THE HERMITAGE

The Hermitage Museum in Leningrad is one of the world 's greatest museums. Its colleCtion of European painting dares from che rime of Czar Peter che Grear (1672-1725), who first turned che face of Russia coward wescern Europe, movi ng the capital from Moscow in the interior co Saint Petersburg on the Baltic Sea. His successors, nocably Catherine the Grear (1729-1796), continued co colleCt paint-ings avidly, ofcen throug h agents buying on chei r behalf in wescern Europe. 1c was

Czar Nicholas 1 ( 1796- 1855) who, recog-ni zing that che imperial collections were coo large for che Hermitage Palace, commissioned the German architect Leo von Klenze co design a luxurious modern museum building; it opened in 1851After che Revolution of 19 17, the H er-mirage continued co grow through che nationalizat ion of private collections as well as through purchase.

Of all che H ermitage's vast holdings, the paintings of seventeenth-century Holland and Flanders are perhaps che besc represented school in cerms of qual-ity, depch, and variety. Not only are chere splendid works by Rembrandt , Rubens , and VanDyck , covering the whole range of their careers , but the col-lect ion is also rich in exceptional paint-ings by lesser masters of landscape, genre, porcraic, and srill-life painting. This was the period when the arc of che

Low Countries (present-day Belgium and che Netherlands or Holland) reached irs fullest flower. 1 t also saw che establish-ment of che policical separation between souch and norch- between Catholic Flanders , which was pare of the empire of che kings of Spain and was ruled by cheir appointed regents, and Protestant Hol-land , which had revolced against Spanish rule in the lace sixteenth century and whose independence was accepted by 1609 , co be confirmed by creacy in 1648. Clear culcu ral discinccions resu lted from che separation of Protestant,enterpris-ing , and independent H olland from Catholic, imperial , and dependent Flan-ders. In cerms of painting, che major pacron in Flanders was scill the Carbolic church , wich irs demand for altarpieces. Painters in predominantly Calvinist H ol-land , finding no marker for large, public religious works, ofcen turned instead co scilllife, landscapes celebrating the sim-ple beauty of their newly independent land , and scenes of everyday life, such as the exquisite Glass of Lemonade by Gerard Terborch ( 16 17 - 168 1). These works were acquired largely by che ex-panding middle class.

Above:

1l1c Heritage, Lenigrad

FLANDERS AND HOLLAND

1l1e center of Flemish painting was Ant-werp, a city in grad ual decline from irs period of g reatest prosperity as a port and financial center in the sixteenth century. It was dominated by the personality of the remarkably productive Peter Paul Rubens( l577- L640), who was a di plomar and man of letters as well as a painter. Because of the cosmopolitan careers of Rubens and Anthony van Dyck ( L599- L64 1) and the fa r-flung connections of the Spanish ruling fa mil y, Flemish painting was part of the internat ional baroque movement , with

irs drama and rheroric. In Holland , by contrast, the smaller cities of Haarlem , Leiden , Delft , and Utrecht , among ochers, nurtured their own schools of painting, though ambitious painters , like the young Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), moved co the thriving commercial center of Amsterdam . Un-like Rubens in Flanders , Rembrandt was more the exception chan the rule among his fellow countrymen in his commit-ment co relig ious and mytholog ical sub-jeers and in his ambition co connect with the greatest arc of the past.

RUBENS

Rubens spent eight crucial years in Italy, absorbing the most recent developments of Italian painting. His Adoration of the Magiof 1608 is the prepararory study for the last altarpiece he painted in Italy. The dramatic lig ht emanating from the Christ Child and the asronished gestures of the onlookers show his ass imilation of rhe revolutionary Italian painter Caravaggio's example. The dashing brushwork and dynamic arrangement of swirling fig ures are evidence of the young Flemish painter's powerful baroque style.

Below:

Perer Paul Rubens, Landscape with stoneCarriers, 1618/20.

Oi l on Canvas Transferred from panel). 33 7/8 x 49 3/4 in .

