roots nearly 1000 years ago to its 21st-century incarnation, the manga exhibition displayed original pieces as well as exhibits showing its enormous influence, from gaming to films known as “anime”.
Curator Nicole Rousmaniere described manga as “a multi-billionpound industry, super-fuelled by its readers and viewers”.
Rembrandt van Rijn’s work on paper was on display to mark the 350th anniversary of his death in 1669 and offered a chance to see works rarely exhibited because of light-sensitivity.
The survey found the British Museum was the most visited museum in the country in 2019, pipping the Tate Modern to top spot with more than six million visitors.
Worldwide, it was beaten by the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Vatican Museums, and the National Museum of China in Beijing. The Louvre in Paris was in first place with more than nine million visitors.