The first signs of spring often give rise to a desire for renewal. The art scene is no exception, with a host of new, high-quality exhibitions to discover.
Rembrandt is particularly in the spotlight in Canadian museums this spring.
- The exhibition Painted Presence: Rembrandt and his peers is still going on at Art Gallery of Ontario.
From the Bader Collection at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, the AGO welcomes a remarkable selection of seventeenth century Dutch paintings. Shown in dialogue with paintings from the AGO’s European Collection of Art, at the centre of this focused installation are seven artworks attributed to Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), shown together for the first time. Featuring intensely observed still life paintings, detailed interiors and mesmerizing portraits, these striking artworks offer a rare glimpse of Dutch artistry at work.
https://ago.ca/exhibitions/painted-presence-rembrandt-and-his-peers
- At the end of April, it will be the turn of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec to reveal an often lesser-known facet of the Dutch master’s work: his art of engraving.
In addition to his distinctive talent for chiaroscuro in painting, Rembrandt also possessed unequalled virtuosity in engraving. He was a master of the etching technique. Thanks in particular to the contribution of Rotterdam’s Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, some eighty prints will be presented, highlighting the master’s preferred genres – religious history, portraiture, landscape, genre scenes – and placing his engraved work in the socio-historical context of the time.
https://www.mnbaq.org/en/exhibition/rembrandt-1304
The current revival of art history is giving greater consideration to the work of women artists. Two new displays, on view until early July, bear witness to this:
- The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is offering a new tour of its collection of early European art, between the second and third floors of the Michal and Renata Hornstein Peace Pavilion. Graphic, pictorial and sculptural works by women artists are featured.
https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/collections/early-to-modern-international-art/
- In a similar vein, the exhibition Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe 1400-1800 is being held in parallel at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Judith Leyster (1609-1660). Self-Portrait, c.1630. Oil on canvas, 74.6 × 65.1 cm. © National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss.
Through the presentation of art objects, of a varied nature, made by women during the so-called modern period of history, this exhibition aims to highlight the contribution of these artists to the development of the visual arts in Europe. It offers an opportunity to (re) discover artworks by both professional artists of renown and skilful amateurs.
https://ago.ca/exhibitions/making-her-mark-history-women-artists-europe-1400-1800
In April, follow the thread of Art!