Collection of The Hermitage, Leningrad.

On his return co Antwerp in 1609, Rubens es tablished himself as the city's lead ing painter and the head of a large workshop. His ties co the regent's court brought him many large commissions , which were often worked up with the help of assistants and collaborarors based on his rapid oil sketches . The Arch of Ferdinand and The Arch of Hercules are rwo such sketches, in this case parr of an extensive series of temporary decora-tions celebrating the triumphal entry into Antwerp of the new regent, rhe Cardinal-Infante Ferdinand , brother of Philip IV of Spain . Such sketches g ive a g limpse of Rubens 's fertile imagi-nation and sure hand as he rapidly set down and reworked his ideas.

Among the paintings Rubens made for his own p leasure, his landscapes are out-standing. 1l1is was a type of painting that did not play as prominent a role in Flanders as in H olland. Rubens 's images of the countryside g row out of his own

deep identification with rural life and his awareness of a classical tradition of appreciation fo r rhe fo rces of nature. Such works as Landscape with Stone Carriersare based on both direct observation and idealization of nature.

REMBRANDT AND DUTCH PAINTING

In his hisrory paintings and mythologies, especially those of the mid-1630s, Rembrandt was the most baroque of Dutch painters. His Sacrifice of Isaac was painted a few years after he established himself in Amsterdam in 163 1. In this work, Abraham is the pivot in a bold zigzag com position emphasizi ng rhe moment of g reatest tension in rhe bibli-cal srory. H e is poised between the fa tal acr of obed ience to God 's command tosacrifice his son Isaac and the angel's intervention.

Rembrandt's ability tovivid ly imagine the details of biblical events increased in his later works , becoming more inward, rooted in the quiet reacr ions of dai ly life,

as in The Holy Family of 1645. Here, Joseph, busy ar his carpentry, sets the everyday toneof the scene, whose focus is Mary's render and somewhat anxious absoq rion in the sleeping Christ Chi ld . This li rrle figure , carefully wrapped up like a contemporary Dutch baby, is urrerly humble, helpless, and deeply poignant. Even the rumbling angels are essentially earthbound in their gym-nastics. Yet, within this peaceful domes-ric scene, the angel who descends with outstretched arms cowards Christ's

Above:

Rembrandt van Rijn , the acrifice1635. Oil

on canvas . 76 x 52 1/4 in . Collcccion of The Hermitage,

Leningrad .

crad le is , in his pose, a prefiguration of the Crucifixion.

Haman Recognizes His Fate (also called DavidandUriah) of about 1665 repre-sents Rembrandt's very late religious painring, in which he concenrrared on the innermost reacrions of a few isolated figures. Three ocher painrings in the exhibition show further aspects of Rembrandt 's career. the imposing Portrait of a Scholar, dared 163 1, was probably one of Rembrandt's first commissioned portraits painred in Amsterdam . Flora. dared 1634, is a hig hly personal representation of the artist 's bride , Saskia, as the Roman goddess of flowers- an image of abundance and promise . The Portrait of an Old j ew of 1654, like so many paint-ings of exotic sitters rhroug hour Rembrandt 's career, can be seen as a portrait, a character study and an evocation of a biblical character.

In the course of his long career, Rembrandt had many studentswho adopted his style and sub jectmarrer, including Gerbrand van den Eeckhour (1621-1647), Samuel van Hoogsrraren ( 1627 - 1678), and Aert de Gelder

