Information form the curator, 7 November 2013
The exposition shows over 60 works of Dutch, Flemish and Belgium art of the 16th–19th centuries and is organized on the occasion of The Year of the Netherlands in Russia in the Kaluga Regional Art Museum.
The provenance of the works is often former particular collections such as the collection of Nicanor Vasilyev (1832 – 1917) (one of the founders of the museum) and prince Dmitry Gorchakov (1828 – 1907), a famous collector, and also works from the collections of Vladimir Argutinsky-Dolgorukov (1874 – 1941) and Petr Semenov-Tyan’-Shansky (1827 – 1914).
A considerable part of the exhibition will be devoted to works of 17th-century masters: The Golden age of Dutch and Flemish painting. All genres and stylistic variety of Netherlandish painting will be represented. Landscapes, still lifes, portraits and genre works will be on view. A visitor can see little perfection-stricken genre paintings, neighbouring monumental canvases with religious and mythological topics.
Among them are works by Joost Cornelisz Droochsloot, Peter Paul Rubens , Abraham Hendricksz van Beijeren, Willem de Poorter, Antonie Palamedesz, Jan Looten, Paulus Potter, Jan-Baptist Weenix, Abraham Storck and Cornelis Huysmans. During the preparation of the exhibition a surprising discovery was made: the signature of Adriaen de Hennin (? – 1710) was found on a Landscape with figures (oil on canvas, 95 x 117).
A number of works from the Belgian school of the 19th century are also on display. The pictures show that the artists found inspiration in the traditions of their predecessors (visible for instance in a pastoral landscape by Balthasar Paul Ommeganck). These works also include a genre composition by history painter Louis Gallait A Mother and A Daughter and works by Hendrick Dillens and Andre Plumot.
Another part of the exhibition consist of prints and drawings. A lot of them will be displayed for the first time. On show are a drawing by Jan Steen and engravings by Pieter van der Heyden, Hendrick Goltzius, Zacharie Dolendo, Jacob de Gheyn II, Nicolaes Berchem, Jonas Suyderhoef and others. The exhibition also includes sheets published by Peter Paul Rubens’s workshop, works by Lucas Emil Vorsterman The Elder, Paulus Pontius, Jan Witdouc, Schelte Adams Bolswerts, Pieter de Jode Junior, and others.