Rembrandt’s Journey: Painter, Draftsman, Etcher, the highly praised first American exhibition to explore the great Dutch artist’s brilliant work as a printmaker in the context of his paintings and drawings, is on display at The Art Institute of Chicago this month. The exhibition offers a rare opportunity for viewers to experience the work of an artist who stands in the pantheon of such giants as Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and Vermeer. Few museum collections possess his paintings, drawings or prints in any sizable number, and, with more than half of the prints he produced represented, this exhibition allows a wonderful close-up view of the artist’s genius through this powerful, yet intimate, medium.
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) is one of the most creative and celebrated artists in history. Rembrandt’s Journey is the first American exhibition with significant national and international loans to explore the full range and variety of Rembrandt’s work as a printmaker and particularly as an etcher, in the context of his paintings and drawings. With more than 200 works representing all periods of his long career—approximately 20 paintings, 33 drawings, 153 prints and 7 original copper etching plates—the exhibition draws upon public and private collections from around the world, including the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg), the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow), the Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), the Berlin Museums (Berlin), the British Museum and the National Gallery (London), the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Pierpont Morgan Library (New York), and the National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.). The exhibition also features a full 41 works from the Art Institute’s own notable Rembrandt collection.
Rembrandt’s Journey uses the matrix of the master’s printmaking to allow viewers an intimate view of virtually his entire artistic output. Rembrandt was one of the most imaginative printmakers of all time, with a deeper commitment to expressive etching than any other 17th-century artist. His manifest compassion and profound spirituality unquestionably make him one of the greatest artist-storytellers of any era. Rembrandt’s Journey highlights the parallel relationships between his paintings, drawings and prints—closely examining imagery, narrative content and the marks of the artist’s hand. The exhibition focuses on several of the subjects to which Rembrandt returned during various stages of his career, including: his penetrating, insightful treatment of biblical narratives from both the Old and New Testaments; his lively spectrum of highly original self-portraits in etching, drawing and painting; portraits and fantasy portraits; his keen-eyed observation of daily life—including his fascination with beggars and street people; the male and female nude; encounters between the sexes; and his fresh, influential conception of landscapes. Rembrandt’s choice of subject matter was unusually wide, and his art demonstrates a Shakespearean mixture of moods that range from earthy comedy to somber tragedy.
Rembrandt's Journey: Painter, Draftsman, Etcher is accompanied by a 344-page, full-color, fully illustrated catalogue of the same title produced by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, with an introduction and introductory essay by Clifford Ackley as well as essays by other noted scholars from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and elsewhere.
Rembrandt's Journey: Painter, Draftsman, Etcher was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Art Institute of Chicago.
Dated and timed tickets are required for this exhibition. Call 312.930.4040 or purchase tickets at the museum. Call 312.575.8000 to become a member and receive free tickets; for hotel package information, call 1-877-CHICAGO or visit www.877chicago.com. Tickets are also available online and through Ticketmaster Illinois ticket centers.
