Hilma af Klint: What Stands
Behind Flowers explores af Klint’s engagement with the natural world. Created during the
spring and summer of 1919 and 1920, the Nature Studies portfolio presents the wonders of
Sweden’s flora and showcases the artist’s keen botanical eye. Af Klint combines her
renowned approach to abstraction with traditional botanical drawing, juxtaposing detailed
renderings of plants discovered in her surroundings with enigmatic abstract diagrams.
Examples include a sunflower paired with concentric circles, a narcissus crowned by a
pinwheel of primary colors, and tree blossoms accompanied by checkerboards of dots and
strokes. Through these forms, af Klint seeks to reveal, in her words, “what stands behind
the flowers,” reflecting her belief that studying nature uncovers truths about the human
condition.
Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind Flowers is organized by Jodi Hauptman, The
Richard Roth Senior Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints, with Kolleen Ku,
Curatorial Assistant, and Chloe White, Louise Bourgeois Fellow, Department of Drawings
and Prints. Realized with the participation of the Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm.
The exhibition focuses on the years 1917 to 1922, contextualizing the MoMA portfolio and
highlighting a pivotal shift in af Klint’s practice. In 1917, no longer satisfied with only
receiving direction from spiritual guides, af Klint embarked on a path of self-study,
culminating in the Nature Studies drawings.
The exhibition opens with this new approach,
seen in her adoption of an abstract diagrammatic vocabulary in works like the 1917 Atom
series, one of many key loans from the Hilma af Klint Foundation in Stockholm. This section
also highlights in landscapes and botanical drawing her ongoing dedication to observation.
As af Klint noted, “First, I shall try to penetrate the flowers of the earth; use as a point of
departure the plants of the earth.”
The second section focuses on the Nature Studies, along
with related notebooks that allow visitors to experience af Klint’s reflections on the plants
she studied, as well as botanical source materials. The final section presents her ongoing
interest in exploring the connection between nature and spirituality, but with a new method.
In the 1922 series On the Viewing of Flowers and Trees, af Klint employs a wet-on-wet
watercolor technique, using vibrant color to express the spiritual power of plants.
“While we often think of artists of the early 20th century as focused on new technologies—
and the hustle and bustle of modern life—for many, the natural world was a crucial
touchstone. MoMA’s Nature Studies reveal af Klint as an artist uniquely attuned to nature.
We hope that attunement—her demonstration of careful observation and discovery of all
that stands behind the flowers—encourages our audience to look closely and see their own
surroundings, whether here in the city or beyond, in new ways,” says Hauptman.
The exhibition reveals, for the first time, the extent of af Klint’s plant knowledge and the
ways her botanical experience shaped her artistic vision. Through research for this
exhibition, seven previously unknown drawings by af Klint of mushroom species,
commissioned by the renowned Swedish mycologist M. A. Lindblad, were discovered in the
archives at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. They will be loaned to MoMA, and
shown in the US for the first time, to demonstrate af Klint’s commitment to close
observation of the natural world and her drawing within a scientific context. The discovery
was made through the research collaboration of Dr. Lena Struwe, director of the Chrysler
Herbarium at Rutgers University and professor at the School of Environmental and
Biological Sciences, a contributor to the exhibition and its catalogue; and Dr. Johannes
Lundberg, curator in the Department of Botany at the Swedish Museum of Natural History,
who identified this previously unknown group of drawings.
Further, as a crucial element of
the exhibition’s research, MoMA associate conservator Laura Neufeld conducted the firstever technical analysis of af Klint’s methods and materials on paper.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue and a limited-edition facsimile. The
lavishly illustrated catalogue, Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers, will present
the 46 drawings alongside contextualizing artworks and translations of the artist’s
previously unpublished writings. An overview essay by Jodi Hauptman will explore af Klint’s
portfolio and the circumstances of its creation, and essays by Ewa Lajer-Burcharth, Laura
Neufeld, and Lena Struwe will unpack the imagery, materiality, and botanical knowledge of
these works. 272 pages, 160 color illustrations. Hardcover, $55. ISBN: 978-1-63345-168
1. Hilma af Klint: Flora will be a deluxe facsimile of the full portfolio, published in a limited
edition of 500. Each of the 46 drawings will be presented on its own sheet at full scale, and
the collection will be enclosed in a luxe clamshell case. $500. ISBN: 978-1-63345-169-8.
Both editions are published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and will be available
at MoMA stores and online at store.moma.org.
Cover of Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers, published by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2025.
Hilma af Klint. Gagea lutea (Yellow Star-of-Bethlehem), Pulmonaria officinalis (Common Lungwort), Tussilago farfara (Coltsfoot), Draba verna (Common Whitlowgrass), Pulsatilla vulgaris (European Pasqueflower). Sheet 2 from the portfolio Nature Studies. April 24–30, 1919. Watercolor, pencil, and ink on paper, 19 5/8 × 10 9/16 in. (49.9 × 26.9 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund and gift of Jack Shear, 2022
Hilma af Klint. Convallaria majalis (Lily of the Valley), Geum rivale (Water Avens), Polygala vulgaris (Common Milkwort). Sheet 11 from the portfolio Nature Studies. June 10–11, 1919. Watercolor, pencil, ink, and metallic paint on paper, 19 5/8 × 10 5/8 in. (49.9 × 27 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund and gift of Jack Shear, 2022
Hilma af Klint. Tulipa sp. (Tulip). Sheet 35 from the portfolio Nature Studies. May 20, 1920. Watercolor, pencil, ink, and metallic paint on paper, 19 5/8 × 10 5/8 in. (49.8 × 27 cm).The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund and gift of Jack Shear, 2022
Hilma af Klint. Luzula campestris (Field Woodrush), Viola hirta (Hairy Violet), Viola odorata (Sweet Violet), Chrysospleniumalternifolium (Alternate-Leaf Golden Saxifrage), Equisetumarvense (Field Horsetail), Caltha palustris (Marsh Marigold), Ranunculus ficaria (Fig Buttercup), Carex sp. (Sedge). Sheet 4 from the portfolio Nature Studies. May 9–15, 1919. Watercolor, pencil, and ink on paper, 19 5/8 × 10 9/16 in. (49.9 × 26.9 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund and gift of Jack Shear, 2022
Hilma af Klint. Helianthus annuus (Common Sunflower). Sheet 27 from the portfolio Nature Studies. September 3, 1919. Watercolor, pencil, ink, and metallic paint on paper, 19 3/4 × 10 9/16″ (50.2 × 26.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund and gift of Jack Shear, 2022
Hilma af Klint. Prunus padus (European Bird Cherry), Prunus avium (Sweet Cherry), Prunus cerasus (Sour Cherry), Prunus domestica (European Plum). Sheet 7 from the portfolio Nature Studies. May 27–June 3, 1919. Watercolor, pencil, ink, and metallic paint on paper, 19 5/8 × 10 5/8 in. (49.9 × 27 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund and gift of Jack Shear, 2022
Hilma af Klint. Tilia × europaea (Common Linden).Sheet 22 from the portfolio Nature Studies. July 29, 1919. Watercolor, pencil, ink, and metallic paint on paper, 19 5/8 × 10 5/8 in. (49.9 × 27 cm).The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Committee on Drawings and Prints Fund and gift of Jack Shear, 2022
Hilma af Klint. No. 8 from The Atom Series. January 13, 1917. Watercolor, graphite, and metallic paint on paper, 10 5/8 × 9 13/16 in. (27 × 25 cm). Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm (HaK 360)
Hilma af Klint. Birch from the series On the Viewing of Flowers and Trees. 1922. Watercolor on paper, 6 11/16 × 9 13/16 in. (17 × 25 cm). Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm (HaK 639)
Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926), Waterlilies (detail), 1914-1915, oil on canvas, 63 1/4 in x 71 1/8 in, Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon,
Portland’s Iconic Waterlilies Returns Refreshed and Revitalized
March 1, 2025 – August 17, 2025
Portland, OR — November 26, 2024 — After more than 65 years, Claude Monet’s celebrated masterpiece Waterlilies emerges in a new light at the Portland Art Museum. Thanks to a meticulous conservation process, the painting has been carefully returned to its original brilliance—without varnish—to reveal Monet’s intended color harmonies and luminosity. This newly revived Waterlilies painting will be the star of the exhibition Monet’s Floating Worlds at Giverny, a tribute to the artist’s groundbreaking work and the influences that shaped it. The exhibition opens March 1, 2025, and will be on view through August 17, 2025.
Charles-Louis Houdard (French, 1874-1931), Grenouilles (Frogs), from L’Estampe originale (The Original Print), Album VIII, 1894, color aquatint on simili-japon paper, plate: 10 3/8 in x 15 11/16 in; sheet: 14 5/8 in x 18 1/2 in, Museum Purchase: Print Acquisition Fund, public domain, 2015.13.1
Monet’s Floating Worlds at Giverny offers visitors new insights into Monet’s artistic lens, revealing his inspiration from Japanese woodblock prints—ukiyo-e, often referred to as “pictures of the floating world”—that captivated Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists. Featuring 45 artworks including prints, photographs, and paintings, the exhibition begins by stepping into Monet’s world with a recreation of his collection of Japanese woodblock print masterpieces by artists such as Toyokuni (Utagawa Kunisada), Utagawa Hiroshige, and Kitagawa Utamaro from the Museum’s expansive print collection. It continues with Impressionist European and American responses to Japanese aesthetics, featuring works by Mary Cassatt, Bertha Lum, Henri Rivière, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and others who also drew inspiration from Japanese art, also from the Museum’s own collection. The exhibition concludes with the newly conserved Waterlilies, which will be displayed alongside documentation of the research and restoration process that returned the work to its intended state.
Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760–1849), Sōshū Hakone kosui (Hakone Lake in Sagami Province), from the series Fugaku sanjūrokkei (Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji), ca. 1831, color woodblock print on paper; ōban nishiki-e, sheet: 9 13/16 in x 14 13/16 in, The Mary Andrews Ladd Collection. Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon, 32.418
Monet’s Floating Worlds at Giverny also includes contemporary photographs of Giverny and Portland’s Japanese Gardens by celebrated photographers Susan Seubert and Stu Levy, offering fresh perspectives on the gardens that profoundly inspired Monet’s art.
