When: through January 2, 2017
How can I already be going to shows that will close in 2017? This year has sped by on gossamer wings.
This is a good sized show on the drawings that underpin the paintings from the time of Rembrandt, a golden age of painting - think the Netherlands in the 1600s. The drawings were the starting point for the finished artworks and allow art historians to gain insight into how the creative process proceeded.
What I found most interesting was that artists would keep drawings in a notebook and use them in various combinations to make a painting - rather like fitting together the pieces of a puzzle. Need a house? Flip through the notebook and find one that fits! Want to change the leg position of one of your subjects? Back to the notebook for a new posture!
There were several Hendrick Avercamp paintings on display - did I see some of his work in the "little ice age" show a few years ago? They looked very familiar. The best way I can describe them is as Currier & Ives for the 17th century Dutch. If you like winter scenes, heavy on the ice skating, this is your guy.
I also noticed a piece called "Sleeping Spaniel" by Frans Van Mieris the Elder - it looked a bit like a Cavalier.
Verdict: I liked this show and would recommend it, both for the art and for the "peek behind the curtain."
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