Digital Projection tells story of Rembrandt and Van Gogh

Nestled in Amsterdam’s Jordaan neighbourhood, the 17th-century Noorderkerk Church is renowned for its architectural beauty. Over the past year, 38 Digital Projection projectors have transformed the church into an AV spectacle that tells the story of how Rembrandt’s paintings inspired Vincent van Gogh’s greatest works.

Vincent meets Rembrandt: The Untold Story combines immersive visuals with a compelling audio narration of van Gogh’s letters to his brother Theo.

Bart van Bokhoven, owner and creative director of integrator Pronorm, was tasked with realising the project. “We started with a concept about six years ago,” he says. “We were going through the diaries of van Gogh and the letters to his brother Theo, where he explained how he admired Rembrandt’s work, what light and colours the artist was using and his way of painting. This inspired the storytelling.”

To create an encompassing experience, Pronorm chose the Noorderkerk Church, as both van Gogh and Rembrandt practised their faith there. The goal was to guide visitors through the story using immersive imagery and audio.

The integrator needed reliable projectors that did not require maintenance, as the exhibition was due to run for five years without an on-site technician. “I have done some installations previously with Digital Projection kit, and have never known one of them to fail,” says van Bokhoven.

There was also a requirement for a high level of image quality and brightness, as well as an even output across all projectors. Van Bokhoven adds: “We had to make sure that all the pixel sizes and light output from all the projectors were nearly the same, so every visitor could experience the untold story of van Gogh and Rembrandt in the same way.”

The integrator opted to deploy Digital Projection’s E-Vision Laser 11000 4K-UHD, E-Vision Laser 10K, E-Vision Laser 8500 and M-Vision Laser 21000 WU 1-DLP projectors to display images of the van Gogh and  Rembrandt’s paintings and sketches across the ceiling, walls and floor of the church.

Pronorm also incorporated 12 Fohhn Audio DLI-130 beam steering active column speakers, five Fohhn AS-ss ASX subwoofers and seven VIOSO Anystation Media 4K media servers.

The content was created by MP Studios, which produced seven distinct movies, each of which was projected on to a specific area of the church. Most of the content is projected on to the walls, while the columns are utilised to create an ‘ambilight’ effect.

As the church is still an active place of worship, the integrator needed to install the equipment discreetly, so that it was hidden from the church-goers’ view. The solution was to install the technical equipment in the church attic, with 12 projectors positioned on the floor, and 26 in the ceiling.

Van Bokhoven says: “When I read the visitor reviews, it is evident that people relate to the story and are captivated by the breath-taking visual experience, which is delivered discreetly and reliably by the high-impact Digital Projection laser projectors.”