“In the late 19th century, Japanese art introduced radical perspectives and vibrant new aesthetics to European audiences, reshaping traditions in beauty and perspective that Monet and his contemporaries eagerly embraced,” said exhibition curator Mary Weaver Chapin, Curator of Prints and Drawings. “Japanese prints had a transformative impact. The vogue for all things Japanese that swept through France was dubbed japonisme, and could be found in art, fashion, and home decoration. Graphic artists immediately adopted the radical perspectives and insistent flatness in their own work, echoing—but not mimicking—the Japanese aesthetic. Some adopted Eastern methods of printing as well, seeking to create the beautiful color effects so distinctive of ukiyo-e woodcuts. American artists were equally entranced by Japanese prints and created their own version of japonisme in the United States.”
Monet defies conventional composition in Waterlilies. With no horizon line and no clear depth, the painting immerses viewers in a tranquil but detailed world of floating lily pads, blossoming flowers, reflections of willow branches, and a raindrop-mottled surface. While invoking a moment in a natural scene, this “nature” is an artfully cultivated setting: Monet’s Japanese-inspired garden pond in Giverny, planted with imported waterlilies and maintained by a team of gardeners.
Monet’s garden-inspired series became an astonishing project of over 250 paintings, immortalizing his dreamlike water garden on canvas over nearly 30 years. The magnificent depiction of Waterlilies in the Portland Art Museum’s collection, which the artist painted in 1914-15, is widely regarded as one of the finest in the series. The Monet family kept it in their private collection, and Monet’s son Michel displayed it in the family home for decades after the artist’s death before the Portland Art Museum acquired the painting in 1959.
This past summer, with the support of Bank of America Art Conservation Project, the Museum began a restoration of its Monet masterpiece to remove a layer of synthetic varnish and return Waterlilies to its original appearance as closely as possible. PAM conservator Charlotte Ameringer has conducted the delicate restoration in the Museum’s new conservation studio—part of an ambitious museum transformation that will be complete in late 2025—and the community has been invited to follow along and learn more about the conservation process in a series of videos on PAM’s website, in a “pop up” gallery, and on social media channels.
"We are thrilled to invite our community to see their renowned Waterlilies as it hasn't been seen in over 60 years—to see it as Monet intended, and to more deeply explore the art that inspired him," said Lloyd DeWitt, The Richard and Janet Geary Curator of European & American Art Pre-1930. “Just as our careful restoration peels back the surface layer to reveal Monet’s authentic painting, seeing his masterpiece in conversation with these works from our collection for the first time will allow visitors to appreciate the reflective depth of Monet’s artistry.”
Organized by the Portland Art Museum and co-curated by Mary Weaver Chapin, Curator of Prints and Drawings, and Lloyd DeWitt, The Richard and Janet Geary Curator of European & American Art Pre-1930.
The Brilliance of the Spanish World showcases awe-inspiring paintings by Hispanic artists who helped shape the art of the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces from the most significant collection of Hispanic art outside of Spain travel to the Milwaukee Art Museum this spring for The Brilliance of the Spanish World: El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán. Drawn from the collection of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, the exhibition features more than 50 works of art by influential Hispanic artists of the era and will be on view May 2–July 27, 2025, in Baker/Rowland Galleries.
“We’re honored to partner with the Hispanic Society Museum & Library to bring this exhibition of Renaissance and Baroque treasures to the Midwest,” said Marcelle Polednik, PhD, Donna and Donald Baumgartner Director.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain established the first worldwide empire through exploration and colonial conquest, generating wealth that led to the flourishing of art and literature. This exhibition offers a glimpse into this era of artistic ambition and cultural complexity and showcases its artistic legacy with paintings by El Greco, Diego Velázquez, and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, as well as works by artists working in the Spanish Americas.
The Brilliance of the Spanish World continues the Museum’s tradition of presenting high caliber European art exhibitions, such as Art, Life, Legacy (2023); A Modern Vision (2019); and Bouguereau & America (2019). It provides Midwestern audiences an unparalleled opportunity to experience a concentrated collection of remarkable Renaissance and Baroque paintings by Hispanic artists.
Among its roster of renowned artists is
Francisco de Zurbarán, whose Saint Francis of Assisi in His Tomb (1630/34) defined the ambitious course of the Milwaukee Art Museum’s own European collection.
“The Zurbarán continues to be a centerpiece of the Museum’s collection, awing visitors since its acquisition in 1958,” said Tanya Paul, Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art. “I’m delighted to bring to our audiences an extraordinary exhibition, which includes paintings by Zurbarán as well as amazing artists visitors may not have encountered before, that will build upon and expand the stories we’re able to share about this significant period in Spanish art history.”
The exhibition showcases a breadth of paintings from the vividly secular to the profoundly religious created in service of the Roman Catholic faith, whether in Spain or its many colonies. Highlights include:
Saint Jerome by El Greco (Doménikos Theotokópoulos), ca. 1600. This painting portrays the quintessential early Christian saint holding a crucifix, with books, a skull, and an hourglass before him—all in the artist’s recognizable Mannerist style.
Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares by Diego Velázquez, ca. 1625–1626. This magisterial portrait depicts one of the most influential figures of his day and emphasizes the vast power he wielded.
Saint Emerentiana by Francisco de Zurbarán, ca. 1635–1640. This painting portrays the saint holding a book and stones—the instruments of her martyrdom—in a likeness marked by Zurbarán’s mastery of sculptural form and the depiction of elaborate textiles.
The Wedding at Canna by Nicolás de Correa, 1696. This is an enconchado that illustrates the biblical story in which Jesus miraculously makes wine from water at a wedding he attends. A unique art form developed in the Spanish colonies in the late 17th century, enconchados are paintings on wood panels inlaid with shells and iridescent mother-of-pearl.
The Prodigal Son Among the Swine by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, 1656–1665. This painting depicts the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son in which a young man begs for forgiveness after squandering his inheritance. This subject was especially relevant as Southern Spain experienced widespread suffering due to plague and famine during Murillo’s lifetime.
The Brilliance of the Spanish World: El Greco, Velázquez, Zurbarán was curated by Guillaume Kientz, Director and CEO of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library. Its Milwaukee Art Museum presentation was organized by Tanya Paul, Isabel and Alfred Bader Curator of European Art.
This exhibition was organized by the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, with support from The Museum Box.
Only U.S. venue for exhibition co-organized with the Van Gogh Museum
In 1888 and 1889, during his stay in Arles, in the South of France, Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) forged a cherished friendship with a neighboring family: postman Joseph Roulin; his wife, Augustine; and their three children: Armand, Camille, and Marcelle. During this pivotal time in his life, Van Gogh created 26 intimate portrayals of the working-class family.
Organized in partnership with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits is the first exhibition devoted to the artist’s deep connection to the family and the making of their portraits. Featuring 23 works by Van Gogh—including 14 of the Roulin portraits—as well as earlier Dutch art and Japanese woodblock prints that inspired him, the exhibition includes iconic works from the MFA’s collection alongside more than 20 key loans from prominent international collections. The exhibition presents 10 letters from Joseph Roulin to Van Gogh and the artist’s siblings together for the first time, offering an intimate and tender look at their friendship. This selection of works provides new insights into Van Gogh’s world and yearning for meaningful connection as he moved to a new city and found himself at a turning point in his life and work.
“The exhibition gives visitors the opportunity to see the full flowering of Van Gogh’s artistic aspirations and the intensity of his focus—a clarity that may have emerged, in part, because of his very deep bonds with the postman and his family,” said Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director. “It tells a new and compelling story of Van Gogh’s emotional and artistic search to make connection to a family who helped guide his last years.”
The exhibition is co-curated by Katie Hanson, William and Ann Elfers Curator of Paintings, Art of Europe, at the MFA and Nienke Bakker, Senior Curator at the Van Gogh Museum.
“It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with Nienke Bakker on this exhibition dedicated to friendship, family, and connection,” said Hanson. “It features not only Van Gogh’s depictions of the Roulin family, but also works attending to his thinking about those portraits. The MFA’s Roulin portraits are beloved icons of the collection—so part of our aim in this exhibition is to slow down, look more closely, and feel deeply with these magnificent works of art by foregrounding the human story behind them.”
Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits is on view at the MFA from March 30 through September 7, 2025 in the Ann and Graham Gund Gallery. Timed-entry tickets, which include general admission, are required for all visitors and can be reserved on mfa.org or purchased at the Museum. Member Preview takes place March 26–29. Following the MFA’s presentation, the exhibition will travel to the Van Gogh Museum, where it will be on view from October 3, 2025, through January 11, 2026.
Exhibition Overview
The exhibition is organized in thematic sections, tracing Van Gogh’s friendship with the Roulins, his admiration for his predecessors, his attempt to create a community of fellow artists, and his emotional ties to his supportive family and friends.
The first section, “Sense of Place: The Yellow House in Arles,” provides an immersive look at Arles, where the artist lived from February 1888 to April 1889, and the dwelling he rented in May 1888 to use first as a studio and then as a home. An 1887 self-portrait, completed in Paris as Van Gogh was making plans to move south, radiates the ambition and enthusiasm of the painter as he envisioned a new life in Arles. A map of the town orients visitors along with The Yellow House (The Street) (1888), the artist’s colorful depiction of his home and studio where the Roulin family posed for their portraits. A schematic construction of Van Gogh’s studio within this first gallery provides a sense of scale for visitors of the cozy space in which the artist worked.
Although Van Gogh thought it would be easier to find models and make contacts in Arles than in Paris, even after four months whole days went by without him exchanging a word with anyone. In summer 1888, Van Gogh and Joseph Roulin shared drinks at a café and a deep friendship began—and with it, the opportunity for Van Gogh to practice painting people, something he thought brought out the best in him. “The Postman and Portrait Practice,” a section dedicated to Van Gogh’s best friend in Arles, includes the artist’s earliest depiction of him, the MFA’s Postman Joseph Roulin (1888), as well as two drawings of Roulin. The section is supplemented with portraits by 17th-century Dutch artists from which he drew inspiration, such as Merry Drinker (about 1628–30) by Frans Hals (1582/83–1666) and Portrait of a Family in an Interior (1654) by Adriaen van Ostade (1610–1684), as well as lithographs by Honoré Daumier (French, 1808–1879).
