Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough and the Golden Age of Painting in Europe
February 15 – April 26, 2015
The economic growth that swept Europe during the 17th and 18th century fueled a golden age of painting. Religious upheavals transformed the way people thought about and utilized art. Technical aspects of art making were honed and codified, as art academies grew in power. The number of artists and the number of art collectors grew exponentially during this period, as the fine arts reached an increasingly wider audience. This exhibition features more than 70 major works by master painters from the renowned collection of The Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.
Highlighting art from Italy, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, and England, this exhibit is comprised of brilliant portraits, religious paintings, landscapes, scenes of everyday life, still lifes, and interpretations of classical antiquity. Highlights include “The Princes of the Church Adoring the Eucharist” by Rubens and “Portrait of a Forty-Year-Old Woman” by Rembrandt. Also on view are works by Tiepolo, Gainsborough, Hogarth, van Dyck, Teniers, Jordaens, Tournier, Ruisdael, Mignard, Crespi, de Troy, Largillière, Boucher, Batoni, Panini and others. Some of these rare objects have never left Louisville since their acquisition by The Speed.
