From 1 November to 15 December 2008 the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam presents For the Love of God, the celebrated diamond encrusted skull by Britain’s top artist Damien Hirst. This show at the Rijksmuseum brings the world premiere of the skull’s international tour to Amsterdam.

To accompany the exhibition Hirst has chosen a personal selection from the Rijksmuseum’s collection of 17th-century art. For the Love of God opens to the public on 1 November at the Amsterdam Museum Night and remains at the Rijksmuseum for six weeks.

Damien Hirst: “As an artist I try to make things that people can believe in, that they can relate to, that they can experience. You therefore have to show them as well as possible.” (Interview with Damien Hirst in OOG, Rijksmuseum magazine for art and history, no. 4, 11 Sept. 2008)

For the Love of God
For the Love of God is a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds. Set on the forehead is a large, pear-shaped light pink fancy diamond, called the Skull Star Diamond. The teeth are from the original skull. It was hailed worldwide and generated enormous publicity when first unveiled in 2007 at London’s White Cube gallery. Dutch art historian Rudi Fuchs described it as “a supernatural skull, almost heavenly”. He relates Hirst’s work to the memento mori and vanitas motifs popular in the Dutch Golden Age. For the Love of God and Hirst’s personal selection of works from the Rijksmuseum collection reveal how fear of death has provided a theme in art over the centuries. Appropriately, For the Love of God appears in the Philips Wing, surrounded by the Masterpieces of the Golden Age.

Holland Art Cities
The exhibition For the Love of God is part of Holland Art Cities, the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions’ theme year for 2009-2010, which kicks off in November 2008.