After completing his first painting of Joseph Roulin in summer 1888, Van Gogh would go on to create a suite of 26 portraits of the five Roulin family members by April 1889. In addition to painting Joseph and Augustine Roulin, he painted their children: three solo portraits each of Armand, Camille, and Marcelle. In the third section, “The Roulin Family,” the entire family is portrayed across four canvases encircling the visitor. A large series of works devoted to the members of a single working-class family is unique not only in Van Gogh’s oeuvre, but also highly unusual in the history of art, suggesting the satisfaction he felt in creating these portraits was both personal and professional.
Van Gogh’s Roulin family portraits were a creative amalgamation of close observation of his beloved friends and of other sources of inspiration. “Creating Community through Art” highlights Van Gogh’s artistic influences, from Japanese printmakers like Toyohara Kunichika and Utagawa Kunisada to Dutch artists including Hals and Rembrandt (1606–1669). This section also situates Van Gogh within the artistic community of his time, featuring works by artist friends Émile Bernard (1868–1941) and Paul Gauguin (1848–1903), the latter of whom shared his Yellow House in Arles for two months in late 1888.
After an argument with Gauguin in December 1888, Van Gogh cut his left ear and was hospitalized. Joseph Roulin visited the artist in the hospital and wrote several letters to Van Gogh’s family, updating them on his condition. Roulin also wrote to Van Gogh for months after the artist pursued residential care in the psychiatric hospital at Saint-Rémy. “Letters from the Postman” presents 10 of these letters, offering an intimate look at the relationship between the artist and his friend.
“Observation and Inspiration” explores how Van Gogh found great potential for art in the people and places around him—starting with what he saw and modifying it to bring forth profound depth of feeling. In addition to the dedicated portraits of Augustine Roulin, Van Gogh included her features in other paintings including The Dance Hall in Arles (1888) and The Raising of Lazarus (after Rembrandt) (1890). A similar combination of vision and imagination characterizes the landscapes Ravine (1889) and Enclosed Field with Ploughman (1889) from the MFA’s collection that Van Gogh painted in Saint-Rémy.
In the final section, “Enduring Legacy: Beyond Arles,” the exhibition comes full circle – ending as it began, with the artist’s own image and a cherished place. Here, visitors encounter Self-Portrait (1889) and The Bedroom (1889), both painted in autumn 1889 in the hospital in Saint-Rémy, as Van Gogh reminisced about his time in Arles a year prior when he focused on the portraits of the Roulin family. Photographs of the Roulins, taken later in their lives, are featured, allowing visitors to see the individuals behind the portraits. The exhibition—and this section especially—explores how the Roulin family, and Van Gogh himself, were immortalized through his art.
The exit foyer of the exhibition serves as a community space for visitors to write and color postcards of the MFA’s Postman and enjoy reading a children’s book and the exhibition’s catalogue. Visitors can also learn more about Van Gogh’s techniques with tactile 3-D prints of detail areas from Van Gogh’s Lullaby: Madame Augustine Roulin Rocking a Cradle (La Berceuse). MFA conservators partnered with Canon Production Printing Canada Inc. and Canon Production Printing Netherlands B.V. to generate the prints, using photogrammetry to create a digital 3-D model of areas from the painting.
Exhibition Collaborators
The MFA’s presentation of Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits has been shaped by input from a cohort of local artists, social workers, poets, and community leaders organized through Table of Voices, the Museum’s initiative for embedding community perspectives into exhibitions. This cohort explored Van Gogh’s quest for belonging and connection, expanding how audiences think about friendship, family, and community. The group included Anthony Febo, Reid Flynn, Rev. Dr. Stephanie May, Quandre McGhee, Marla McLeod, Genaro Ortega, Heather Ross, and Angela Soo Hoo.
Conservation
In preparation for the exhibition, MFA conservators were given an unprecedented amount of time to examine Van Gogh’s Postman Joseph Roulin and Lullaby: Madame Augustine Roulin Rocking a Cradle (La Berceuse) from the MFA’s collection. The portrait of Augustine Roulin yielded particularly compelling insights about how the painting was made and how it has changed over time.
With digital manipulation, it is now possible to envision what some of Van Gogh’s paintings would have looked like at the time they were painted. Visitors can learn more about these discoveries in the MFA’s Conservation Center located on the third floor of the Museum and through an in depth video on mfa.org.
Publication
Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits is accompanied by a catalogue from MFA Publications. Relying on archival material, contemporary criticism, and technical studies, the catalogue features insightful essays on Van Gogh’s practice, beliefs about portraiture, his personal relationship with the Roulins, and his admiration for his contemporaries as well as 17th-century Dutch portraitists, as well as full translations of the 10 letters written by Joseph Roulin to Van Gogh and his family.
Images
Postman Joseph Roulin, 1888 Vincent
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Postman Joseph Roulin 1889 France Oil on canvas Gift of Robert Treat Paine, 2nd
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Lullaby: Madame Augustine Roulin Rocking a Cradle (La Berceuse) 1889 France Oil on canvas Bequest of John T. Spaulding
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Enclosed Field with Ploughman December 1888 Arles Oil on canvas Bequest of Keith McLeod
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Marcelle Roulin November–December 1888 Arles Oil on canvas Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Camille Roulin 1888 Arles Oil on canvas Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin1888 Arles Oil on canvas Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest from the Collection of Maurice Wertheim, Class of 1906
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) The Postman Joseph Roulin 1888 Arles Ink and graphite on paper Los Angeles County Museum of Art, George Gard De Sylva Collection
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Madame Roulin and Her Baby 1888 Arles Oil on canvas Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975 (1975.1.231)
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Madame Augustine Roulin and Baby
Marcelle 1888 Arles Oil on canvas Philadelphia Museum of Art: Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Bequest of Lisa Norris Elkins, 1950
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Camille Roulin 1888 Arles Oil on canvas Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee, 1973
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Self-Portrait 1889 St. Rémy Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney, 1998.74.5
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Portrait of Joseph Roulin 1889 Arles Oil on canvas The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. M. Burden, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rosenberg, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Mr. and Mrs. Armand P. Bartos, The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection, Mr. and Mrs. Werner E. Josten, and Loula D. Lasker Bequest (all by exchange), 1989
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890) Portrait of Joseph Roulin 1888Reed and quill pen and brown ink, over black chalk The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Vincent van Gogh (Dutch (worked in
France), 1853–1890) The Schoolboy (The Postman's Son -
Boy in Cap) 1888 Oil on canvas Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis
Chateaubriand Doação (Gift)
Seabra Cia. de Tecidos,
Anderson-Clayton and Co., Egídio
Câmara, Mário de Almeida,
Usineiros do Nordeste, Geremia
Lunardelli, Alberto Soares
Sampaio, Cia. Souza Cruz,
Guilherme Guinle, Francisco
Pignatari, Cia. Siderúrgica
Belgo-Mineira S.A., Louis Ensch,
Jules Verelst, Cápua & Cápua S.A.,
1952 Asian Private Collection
Wall Text and Labels
Van Gogh in France
In Vincent van Gogh’s time, the train journey from Paris, where the artist had been staying with his brother Theo, to
Arles took about fifteen hours. We do not know why Van Gogh decided to move to this particular town in Provence,
but the slower pace of life and lower cost of living in southern France were likely appealing, as were the brighter
sunlight and warmer weather.
SECTION 1: SENSE OF PLACE: THE YELLOW HOUSE IN ARLES
I can’t, suffering as I do, do without something greater than myself, which is my life, the power to create.
And if frustrated in this power physically, we try to create thoughts instead of children; in that way, we’re part of
humanity all the same. [...]
Ah, the portrait — the portrait with the model’s thoughts and soul — it so much seems to me that it must come.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 3 September 1888
Introduction
Vincent van Gogh yearned for meaningful connection.
When he arrived in the town of Arles in southern France in 1888, Van Gogh was in his mid-thirties and had
abandoned several professions, including teaching, preaching, and working for an art dealer and a bookseller. He
was nearly eight years into his career as an artist, and he found himself at a turning point in his life and his work. He
believed that his long-cherished dream to become a husband and a father might not be realized, and he had new
ambitions for creating community and art.
“What I’m most passionate about, much much more than all the rest in my profession—is the portrait, the modern
portrait,” Van Gogh wrote. “I would like to do portraits which would look like apparitions to people a century later. So
I don’t try to do us by photographic resemblance but by our passionate expressions, using as a means of expression
and intensification of the character our science and modern taste for color.”
In Arles, this passion resulted in an astonishing series of portraits of his new friends, the Roulin family. Van Gogh
would ultimately create more than two dozen paintings and drawings of the postman Joseph Roulin, his wife
Augustine, and their three children, in which he aimed to express something about “the model’s thoughts and soul”
and simultaneously about humanity more broadly.
This exhibition traces Van Gogh’s friendship with this modest family, his admiration for his predecessors with whom
he saw a long artistic connection, his attempt to create a community of fellow artists, and his emotional ties to his
supportive family and friends. It is a story of resilience and of the tender bonds between people that bring life greater
meaning.
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Self-Portrait, 1887
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
I have a dirty and difficult occupation, painting, and if I weren’t as I am I wouldn’t paint, but being as I am I often
work with pleasure, and I see the possibility glimmering through of making paintings in which there’s some youth
and freshness, although my own youth is one of those things I’ve lost. [...] It’s my plan to go to the south for a while,
as soon as I can, where there’s even more color and even more sun.
But what I hope to achieve is to paint a good portrait.
Van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, Paris, late October 1887
Painted in Paris, where Van Gogh was living with his younger brother Theo, this self-portrait shows the artist as he
was making plans to move south. The bold brushstrokes and serious demeanor radiate the ambition and
enthusiasm of the painter, as he envisioned his new goals. Van Gogh’s arrangement with his brother, who worked
for art dealers in Paris, was that in exchange for his artwork, Theo would send art supplies and cover his sibling’s
costs of living in Arles.
Van Gogh often portrayed himself when he had no one else to pose for him. It was a means to practice figuration
and a chance for self-reflection, but also a part of a venerable tradition—artists he revered, such as fellow Dutchman
Rembrandt van Rijn, repeatedly turned to the mirror and shared themselves through their art in this intimate way.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT. Gift of Philip L. Goodwin in memory of his mother, Josephine S.
