Drawings by Rembrandt, His Students, and Circle from the Maida and George Abrams Collection April 15–July 8, 2012
Rembrandt van Rijn, Four Studies of Male Heads, c. 1636, brown ink and brown wash on antique laid paper, Maida and George Abrams Collection, Boston. Photo: Allan Macintyre © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Lambert Doomer, Two Bactrian Camels in a River Landscape, c. 1672, brown ink and brown and gray wash on antique laid paper, Maida and George Abrams Collection, Boston. Photo: Katya Kallsen © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, Woman Doing Handwork, c. 1670, brown ink and brown wash on antique laid paper, Maida and George Abrams Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. Photo: Katya Kallsen © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Nicolaes Maes, Man Seated in His Study, 1640s–50s, brown ink and brown wash on antique laid paper, Maida and George Abrams Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University. Photo: Katya Kallsen © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Jacob Backer, Seated Female Nude, 1648, black and white chalk on blue paper, Maida and George Abrams Collection, Boston. Photo: Allan Macintyre © President and Fellows of Harvard College
Drawings by Rembrandt, His Students, and Circle highlights choice works from one of the finest private collections of Dutch drawings in the world, assembled over five decades by Maida and George Abrams. The exhibition features drawings by Rembrandt and also explores the role of drawing in Rembrandt’s studio and wider circle. Many of the sheets on view have never been exhibited or published.
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), one of the most renowned and inventive of all Dutch artists, was a prolific draftsman. For Rembrandt, drawing documented the artist’s thinking, stimulating his imagination and conveying his skills as a keen observer of humanity and the world around him. The exceptional breadth of the Abrams collection, which George Abrams discussed during a tour of the exhibition, provides an opportunity to examine the diversity of Rembrandt’s style.
The exhibition includes landscape studies executed en plein air on Rembrandt’s walks outside Amsterdam and spotlights his use of both chalk and ink. The show and its accompanying catalogue investigate the functions of drawings in Rembrandt’s studio and their value for him as a teacher. Throughout his 44-year career, his brilliance drew many artists to him, and he influenced workshop assistants, colleagues, and followers. Organized by the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, Drawings by Rembrandt, His Students, and Circle features artists including Jacob Backer, Ferdinand Bol, Govaert Flinck, Samuel van Hoogstraten, Jan Lievens, and Nicolaes Maes.
This exhibition is organized by the Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut.