How far does the apple fall from the tree? Just as certain traits, abilities, and resources might be inherited from a parent, professions traditionally were as well. This exhibition tells the stories of sixteen printmaking families active in European cities from Antwerp to Prague in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In some cases, families appear artistically tight-knit, developing a “house style” to a degree that the works of individual members are almost indistinguishable from one another and their “brand” is maintained. In other instances, members of the younger generation struck out on their own, venturing far across Europe to seek new patrons and updating their style to suit changing tastes (although still trading on their parents’ reputations). The copperplates of famous relatives were valuable inheritances that, through reprinting, prolonged the legacies of certain artistic dynasties for several centuries.
Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617), The Dragon Devouring the Fellows of Cadmus, after Cornelius van Haarlem, 1588, Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas, Austin
Drawing from the Blanton’s collection of historical European art, A Family Affair presents prints, drawings, and paintings created by some of the continent’s most fascinating artistic families, revealing patterns of inspiration, rivalry, and changing family fortunes. The Dutch and Flemish artist families represented in the exhibition include those of Van de Velde, Goltzius, Wierix, Matham, De Bry, Bloemaert, De Visscher and Sadeler.
The exhibition is curated by Holly Borham, Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings and European Art, and Sarah Bane, Assistant Curator, Prints & Drawings, Blanton Museum of Art.