Goodwin
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
The Yellow House (The Street), 1888
Oil on canvas
Van Gogh rented the Yellow House in Arles in May 1888, using the front room as his studio, but he did not live there
until September, as he took time to furnish and decorate the rooms to be a welcoming home. His bedroom upstairs
appears here with closed shutters. Next door, with a pink awning, is a grocery store and further to the left a
restaurant where he often dined. In the distance to the right are railway bridges leading to the train station. Van
Gogh wrote to Theo: “Now I dare say people here would jump at portraits. But, before daring to take the risk of
throwing myself into that, I want my nervous system to calm down first, and then I want to be settled in such a way
that we can receive people at the studio.”
Van Gogh’s Studio
QUOTE [for back wall in the kitchen space]
And the studio—the red floor tiles, the white walls and ceiling, the rustic chairs, the pale wooden table, with, I hope,
portraits as decoration. That will have character à la Daumier—and it won’t, I dare predict, be commonplace.
Now I’m going to ask you to look for some Daumier lithographs for the studio, and some Japanese prints [...]
I really want to make of it—an artist’s house, but not precious, on the contrary, nothing precious, but everything from
the chair to the painting having character.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 9 September 1888
The Yellow House survived until World War II, when it was demolished following a bomb strike in 1944. Fortunately,
its appearance and scale are still known, thanks to Van Gogh’s painting and letters, vintage postcards, and a
floorplan. This schematic construction represents his studio in its square footage and ceiling height. Behind the
studio was a small kitchen.
Imagine an artist (or two—a reality discussed later in the exhibition) with easel and paints, working from a model
who might have family members in tow, and you can see how the space was quite cozy, if not uncomfortably
cramped. Yet this is where all of the members of the Roulin family posed for their portraits.
QUOTE [inside the studio space]
In the evening especially, with the gaslight, I like the look of the studio very much....
And I believe that in the evening we’ll bring neighbors and friends here, and that in the evening we’ll work as in the
daytime, chatting as we do so.
Portraits of people lit by gaslight—that always seems to me a thing to do.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 27 or 28 October 1888
SECTION 2: THE POSTMAN AND PORTRAIT PRACTICE
Although Van Gogh lived on the same street as the Roulin family from February to May 1888, he first mentioned the
postman—who sorted mail at the railway station—in a late July letter. Van Gogh and the Roulins had moved farther
apart from one another by then. The two men shared drinks at a café and a friendship began. The café’s owner
commented that Van Gogh and Roulin were like brothers, with their shared features (reddish-brown hair and pale
eyes) and frequent companionship. At this very time, Roulin’s pregnant wife Augustine had gone to her parents’
home with the couple’s sons, Armand and Camille, to deliver their daughter, Marcelle. Work prevented Joseph from
joining them, so he had time to socialize and then to pose for the artist.
For many artists, painting portraits on commission was a good way to make money. Without such a market, Van
Gogh painted portraits for his own purposes, compensating sitters for their time. Rather than collecting a fee for
posing, Roulin enjoyed food and drink as reimbursement. Van Gogh wrote to Theo at this time: “There’s no better or
shorter way to improve my work than to do figures. Also, I always feel confidence when doing portraits, knowing that
that work is much more serious—that’s perhaps not the word—but rather is the thing that enables me to cultivate
what’s best and most serious in me.” He was looking at people around him for inspiration but was also drawing upon
portraits by 17th-century Dutch painters like Frans Hals, Rembrandt van Rijn, and Adriaen van Ostade that he had
seen in museums and remembered fondly.
[Floating quotation]
Besides, a painted portrait is a thing of feeling made with love or respect for the being represented. What remains to
us of the old Dutchmen? The portraits.
Van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, 19 September 1889
[Floating quotation]
I’m trying to make you see the great simple thing, the painting of humanity, let’s rather say of a whole republic,
through the simple medium of the portrait.
Van Gogh to Émile Bernard, 30 July 1888
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Postman Joseph Roulin, 1888
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
I’m now working on the portrait of a postman with his dark blue uniform with yellow.
A head something like that of Socrates, almost no nose, a high forehead, bald pate, small grey eyes, high-colored
full cheeks, a big beard, pepper and salt, big ears. The man is a fervent republican and socialist, reasons very well
and knows many things. His wife gave birth today and so he’s in really fine feather and glowing with satisfaction. [...]
I hope I’ll also get to paint the baby born today.
Van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, 31 July 1888
This is Van Gogh’s first portrait of Joseph Roulin, aged forty-seven, whose firm gaze and open posture combine with
the artist’s lively brushwork to create the impression of immediacy. There is a profound sense of presence and
proximity—imagine the two men just a few feet apart as Van Gogh painted his new friend. A smudge under the
postman’s left arm interrupts the chair’s shape and reminds us that the artist was working rapidly to create this
portrait. Van Gogh complained that Roulin became too stiff while posing, which is perhaps evident in the artist’s
subtle reshaping of the sleeve and slight awkwardness in the placement of the hands and arms.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Robert Treat Paine, 2nd, 1935 35.1982
The Chair in which Van Gogh Portrayed Roulin
Archival photo
Van Gogh Museum (Tralbaut archive)
Frans Hals
Dutch, 1582/83–1666
Merry Drinker, about 1628–30
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]:
What particularly struck me when I saw the old Dutch paintings again is that they were usually painted quickly. That
these great masters Hals, Rembrandt, Ruisdael—so many others—as far as possible just put it straight down—and
didn’t come back to it so very much.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 13 October 1885
Van Gogh was truly enamored with the art of Frans Hals, which he wrote about repeatedly in his letters both before
and during the making of the Roulin portraits. He marveled at the subtle play of colors in the Merry Drinker as well
as Hals’s bravura brushwork and clearly had this painting in mind as he began work on his first portrait of the
postman. Van Gogh referred to Joseph Roulin as a drinker in many of his letters, noting the high color of his face,
and included a glass on the table next to him in one of his drawings (on view nearby).
Loan from the Rijksmuseum
Frans Hals
Dutch, 1582/83–1666
Willem van Heythuysen
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
Let’s talk about Frans Hals. [...] He painted portraits; nothing nothing nothing but that. [...] he did portraits of good
citizens with their families, the man, his wife, his child; he painted the tipsy drinker, [...] babies in swaddling-clothes,
the gallant, bon vivant gentleman, mustachioed, booted and spurred [...]. It’s beautiful like Zola, and healthier and
more cheerful, but just as alive, because his epoch was healthier and less sad. Now what is Rembrandt? The same
thing entirely—a painter of portraits.
Van Gogh to Émile Bernard, 30 July 1888
The “tipsy drinker” Van Gogh recalled is certainly Hals’s Merry Drinker (hanging nearby) and the “gallant, bon vivant
gentleman, mustachioed, booted and spurred” is very likely this portrait of Willem van Heythuysen. The artist visited
the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Brussels on at least two occasions and had an extraordinary memory for artworks
he admired. The day after writing to fellow artist Émile Bernard (1868–1941) about Hals and portraiture, Van Gogh
began his first painting of Joseph Roulin (hanging in this room), so 17th-century Dutch precedents were almost
certainly on his mind. When Van Gogh complained that the postman became too stiff while posing, he may have
had something akin to the casual nature of Hals’s sitter, tipping backward in his chair, in mind.
Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels
Honoré Daumier
French, 1808–1879
C'est tout d'même flatteur d'avoir son portrait à l'exposition (After all, it is rather flattering to have one’s
portrait at the Salon), 1857
Lithograph
L'Absinthe, 1863
Lithograph, hand colored
[QUOTE]:
I’ve just made a portrait of a postman—or rather, two portraits even—Socratic type, no less Socratic for being
something of an alcoholic, and with a high color as a result. His wife had just given birth, the good fellow was
glowing with satisfaction. He’s a fierce republican, like père Tanguy. Goddamn, what a subject to paint à la Daumier,
eh?
Van Gogh to Émile Bernard, 5 August 1888
Van Gogh repeatedly referred to Roulin as looking like a character from a Daumier print. Honoré Daumier was a
prolific artist whose caricatures featured in newspapers and as separate sheets collected by admiring fans then and
now, including Van Gogh. Daumier employs a similar upward tilt of the head in both scenes to convey intoxication,
whether by pride over one’s portrait or by excess alcohol.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of William Perkins Babcock, 1900 00.1888.9, 00.1984.13
Adriaen van Ostade
Dutch, 1610–1684
Portrait of a Family in an Interior, formerly known as The Painter's Family, 1654
Oil on panel
Van Gogh greatly esteemed 17th-century Dutch portraits and at the outset of his project to paint the Roulin family, he
wrote: “I claim that the Van Ostade in the Louvre, which shows the painter’s family, the man, the wife, the ten or so
kids, is a painting infinitely deserving of study and thought.” Although Van Gogh never portrayed the Roulins all
together in a single composition, as is typically done for a family portrait, it mattered a lot to him to portray the entire
family, as a unit, across canvases.
Why didn’t Van Gogh paint all five Roulins together in a single composition? It may have been impractical for them
to pose together, either in terms of coordinating schedules or because of the difficulty of finding an arrangement of
their figures that suited the artist’s vision. Another possibility may be that Van Gogh preferred the up-close intimacy
of portraits nearing life size; to join all five figures together at that scale would have necessitated an inconveniently
large canvas for his studio (and his materials budget).
Paris, Musée du Louvre, Department of Paintings
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
The Postman Joseph Roulin, 1888
Ink and graphite on paper
Van Gogh sent this drawing to his brother Theo. In it, he elaborated the setting by including a drinking glass on the
table. When Roulin first posed in late July, Van Gogh referred to him in a letter simply as “a postman,” but by the
end of August the artist was sharing details of Roulin’s family in his correspondence with his own siblings. By year’s
end, Roulin described himself as Van Gogh’s friend, even as a best friend.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, George Gard De Sylva Collection
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Joseph Roulin, 1888
Reed and quill pen and brown ink, over black chalk
This close-up drawing of Roulin, focusing on his face, became the format Van Gogh would use for all of his future
paintings of the postman (such as one on view in the next room). It is at once tender and unflinching with its close
proximity and frontal gaze. He sent this sheet to his artist friend John Peter Russell (1858–1930).
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
*
Frans Hals
Dutch, 1582/83–1666
Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Pair of Gloves, about 1619
Oil on panel
Van Gogh revered Hals for his ability to capture an individual, while also conveying something more general about
their place, time, and age. He also appreciated Hals’s keen use of color and loose brushwork, both in evidence here
and in Van Gogh’s own work. Hals’s portrait of a young man shares with Van Gogh’s portrayal of the seventeen-
year-old Armand (on view in the next room) a bold, fashionable hat and a slight turn toward us.