(1645-1727), whose paintings are in-cluded in this exhibition. These studentsoftenturnedfrom Rembrandt's style torhe classicism that dominated Dutch painring in the mid-sevenreenrh cenrury. The new clarity of color and lig ht , as well as a breadth and balance of compo-sition , apparent in paintings from chis period, seems to reflecr the self-confidence of an es tablished and prosperous inde-pendent Holland . Thesestylistic charac-teristics are evident in the harmonious landscapes of ltalianare painrers like Jan Both (c. 1615- 165 2), Aelberr Cuyp (1620-1691), and Adam Pynacker ( 162 1-1673); in the elegant and hig hly finished genre painrings of Gabriel Mersu (1629- 1667) and Gerard Terborch; and in the grand forest and mountain landscapes of Jacob van Ruisdael ( 1628/29- 1682). The Watchdog of Pau lus Porter ( 1625-1654) aptly embodies rhe self-confidence of this period- the pose of the noble animal is stable, yet poised for ac tion, the Textureof his fur is di-rectly and boldly recorded, yet sub-ordinated toan overall desig n.

Below:

Paulus Potter, The Watchdog 1653/54. Oil on canvas.

38 x 52 in. Collect ion of The Hermitage, Leningrad.

EXHIBITION AND MUSEUM INFORMATION

PUBLIC PROGRAMS The fo llowing G uest Scholar and Public Lectures are free with museum admission. Ask for location at Information desk .

GUEST SCHOLAR SERIES Tuesday evenings at 6:00

J ULY 12

Rembrandt in the Hermitage, Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann , John Langeloth Loeb Professor of the H istory of Art , Insti tute of Fine Arts, New York University

JULY 26

Rubens and the Triumphal Arch, John Rupert Martin , Marquand Professor of Art and Archaeology Emeri tus, Princeton Universi ty

AUGUST 9

Self Portraits by Dutch and Flemish Painters, Perry Chapman, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Delaware

AUGUST 16

Reason and Emotion in Dutch Genre Painting-"The Doctor's Visit ," Susan Donahue Kuretsky, Blanding Professor of Art History, Vassar College

PUBLIC LECTURES at 12: 15

J ULY 12 and 22

Genera/Introduction to the Exhibition

AUGUST 2

Rembrandt's "Sacrifice of Isaac"

AUGUST 3 Rembrandt's "Holy Family"

AUGUST I I, 12, and 16

Genera/Introduction to the Exhibition

AUGUST 24

Rembrandt in the Hermitage

AUGUST 18 and 29

Northern European Landscapes in the Art I nstitute Gallery ll7

SEPTEMBER 9 and 15

Genera/Introduction to the Exhibition

SEPTEMBER 16

Van Dyck and the Elegant Portrait

RECORDED TOUR Available at exhibition entrance: Public, $3; Member, $2.50

ADMISSION The full admission of $5 is requi red . 1ickets should be purchased in advance: at Art Institute ticket booths on Michigan Avenue steps or in Columbus Drive lobby; at all Ticketron locations; or by Teletron. In Illinois, call 853-3636; outside Illinois, call 1-800-843-15 58. Members are admitted free but should request their tickets in advance at either ticket booth .

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION Membership sales desks in the museum are located in the Michigan Avenue Lobby and outside the second-floor Dining Room . To become a member by using a cred it card, call (3 12) 782-4830. For more information, call (3 12) 443-3622.

HOURS Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 10:30-4:30 Tuesday, 10:30-8:00, Saturday, 10:00-5:00 Sundays, and Labor Day, 12:00-5:00

Exhibition Hotline: (3 12) 454-8484

SPECIAL EVENING EVENTS Private viewings, lectures, and food service for 100 or more. Call (312) 443-3530 or 443-3794 for more information.

Dutch and Flemish Paintings from the Hermitage is madepossible by Sara Lee Corporation. The exchange of exhibitiom is supported by an indemnityfrom the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. In Chicago, the exhibition is made possible by the j ohn D. and Catherine T MacArthur FoundationSpecial Exhibitiom Grant .

T H E ART INSTITUTE O F CHICAGO

Michigan Avenue at Adams Street

Chicago, lllinois 60603

(3 12) 443-3600

Cover:

Michael Sweerts, Portrait of a Young Man (Self-Portrait)

(decail), 1656. Oil on canvas. 44 7/8 x 36 1/4 in. Collecrion of

The Hermicage, Leningrad.