Rembrandt van Rijn, The dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael, 1637, etching
Anonymous loan, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University
Rembrandt van Rijn, The dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael, 1637, etching
Bequest of Louis J. Heizmann, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University
Anonymous, probably eighteenth century, The dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael (after Rembrandt), etching
Museum Associates Purchase Fund, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University
Photographs: Julie Magura/Johnson Museum
Museum information
This celebration of Rembrandt’s four-hundredth birthday will consist of an exhibition in two parts. The first part will be a group of six etchings from the 1630s and 1640s that show the master’s remarkable range of subjects and the dramatic change in style that occurred in the late 1640s. Lent from a distinguished private collection, these six works are unusually early and fine examples. The second part of the exhibition will present a selection of Rembrandt’s prints from the Johnson Museum’s own collection, with a special emphasis on one particular work: Abraham’s dismissal of Hagar and Ishmael. A good, lifetime impression of the etching will be exhibited next to a later impression from the same plate, pulled after the artist’s death; next to these will be a line-for-line, deceptive copy of the same print, done by an unknown, probably eighteenth-century printmaker. Viewers will have the opportunity to figure out which is which, and wrestle with questions of artistic quality and originality. At the same time, we will show other prints, by later artists, which suggest the broad range and impact of Rembrandt’s genius. The exhibition will be accompanied by two publications, available free in the gallery.
Related event
Celebrate Rembrandt’s 400th Birthday at the Johnson Museum!
Sunday, 5 May 2006, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
Art activity, gallery tour, tulips in bloom, lute and bagpipe players, poetry, cake and “Rembrandt Ripple” ice cream from Cornell Dairy, “Tiptoe through the Tulips” talk with horticulturalist Chad Miller. Be a part of history when we take a group photo of 400 revelers outside the Museum!