Van Gogh made twenty-six portraits of the five members of the Roulin family, fourteen of which appear in this
exhibition. In European art—the history of which the artist knew very well—such sustained artistic engagement with
a family (other than one’s own) was typically reserved for those of the highest social standing, such as royalty.
Creating multiple portraits of a modest, working-class family was otherwise unknown in the 19th century. It suggests
the satisfaction Van Gogh felt in creating these portraits was both personal and professional.
For Van Gogh, it was not simply that willing models were difficult to find, though that was also true. He stated that “to
my mind the same person supplies material for very diverse portraits.” In addition to depicting the same person in
different ways, he repeated compositions to be able to keep one painting for himself, give one to the sitter as
compensation for posing, and send others to his family (most often his brother) or to artist friends.
I’ve done the portraits of an entire family, the family of the postman whose head I did before—the man, his wife, the
baby, the young boy and the 16-year-old son [he was actually 17] [...] You can sense how in my element that makes
me feel, and that it consoles me to a certain extent for not being a doctor.
I hope to persevere with this and be able to obtain more serious sittings, which can be paid for with portraits. And if I
manage to do this entire family even better, I’ll have done at least one thing to my taste and personal.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 1 December 1888
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Madame Roulin and Her Baby, 1888
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
“And a baby in its cradle, also, if you look at it at your ease, has the infinite in its eyes.”
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 6 August 1888
This painting of Marcelle and her mother Augustine is one of just two double-portraits of Roulin family
members, who are otherwise shown individually. Van Gogh portrays Marcelle with the warmth and
exuberance of a newborn, full of life. Augustine is sketched in at the margin of the portrait. His attention to
the child’s face focuses the portrait on her, but he also shows the bond between the two individuals, in the
context of care and dependency. Van Gogh made five portraits of baby Marcelle and eight of Augustine.
Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Armand Roulin, 1888
Oil on canvas
Van Gogh painted seventeen-year-old Armand, who had just begun to work as a blacksmith, three times. In
this portrait, Armand’s slouched shoulders and nearly profile pose suggest moody withdrawal, conveying the
presence of a young man on the cusp of adulthood.
Collection Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Acquired with the collection of D.G. Van
Beuningen
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Camille Roulin, 1888
Oil on canvas
Van Gogh gave this tender portrait of Camille to the Roulin family. (He gave them one portrait of each family
member.) In his sensitive portrayal of the rather shy looking eleven-year-old boy, he used large planes of contrasting
colors, which he enlivened with short, rhythmic brushstrokes to create the effect of reflected light. The warm glow
and yellow background in Camille’s portrait and in several others of his family members indicates that Van Gogh
painted them by gaslight in his studio. In these works, the artist aimed to express the intimacy and coziness of a
family in the evening. He painted two other portraits of Camille; both are displayed in the next room.
Philadelphia Museum of Art: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee, 1973
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Joseph Roulin, 1889
Oil on canvas
This iconic frontal depiction of Joseph Roulin was among the last portraits Van Gogh made of his dear friend. Of his
six painted portraits of the postman, Van Gogh used this close-up format for all but the first one (the MFA’s painting
displayed in the previous room). Bold floral backgrounds feature in several of Van Gogh’s portraits and, while they
are likely his own invention, they resemble Provençal fabric designs, as well as Japanese woodblock prints and
portraits by his artist friends Émile Bernard and Paul Gauguin that likewise have large blossoms as portrait
backdrops.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William A. M. Burden, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rosenberg,
Nelson A. Rockefeller, Mr. and Mrs. Armand P. Bartos, The Sidney and Harriet Janis Collection, Mr. and Mrs.
Werner E. Josten, and Loula D. Lasker Bequest (all by exchange), 1989
___________________________________________________________________________________
SECTION 4: CREATING COMMUNITY THROUGH ART
Van Gogh described himself as “a link in the chain of artists.” He was intensely interested in artistic lineage,
connecting himself with artists past, present, and future. He hoped that the Yellow House would be a welcoming
place where sitters could pose for portraits and also a hub of an artist colony in Arles, a destination for artists
seeking support and communal practice.
As a young man, Van Gogh had worked for an art dealer; his brother Theo would likewise take up that trade. The
brothers collected art, especially prints, but also paintings by artists they knew. Van Gogh enjoyed visiting
museums, sometimes pausing at length in front of a painting he admired and then sharing his experience in his
letters. The Roulin family portraits were a creative amalgamation of the close observation of those cherished friends
and the sources of inspiration that he remembered, absorbed, and transposed through his brush.
*
A SHARED STUDIO
Van Gogh dreamt of a communal studio where artists would join together and work “as family, as brothers and
companions.” He realized that ambition for sixty-three days, from late October to late December 1888, when Paul
Gauguin shared his Yellow House. It was a challenging time for both men. Van Gogh was a more accomplished
artist and less in need of mentorship than Gauguin had imagined. They also had very different working practices. “I
can’t work without a model,” admitted Van Gogh, who preferred to have a sitter or motif in front of him. Gauguin
favored painting from memory and imagination, although he also worked from models. More than half of Van Gogh’s
portraits of the Roulin family were painted during Gauguin’s stay, and sharing a studio also meant sharing sitters,
including Augustine Roulin and her children.
[Floating quotation]
“My word, these anxieties... who can live in modern life without catching his share of them? The best consolation, if
not the only remedy, is, it still seems to me, profound friendships.”
Van Gogh to Paul Signac, 10 April 1889
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Lullaby: Madame Augustine Roulin Rocking a Cradle (La Berceuse), 1889
Oil on canvas
Van Gogh painted Augustine Roulin in bold, exaggerated colors against a vividly patterned background. She holds a
rope that leads to a cradle. At lower right, the painter inscribed the title La Berceuse, which means both “lullaby” and
“she who rocks the cradle.” The Roulins had a baby at home, but Van Gogh also conceived of the action in a more
general sense of offering comfort. He wrote to his brother that he would like to see this painting “in the cabin of a
boat” where fishermen in “their melancholy isolation, exposed to all the dangers, alone on the sad sea...would
experience a feeling of being rocked, reminding them of their own lullabies.”
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of John T. Spaulding, 1948 48.548
MFA Mobile on Bloomberg Connects stop: Watch a video with the curator and an MFA conservator discussing this
painting.
You may also view this video in the Van Gogh display in the Robert and Carol Henderson Conservation Learning
Center on the MFA’s third floor in the Linde Family Wing.
*
Toyohara Kunichika
Japanese, 1835–1900
Peony (Botan): Actor Kawarazaki Sanshō (Gonjūrō I) as Danjūrō no Shichi, from the series Thirty-six Selected
Flowers and Grasses (Sanjūrokkasō no uchi), 1865
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Actors Bandō Shūka (Bandō Mitsugorō VI) and Ichimura Kakitsu IV in an Imagined Version of a Climactic
Scene (?) in the Play Konezumi no Chūji (Mitate Konezumi no Chūji kyokuba), 1864
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Van Gogh incorporated eye-catching floral or solid-color backgrounds in his painted portraits of himself and of
Roulin family members, which find close resonance with those favored by Japanese printmakers he admired and
whose work he collected. Although he did not own these two particular prints, he had others with similar features.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 1911
*
James McArdell
English, 1728 or 1729–1765
The Holy Family at Night, 1742–65
Mezzotint
11.44418, 11.21903
Several printmakers made reproductive prints after The Holy Family at Night, a painting in Amsterdam’s
Rijksmuseum once attributed to Rembrandt and now credited to his workshop. Van Gogh hung an example of this
print in his bedroom as a young man and again when he lived in The Hague in 1882. It informed his thinking about
his portrait of Augustine Roulin as “La Berceuse.” The central figure here holds a rope that leads to the cradle
below; this method of soothing a baby by rocking it is alluded to by the rope in Madame Roulin’s hands in Van
Gogh’s portrait.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of William Perkins Babcock, 1900 00.1985
*
Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch, 1606–1669
Aeltje Uylenburgh, 1632
Oil on panel
[QUOTE] Gauguin and I talk a lot about Delacroix, Rembrandt, etc. The discussion is excessively electric. We sometimes
emerge from it with tired minds, like an electric battery after it has run down. We have been right in the midst of
magic [...] Rembrandt is above all a magician.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 17 or 18 December 1888
Van Gogh held the work of Rembrandt in great regard, praising the magic and poetry that he could evoke in his
paintings. Rembrandt’s portrayals of revered matriarchs, such as this one, likely helped shape Van Gogh’s approach
to depicting Augustine Roulin. The serious demeanor and seated pose, slightly turned to her right, are conventional
and shared by both artists for their sitters. Each woman has a commanding presence. Van Gogh wrote of his desire
“To express the thought of a forehead through the radiance of a light tone on a dark background.” Though produced
with a very different painterly touch, the luminosity of a thoughtful woman’s brow was achieved by both artists.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Promised gift of Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo, in support of the Center for
Netherlandish Art
*
Émile Bernard
French, 1868–1941
The Artist's Grandmother, 1887
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
I don’t believe that this question of the Dutchmen, which we’re discussing these days, is without interest. It’s quite
interesting to consult them when it’s a matter of any kind of virility, originality, naturalism. In the first place, I must
speak to you again about yourself, about two still lifes that you’ve done, and about the two portraits of your
grandmother. Have you ever done anything better, have you ever been more yourself, and someone? [...] You’ve
never been closer to Rembrandt, my dear chap, than then.
Van Gogh to Émile Bernard, on or about 5 August 1888
Émile Bernard’s grandmother ran her own laundry business and supported Bernard’s artistic career despite his
parents’ disapproval. She even had a studio built for him around the time this portrait was painted. The nineteen-
year-old Bernard captured the solid presence of his grandmother in bold planes of color and a strong silhouette that
resonate with the expressive portraits Van Gogh made of the Roulin family a year later. The older artist owned one
of Bernard’s portraits of his grandmother (now in the Van Gogh Museum), while Bernard was the original owner of
Van Gogh’s La Berceuse (the MFA’s painting on display to the right).
