The Norton Museum of Art will host the exhibition Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection, a presentation of more than 70 works by 27 artists from The Leiden Collection — one of the world’s most important private collections of seventeenth-century Dutch art. It will be the largest show of privately held Dutch seventeenth-century paintings ever organized in the United States.
Envisioned to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the Dutch founding of New Amsterdam on the island of present-day Manhattan, the exhibition at the Norton will draw from The Leiden Collection’s unique strength, namely the depiction of humanity in all its facets — from portraits and character studies to genre scenes and historical subjects. It will also offer a rare opportunity to contemplate exceptional works spanning the full career arc of the groundbreaking Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn. With seventeen of Rembrandt’s paintings on display throughout the galleries, the exhibition will reveal the renowned artist’s singular ability to capture human expression and emotion, as well as fascinating evolutions in both his style and technique.
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, 1670-72
The Leiden Collection, New York
Organized thematically, the exhibition will invite visitors to explore the breadth of the painters’ skill and the timeless resonance of their works, as well as to learn more about the day-to-day activities of citizens from that period. Through the prism of the seventeenth-century Netherlands and its leading artists, the exhibition will shed light on a crucial era of innovation in the history of art.
Alongside the masterpieces by Rembrandt and Vermeer, highlights include works by Rembrandt’s teacher, pupils, and contemporaries—such as Ferdinand Bol, Govaert Flinck, and Arent de Gelder—as well as leading Leiden artists like Gerrit Dou, Jan Lievens, and Frans van Mieris the Elder. Also featured are works by Hendrick ter Brugghen, Frans Hals, Gerard ter Borch, and Caspar Netscher.
Art and Life in Rembrandt’s Time: Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection was jointly organized by The Leiden Collection, New York, and the Norton Museum of Art. Curated by Elizabeth Nogrady, Curator, The Leiden Collection; Robert Evren, Consulting Curator for European Art, and J. Rachel Gustafson, Chief Curatorial Operations & Research Officer, the Norton Museum of Art.