CODART, Dutch and Flemish art in museums worldwide

From 19 March to 3 May 2026, the Museo Civico di Bari is hosting the exhibition Rembrandt and Barocci: Engraving the Light (Rembrandt e Barocci. Incidere la luce). Curated by Luca Baroni, art historian and director of the Rete Museale Marche Nord, the exhibition explores the graphic works of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) and Federico Barocci (1535–1612), offering a rare comparison between two masters who transformed light into the printed mark.

The core thesis of the exhibition centers on a compelling art-historical hypothesis: that Rembrandt was familiar with Barocci’s etching The Virgin and Child in the Clouds and drew direct inspiration from it for one of his own prints executed in 1641. The exchange between the two artists highlights printmaking as a shared medium bridging Italy and the Low Countries, as well as the Counter-Reformation and the Dutch Golden Age.

Structured across six thematic sections—covering spiritual visions, genre figures, self-portraits, and domestic interiors—the exhibition features over forty original graphic works. Included is the complete suite of Barocci’s four known autograph etchings: The Stigmatization of Saint Francis, The Pardon of Assisi, The Virgin and Child in the Clouds, and The Annunciation (alongside associated works such as The Flight into Egypt). These early examples of Italian printmaking demonstrate Barocci’s atmospheric and delicate handling of the etching medium.

Displaying alongside Barocci’s work are thirty-eight etchings by Rembrandt from the Battaglini Collection, presented together systematically for the first time. Highlights include his Self-Portrait in a Velvet Cap with Plume (1638), Self-Portrait with Saskia (1636), and Scholar in His Study (often called Dr. Faustus). Religious and genre scenes are represented by The Descent from the Cross, The Pancake Woman, The Schoolmaster, Saint Jerome in a Dark Chamber, and Woman Barefoot Washing Her Feet in a Brook. Together, the works illustrate how both masters treated printmaking not as a secondary medium, but as an autonomous field for artistic experimentation.

The exhibition is organized by the Municipalities of Bari and Gradara in collaboration with Consorzio Idria s.c.r.l., with works on loan from the Battaglini family.