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Francis Welch Fund, 1961 61.165
Émile Bernard, Portrait of Bernard’s Grandmother, oil on canvas, 1887. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent
van Gogh Foundation) https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0205V1962
*
Jean-François Millet
French, 1814–1875
Winter Evening, 1867
Pastel and black conté crayon on gray-brown wove paper
Van Gogh deeply admired the work of Jean-François Millet, a painter of rural life and folk. He saw this pastel in
Paris in 1875 and read about it in Alfred Sensier’s 1881 book on Millet. Sensier described this scene of a couple
working by candlelight near their sleeping baby as having “a feeling, a light à la Rembrandt.” Sensier characterized
Millet as “a melancholy and suffering soul, but he was above all a man with the courage of his convictions; [...] a
courageous toiler, a loving father and a devoted friend.” This description probably was meaningful for Van Gogh,
who painted several variations on compositions by Millet, including this one.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw
Haughton, 1917 17.1520
Van Gogh, Evening (After Millet), 1889, oil on canvas. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh
Foundation)
Van Gogh described his painting La Berceuse (hanging nearby) as looking like a “chromolithograph from a penny
bazaar.” He elaborated that the similarity had to do with the use of colors: “discordant sharps of garish pink, garish
orange, garish green, are toned down by flats of reds and greens.” He also considered the audience: “it’s very true
that the common people, who buy themselves chromos..., are vaguely in the right and perhaps more sincere than
certain men-about-town who go to the Salon [the annual art exhibition in Paris].” The prominent outlines, strong
colors, and looping font of these small chromolithographs represent the widely available and inexpensive prints
familiar to Van Gogh. This particular alphabet was distributed both in the United States and in France in the 1880s.
Private Collection, MFA Staff Member
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Madame Augustine Roulin and Baby Marcelle, 1888
Oil on canvas
A close look at this painting’s surface reveals that Van Gogh started with a light blue background, akin to his first
portrait of Joseph Roulin. This detail, along with the similarity in the size of the two paintings and their
complementary compositions (husband and wife would turn toward each other if the works were hung together)
suggests that the artist may have considered them a pair. This double-portrait of mother and child highlights
Augustine’s role as caretaker. Van Gogh was exploring a fascinating middle ground between his sitter’s dominating
presence in the later La Berceuse compositions and her marginal appearance in the double-portrait on view in the
previous room. In all instances, her maternal role remains his focus.
Philadelphia Museum of Art: Bequest of Lisa Norris Elkins, 1950
*
Paul Gauguin
French, 1848–1903
Sketches of Marcelle Roulin, page in the Carnet Huyghe, 1888–1901
Graphite and charcoal on lined ledger paper
Gauguin made these tender drawings of baby Marcelle in the Yellow House studio, as he and Van Gogh worked
side-by-side. They convey the serenity of the robust infant held by her mother, also seen in Van Gogh’s paintings
hanging nearby. These delicate portraits are a testament to the two artists’ close working relationship at this pivotal
moment in their careers, and to the bonds of friendship between the Roulin family and Van Gogh, who was longing
for community—of artists, of friends, and of family.
Gift of Sam Salz, New York, through the America-Israel Cultural Foundation
Collection of The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
B72.0043
Paul Gauguin
French, 1848–1903
Study Sheet with Portraits of Camille Roulin, 1888
Chalk on paper
The meek inquisitiveness suggested by the boy’s turned head and sidelong gaze in the portrait sketch with the
yellow shirt resemble Van Gogh’s demure portrayals of the Roulin’s middle child against a yellow background.
Gauguin’s central sketch incorporates Camille’s characteristic blue cap and gives three-dimensionality to his head
through delicate shading, but his open mouth and vacant eyes are haunting.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
*
Paul Gauguin
French, 1848–1903
Madame Roulin, 1888
Oil on canvas
Gauguin’s treatment of Augustine Roulin’s pose and garment in this portrait may have influenced Van Gogh’s
portrayal of the same sitter for La Berceuse (on view nearby), or the two artists may have begun these works
together during the same sitting in the Yellow House. The pale blue walls resemble Van Gogh’s initial choice for the
painting hanging adjacent, and in both paintings, Augustine sits in what came to be known as Gauguin’s chair.
Gauguin features another of his paintings, The Blue Trees, on the wall behind her.
Saint Louis Art Museum, Funds given by Mrs. Mark C. Steinberg
Paul Gauguin, The Blue Trees, 1888, oil on canvas. The Ordrupgaard Collection, Copenhagen.
Vincent van Gogh, Gauguin’s Chair, 1888, oil on canvas. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh
Foundation)
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Marcelle Roulin, 1888
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE] “I want to do figures, figures and more figures, it’s stronger than me, this series of bipeds from the baby to
Socrates.” Van Gogh to Émile Bernard, 21 August 1888
From the time of Marcelle’s birth, which coincided with Van Gogh’s first portrait of her father, the artist was eager to
paint the Roulins’ new baby. He first portrayed her held aloft by her mother on a larger canvas but sensitively
selected a smaller one when it came time to portray Marcelle alone. Painting her was the realization of a goal, not
just to paint an entire family, but all ages of humanity. Van Gogh gave this portrait of Marcelle to her proud parents.
Asian Private Collection
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Camille Roulin, 1888
Oil on canvas
This painting is a repetition—same size, shape, and composition—of the portrait of Camille in the previous room.
Van Gogh painted repetitions for various reasons. In the case of a portrait, he could make a second one without
needing the sitter to pose for him, as he could use the previous painting as his model instead. He was also able to
make adjustments to the composition or brushwork to subtly refine or revise the portrait. Repetitions also increased
the visibility of his artistic ideas. Van Gogh gave the first version to the Roulins and kept this one for about six
months, perhaps as a decoration for the Yellow House, before sending it to his brother in Paris to be seen by artists,
critics, and potential buyers.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Self-Portrait Dedicated to Paul Gauguin, 1888
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
I have a portrait of myself, all ash-colored....I looked more for the character of a bonze, a simple worshipper of the
eternal Buddha. It cost me a good deal of trouble, but I’ll have to do it all over again if I want to express the thing. I’ll
have to cure myself even further of the conventional numbness of our so-called civilized state, in order to have a
better model for a better painting.
Van Gogh to Paul Gauguin, 3 October 1888
Van Gogh made this self-portrait in the midst of his preparations for Gauguin’s arrival. He was painting his portraits
of the Roulin family, with which it shares features like the saturated single color radiating behind him and the
somewhat exaggerated features depicting simultaneously an individual and a type. For Van Gogh, Joseph Roulin
was a postal employee, a devoted father, and a man resembling Socrates. With a similar approach, he saw himself
in this self-portrait as Vincent, an artist, and someone like a Buddhist monk. Deeply immersed in self-evaluation,
Van Gogh was coming to the realization that he probably would not have a family of his own, unlike both Gauguin
and Roulin.
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest from the Collection of Maurice Wertheim, Class of 1906
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
The Schoolboy (The Postman's Son—Boy in a Cap), 1888
Oil on canvas
The Schoolboy, posed by Camille Roulin, is both a portrait of a specific person and an embodiment of a social role
or type, as was the case with his parents’ portraits in the guise of all-consoling mother and of government employee.
This duality (individual and type) was something Van Gogh recognized and appreciated in portraits by Hals, like the
nearby Fisherboy. The Schoolboy casually inhabits the artist’s chair, within his studio in the Yellow House. The two-
tone background recalls the Japanese prints so admired by the painter.
Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand Doação (Gift) Seabra Cia. de Tecidos, Anderson-Clayton and
Co., Egídio Câmara, Mário de Almeida, Usineiros do Nordeste, Geremia Lunardelli, Alberto Soares Sampaio, Cia.
Souza Cruz, Guilherme Guinle, Francisco Pignatari, Cia. Siderúrgica Belgo-Mineira S.A., Louis Ensch, Jules
Verelst, Cápua & Cápua S.A., 1952
Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh’s Chair, 1888, oil on canvas. National Gallery London.
*
Frans Hals
Dutch, 1582/83–1666
Fisherboy
Oil on canvas
Van Gogh visited Antwerp on several occasions, including with his artist friend Anton Kerssemakers (1846–1924),
who wrote that Van Gogh was transfixed by this painting: “Suddenly he’s gone from my side, and I see him walking
up to the painting, and me after him. When I came up to him he was standing with hands folded as if in prayer in
front of the painting and whispered: ‘God d ...; do you see that,’ he said after a while, ‘now that’s painting, look’ and
following the direction of the broad strokes with his thumb: ‘he leaves it just as he puts it down’...”
Van Gogh’s creative mind returned often to works by Hals and never with greater focus than while painting the
Roulin family. Camille Roulin (hanging nearby) shares Fisherboy’s tender immediacy and vibrant energy of youth.
Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp—Flemish Community
*
Utagawa Kunisada I (Toyokuni III)
Japanese, 1786–1864
The Paulownia Crest (Gosan no kiri): (Actor Bandō Hikosaburō I as) Mashiba Hisayoshi, from the series
Popular Matches for Thirty-six Selected Flowers (Tōsei mitate sanjūroku kasen), 1862
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
Van Gogh owned an impression of this Japanese print. General compositional elements, like the placement of the
figure within the picture plane and the bands of background color, resonate with his Schoolboy. Closer examination
of the print reveals subtle variations in the surface—areas of smooth, flat color are offset by patterns of texture
(within the band of white at lower left, for example). Van Gogh, likewise, thoughtfully varied his brushstrokes
creating textures and patterns, as well as broad flat areas that enliven his portraits’ surfaces.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 1911 11.42371
*
Toyohara Kunichika
Japanese, 1835–1900
Three Young People (Mitate Waka Sannin): Actor Ichimura Kakitsu IV as Konezumi Chūji, 1866
Woodblock print; ink and color on paper
In addition to collecting hundreds of Japanese prints, Van Gogh also organized an informal exhibition of them during
his time in Paris, prior to moving to Arles. He utilized solid canary-yellow backgrounds in his own portrait practice,
starting in Paris and continuing in Arles, that recall Japanese prints, like this one. As is often the case with creativity,
multiple stimuli may be at play in Van Gogh’s use of the strong yellow background, including his interest in the
saffron cast produced by gaslight.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. William Sturgis Bigelow Collection, 1911 11.21896
In late December 1888, after a heated dispute with Gauguin, Van Gogh cut off his left ear. He was admitted to the
hospital in Arles for care of the wound and attention to his mental state. His brother Theo came right away but only
for the day, returning to Paris with Gauguin in tow. Joseph Roulin visited the artist in the hospital, as did his wife,
and he wrote letters to Van Gogh’s siblings updating them on his condition. Discharged in early January, Van Gogh
spent the day with Roulin at the Yellow House. Before the end of the month, Roulin was sent to Marseille for work.
