The organizers of an exhibition like Rembrandt: The Master and His Workshop that came to Amsterdam in the spring of 1992 (after appearing in Berlin, and on its way to London) had no clear idea of the kind of public it would attract. One thing they did know was that it would have to be a very different ilk than the Van Gogh exhibition plus Van Gogh village a year earlier at Amsterdam's Museum Square. Despite its grand success, with 900,000 tickets sold in four months, that spectacle had been the epitome of postmodern enterpreneuring. Any number of critics had branded the hot dog and cotton candy atmosphere shamelessly vulgar, and the organizers of the Rembrandt exhibition were determined that they would not be so accused. Functionaries at the Rijksmuseum repeatedly announced that the new exhibition would be no three ring circus. Insofar as it was within their power, the organizers would do their best to keep commercial exploitation down to a minimum, and a Rembrandt village at Museum Square was absolutely out of the question. It just would not befit an artist like Rembrandt.

CONTENTS
Guiding the public: political choices.
Attendance in Berlin, Amsterdam and London.
A view on viewing.
The open mind, detached science, and the public view.
Conclusion.