His family could not afford to immediately join him there, so he had a few occasions to visit them (and Van Gogh) in
Arles.
Letters between painter and postman continued for months, though only the postman’s side of the communication
remains. Roulin offered comfort, words of encouragement, and updates about his own family. Van Gogh was in and
out of the hospital in Arles for the first few months of 1889. Realizing he needed long-term care, he checked himself
into the asylum in nearby Saint-Rémy, where he lived from May 1889 to May 1890. He spent the final two months of
his life in Auvers-sur-Oise, a town north of Paris that was nearer to his brother.
Full translations of the ten letters written by Joseph Roulin to Vincent van Gogh and his siblings are available in the
book that accompanies the exhibition.
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Theo van Gogh
26 December 1888
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“I have been to see your brother Vincent. I promised to tell you what I thought of him. I am sorry to tell you that I
think he is lost. Not only is his mind affected, but also he is very weak and despondent. He recognized me but did
not show any pleasure at seeing me and did not ask about any member of my family nor anyone else that he knows.
When I left him I told him that I would come back to see him; he replied that we would meet again in heaven, and
from his manner I realized that he was praying. From what the concierge told me, I think that they are taking the
necessary steps to have him placed in a mental hospital.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Theo van Gogh
28 December 1888
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“my wife went to see him, and he hid his face when he saw her coming. When she spoke to him, he replied well
enough, and talked to her about our little girl, and asked if she was still as pretty as ever. Today, Friday, I went there
but could not see him. The house physician and the attendant told me that after my wife left, he had had a terrible
attack; he had a very bad night, and they had to put him in an isolated room. Since he has been locked in this room,
he has eaten no food and completely refused to talk. That is the exact state of your brother at present.
The house physician has told me that the doctor has postponed for a few days the decision to have him placed in a
mental hospital in Aix.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Theo van Gogh
3 January 1889
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“my friend Vincent has completely recovered; he will leave the hospital one of these days to return to his house. Do
not worry, he is better than before that unfortunate accident happened to him. At present he can move freely about
the hospital; we walked for over an hour in the courtyard; he is in a very healthy state of mind.
I went to see the head of the hospital who is a friend of mine; he replied that he would do as I wished, that he had
not yet made any decision and would wait until I had seen Vincent before taking any action. Immediately after, I
went back to him and told him to return our good Vincent to his paintings. He said that he was free to leave when he
wished. The house physician has advised him to stay a few more days to get back his strength and allow his scar to
heal completely.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Theo van Gogh
4 January 1889
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“I am truly happy today. I went to the hospital to get my friend Vincent and take him for a little fresh air. We went to
the house, he was pleased to see his paintings again; we stayed four hours; he has completely recovered, it is really
surprising. I am very sorry my first letters were so alarming, and beg your pardon for it. I am glad to say I have been
mistaken in his case. He only regrets all the trouble he has given you, and is sorry for the anxiety he has caused.
Don't worry; I will do all I can to give him some distraction; one of these days he will leave the hospital and go back
to his paintings. That is all he thinks of, he is as sweet as a lamb.
The house physician was rather uneasy about letting him go, so I told him that I would take it upon myself to
accompany him and bring him back to the hospital.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Theo van Gogh
7 January 1889
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“I am happy to announce that our friend Vincent left the hospice at noon today, Monday; he is very well, so don't
worry.
I received your last letter with money order of 30 frs which it contained. I have paid 21 f 50 of the rent for the month
of December: my children thank you for the gift, I thank you for the good new year wishes you express to me for
myself and my family. My whole family joins me in asking you to accept our wishes for you and your loved ones.
Please accept, dear Sir, the best wishes of your brother Vincent's friend, as well as those of my family.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Willemien van Gogh
8 January 1889
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“I make haste to answer you that your amiable brother Vincent has quite recovered; he left the asylum today, the 7th.
What caused my reply to be postponed for twenty-four hours is the fact that we kept each other company all day
long...
We talked at great length about you as well as about your mother today.
Many thanks for the good wishes you expressed with regard to my wife and our little girl. Please set your mind quite
at ease as to the health of my good friend Vincent; I go to see him as often as my work permits and if something
should happen again, I should inform you as soon as possible.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Vincent van Gogh
13 May 1889
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“If I have delayed in writing to you, I thought I could use my day off to go and see you; as I was not able to come to
Arles, I come to ask you for news of your health, are you well recovered since our last conversation? You seemed to
me disposed to begin your work in earnest again, the countryside is beautiful, you cannot lack for models. You
would give me great pleasure if you did me the honor of a reply.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Vincent van Gogh
22 May 1889
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“When I got up this morning, Wednesday, my landlady handed me your letter, which satisfied me to learn that you
had left Arles to go to St-Rémy of your own accord. Continue your paintings, you are in a beautiful part of the world,
the countryside is very beautiful, the soil is very well worked, you will find a great change in the farming down there,
you will not find gardens that look like cemeteries, as in Arles. Continue to take good care of yourself, follow properly
the good advice which will be given to you by the good Doctor who is attached to the establishment. I have great
confidence that your health will be completely restored, with the good will that you have you will succeed in doing
very fine paintings, you live in the garden of the Bouches du Rhône, you will not lack for models made by nature,
continue and be of good heart.”
“Please, Mr Vincent, accept my regards as well as those of my family, and a caress from Marcelle who, thanks to
you, can say hello to my Portrait evening and morning, for they are hanging in the alcove where she sleeps, she
rests in peace under the benevolent gaze of both the wife and the Father.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Vincent van Gogh
19 August 1889
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation) Excerpt: “I received your letter with great pleasure, especially to learn that you are in good health.
I am very pleased that your brother is very happy with married life, he appears to be such a good man that if he has
taken a wife like himself, they must be happy....We are very charmed by the welcome he gave to our Portraits, as
much for the friendship he shows towards myself and my family as for the praise he gives to your work.
Marcelle is ever more beautiful....If you had seen her admiring paintings, as soon as she saw a painting in houses,
in the street, she talked to it.
I will not have your paintings, our portraits, until I have the family. Do not fear that I will have anything done to your
paintings for I respect the artist’s talent too much, and once my word is given you know it is sacred to me. Let us
hope that one day we can see each other again....
Do not be discouraged, work in those beautiful fields, take advantage of the models that nature provides you, with
work health will return.
Dear Mr Vincent, accept my sincere regards as well as those of my wife and my children. Marcelle sends you a big
kiss.”
*
Letter from Joseph Roulin to Vincent van Gogh
24 October 1889
Ink on paper
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Excerpt:
“Excuse me if I did not reply immediately I received your letter; I was waiting for the family. They arrived in the first
week of October in very good health, Marcelle is still more than beautiful, she calls everyone by their names, in fact
she’s a little parrot, she makes the whole house happy...
In your letter you tell me that you have worked a lot, that you have twelve canvases prepared, I hope that you will
finish them in good health and that these unfortunate crises will not recur any more....
...let us hope that one day again we shall have the happiness to shake hands and to tell each other in person such
good things and to cement our friendship once more; I am confident and am full of hope to see you again one day, I
am pleased to see you moving closer to your brother.... I think it will do an enormous amount of good for your
health. I think that if you go and settle in the environs of Paris you will take up your palette and brushes with much
more strength...
All my family joins with me in sending you our best regards... Marcelle sends you a big kiss, as does Camille, who
acts as my secretary.
Mr Vincent, please accept the sincere regards of all my family as well as those of him who declares himself your
truly devoted friend.”
I can’t work without a model. I’m not saying that I don’t flatly turn my back on reality to turn a study into a painting —
by arranging the color, by enlarging, by simplifying — but I have such a fear of separating myself from what’s
possible and what’s right as far as form is concerned. [...]
I’m still living off the real world. I exaggerate, I sometimes make changes to the subject, but still I don’t invent the
whole of the painting; on the contrary, I find it ready-made—but to be untangled—in the real world.
Van Gogh to Émile Bernard, 5 October 1888
Observation and Inspiration
Van Gogh saw great potential for art in the everyday world around him. He preferred the stimulus for a work of art to
be something visible, usually the people, places, or artworks he found in his immediate surroundings. His creativity
was both in how he saw the subject and in the ways he modified it—exaggerated it, as he wrote—on his canvas to
bring forth something more. The intensity in his brushstrokes and evocative colors takes us beyond observation to a
greater depth of feeling.
Van Gogh’s works were gaining visibility thanks in part to Theo’s growing inventory of his brother’s canvases in
Paris. In autumn 1889, Van Gogh was planning what to include in exhibitions in Brussels and Paris early in the new
year. In addition to the feedback he received from artists who saw his paintings in those exhibitions, a lengthy (and
important) article dedicated to his work appeared in Mercure de France in January 1890.
*
Beyond the Portrait
Augustine Roulin sparked Van Gogh’s imagination. She appears in eight portraits, some of which she posed for in
person, while the artist used a previous portrait as the model for others. Her features also appear elsewhere in his
work. She is a steady, calm point of focus within a pulsing and otherwise anonymous crowd of dance hall revelers.
She is the emotionally wrought family member in a biblical scene. It was more than her outward appearance; it was
her personality and her role as nurturing caregiver that extended from portrait subject to character of consolation.
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Madame Roulin Rocking the Cradle (La Berceuse), 1889
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
Today I made a fresh start on the canvas I had painted of Madame Roulin, the one which had remained in a vague
state as regards the hands because of my accident. As an arrangement of colors: the reds moving through to pure
oranges, intensifying even more in the flesh tones up to the chromes, passing into the pinks and marrying with the
olive and Veronese greens. As an Impressionist arrangement of colors, I’ve never devised anything better.
Van Gogh to Paul Gauguin, 21 January 1889
Van Gogh painted Augustine Roulin as La Berceuse five times. He began the first portrait in December 1888, and it
remained unfinished in his studio when he was hospitalized after cutting his ear. He completed it when he returned
home in late January, and he painted three more shortly thereafter. One of those was unfinished when he returned
to the hospital in February 1889. He painted a fifth La Berceuse while in the hospital in March 1889. The order in
which the five versions were made cannot be definitively determined from the artist’s letters. (To explore this theme
further, visit the Van Gogh display in the Robert and Carol Henderson Conservation Learning Center on the MFA’s
third floor in the Linde Family Wing.)
The Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
The Dance Hall in Arles, 1888
Oil on canvas
Amid the teeming crowd, Augustine Roulin appears in three-quarter profile, just as she does in all of Van Gogh’s
dedicated portraits of her. Even in the context of the dance hall, she exudes the calm of a consoling mother, as she
would appear in the Berceuse series, including the canvas next to this one. The Dance Hall in Arles expands our
understanding of the Roulin family’s place within Van Gogh’s imagination. Painted in December 1888 during
Gauguin’s stay at the Yellow House, this work may reflect Gauguin encouraging Van Gogh to work more from
memory and imagination. He certainly did not paint this on location, nor was Madame Roulin likely to have gone to
this venue with a four-month-old baby at home.
Paris, musée d'Orsay, don de M. et Mme André Meyer, 1951
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
The Raising of Lazarus (after Rembrandt), 1890
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
The etchings you sent me are really beautiful. [...] I’ve done [a painting] of three figures which are in the background
of the Lazarus etching. The dead man and his two sisters. The cave and the corpse are violet, yellow, white. The
woman who is taking the handkerchief from the resurrected man’s face has a green dress and orange hair, the other
has black hair and a striped garment. Green and pink. Behind a countryside, blue hills, a yellow rising sun. The
combination of colors would thus itself speak of the same thing expressed by the chiaroscuro of the etching.
If I were still to have at my disposal the model who posed for the Berceuse [...], then certainly I’d try to execute it in
a large size, this canvas, the personalities being what I would have dreamed of as characters.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 2 May 1890
By the time Van Gogh painted this canvas, he had not seen Augustine Roulin in more than a year, but his memory
of her was strong. He gave the central figure her features, hair color, and characteristic green dress, but his letter
indicates that her personality also informed his choice to incorporate her likeness here. He admired her as a wife
and mother, and she had visited him in the hospital when he was convalescing. That depth of care and concern
comes through in her appearance as the grieving, suffering sister of Lazarus. The face of the resurrected man
resembles Van Gogh’s.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
*
Rembrandt van Rijn
Dutch, 1606–1669
The Raising of Lazarus (the larger plate), about 1632
Etching and engraving
[QUOTE]
I read your kind letters, then the letters from home as well, and that did me an enormous amount of good in giving
me back a little energy, or rather the desire to climb back up again from the dejected state I’m in. I thank you very
much for the etchings—you’ve chosen some of the very ones that I’ve already liked for a long time.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 1 May 1890
The biblical story of Jesus performing a miracle by bringing a dead man named Lazarus back to life has inspired
artists for centuries. In 1890, Van Gogh received twelve prints from his brother for his birthday. Included was a
heliogravure (an early photographic printing process) that reproduced this print by Rembrandt. The very next day,
he sent Theo a letter with a sketch of his just completed painting The Raising of Lazarus (hanging nearby), based
on the scene in the lower right corner of Rembrandt’s composition.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Harvey D. Parker Collection—Harvey Drury Parker Fund, 1897
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Ravine, 1889
Oil on canvas
97.1268
[QUOTE]
I’m working on a large canvas of a ravine [...] two bases of extremely solid rocks, between which a trickle of water
flows, a third mountain that closes off the ravine. These motifs certainly have a beautiful melancholy, and it’s
enjoyable to work in really wild sites where you have to bury your easel in the stones so that the wind doesn’t send
everything flying to the ground.
Van Gogh to Émile Bernard, 1889
In the autumn of 1889, Van Gogh painted the ravine near the asylum in Saint-Rémy. The following spring, Van
Gogh sent this painting to Paris, where Gauguin saw it and wrote to him: “In subjects from nature you are the only
one who thinks. I talked about it with your brother, and there is one that I would like to trade with you for one of mine
of your choice. The one I am talking about is a mountain landscape. Two travelers, very small, seem to be climbing
there in search of the unknown.... Here and there, red touches like lights, the whole in a violet tone. It is beautiful
and grandiose.”
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of Keith McLeod, 1952 52.1524
The ravine near Saint-Rémy painted by Vincent van Gogh, photographed in 2017 by Nienke Bakker. Reproduced
with permission.
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Enclosed Field with Ploughman, 1889
Oil on canvas
This landscape belongs to a series of pictures based on the view from Van Gogh’s bedroom window in the asylum
in Saint-Rémy. The scene is much as the artist described it: “a field of yellow stubble which is being ploughed, the
opposition of the purplish ploughed earth with the strips of yellow stubble, background of hills.” The distant
windmills, however, were an addition from the artist’s imagination, perhaps a visualization of longing for his Dutch
homeland. He also omitted the stone wall enclosing the field. Van Gogh’s studio was on the opposite side of the
building from his bedroom, so there would necessarily be a distance between observation and the execution in
paint; however, the changes are more a matter of intention and inspiration than oversight.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Bequest of William A. Coolidge, 1993 1993.37
View from the artist’s bedroom window, Saint-Rémy. Photographed in June 2021 by Katie Hanson. Reproduced with
permission.
SECTION 7: ENDURING LEGACY
[QUOTE]:
“It was only in Arles that [Van Gogh] asserted himself with a truly personal, very pictorial technique.”
“We are exalted in front of the biblical harvests at twilight [...] we are saddened by the shadowy cypresses [...] we
dream under these groves of flowers [...] and, after these successive emotions, one reads in the eyes of his
portraits the confession of sad or shameful, good or sinister existences. Then we'll be on the way to understanding
Vincent and admiring him.”
— Émile Bernard, “Vincent van Gogh,” Les Hommes d’aujourd’hui, July 1891
Enduring Legacy
Van Gogh sent his paintings—including the Roulin portraits—to Theo in Paris, where they were seen and
appreciated during the artist’s lifetime. The writer Albert Aurier, who published the first critique dedicated to Van
Gogh’s art in the January 1890 issue of Mercure de France, specifically mentioned the portraits of Joseph and
Augustine Roulin, praising Van Gogh as part “of the sublime lineage of Frans Hals.” Though Van Gogh modestly
quibbled with some of Aurier’s assertions in his article, he did not dispute those regarding his portraiture and his
Dutch lineage.
Just a few months later, in July 1890, Vincent van Gogh ended his life. Theo van Gogh died six months later. Émile
Bernard published a moving tribute to Van Gogh in 1891 (quoted nearby) and organized a small exhibition of his
friend’s art in Paris the following year.
Most of Van Gogh’s paintings remained with Theo’s widow, Jo van Gogh-Bonger (1862–1925). She worked
diligently and strategically to place his work in exhibitions and collections to secure his legacy. Through his art, a
modest family in Arles was immortalized and so was the artist, just as he had hoped when he recognized that his
contribution to humanity would not be human offspring but creative ideas expressed on canvas.
*
[Floating quotations]:
My dear brother, you know that I came to the south and threw myself into work for a thousand reasons. To want to
see another light, [...] because one feels that the colors of the prism are veiled in mist in the north [...] and the fact
that occasionally I’ve also found friends and things that I love here.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 10 September 1889
A portrait is something almost useful and sometimes pleasant, like pieces of furniture one knows, they recall
memories for a long time.
Van Gogh to Willemien van Gogh, 19 February 1890
*
Unidentified photographer
Armand Roulin at the Age of 50, 1921
Gelatin silver print
Armand, the oldest child of Joseph and Augustine, worked as a blacksmith before enlisting in the French army in
1890. He subsequently served as a police officer in Tunis. Armand married twice but did not have any children. He
died in 1945.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
*
Unidentified photographer
Marcelle Roulin at the Age of 67, 1955
Gelatin silver print
Marcelle, the Roulins’ youngest surviving child, married in 1908, moved to Paris, and had a daughter named Rose-
Renée. They moved back to the south of France, where Marcelle died in 1980 at the age of ninety-one. As Marcelle
was the only one of her siblings to have a child and her daughter did not have children, there are no longer any
direct descendants of the Roulin family.
Notice the framed reproductions on the mantel featuring Marcelle’s parents in the MFA’s Postman and one of the La
Berceuse portraits.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
*
Unidentified photographer
Camille Roulin at the Age of 32, 1909
Gelatin silver print
Camille, the younger son, worked in France’s merchant navy before enlisting in the army. He worked for a time as a
bricklayer in Lambesc but was sent to the front during World War I. He was discharged on medical grounds in 1916
and died from tuberculosis in 1922.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
*
Unidentified photographer
Madame Roulin at the Age of 70, 1921
Gelatin silver print
After her husband’s death in 1903, Augustine Roulin lived with Marcelle until her daughter’s marriage in 1908. She
then stayed in Lambesc, in the house that Augustine and Joseph had inherited from her parents. Camille joined her
in that home in 1916; after he died in 1922, Augustine moved to Paris where she stayed with Marcelle until her
death in 1930.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
Unidentified photographer
Joseph Roulin at the Age of 60 or 61, 1902
Gelatin silver print
Joseph Roulin retired from the postal service in 1896, aged fifty-five. He received a modest pension and augmented
this income as a metalworker. In 1900, he sold the five family portraits by Van Gogh as well as two landscapes and
a still life the artist had given him to the Paris art dealer Ambroise Vollard for 450 francs. Roulin did not know the art
market and with deteriorating health and limited financial resources, he took the deal he was offered. It was a
bargain for Vollard, who might have expected to pay that amount for just one painting. (Ten years earlier, Van Gogh
sold a single landscape painting for 400 francs.) Roulin died in Marseille in 1903 at the age of sixty-two.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Marcelle Roulin, 1888
Oil on canvas
Van Gogh sent this painting to Theo in April 1889. Theo’s wife Jo, who was pregnant with their first and only child
(who would be named Vincent), was charmed by this little painting: “I like to imagine that ours will be as strong, as
healthy and as beautiful as that one—and that his uncle will consent to do his portrait one day!” (The artist did meet
his namesake but did not paint his portrait.)
Van Gogh painted Marcelle when she was just a few months old. He dedicated three canvases to her and two
others featuring the baby with her mother. When Marcelle died in 1980, she was one of the last living people who
had met the artist. The nearby photograph of Marcelle as an adult features reproductions of Van Gogh’s portraits of
her parents on the mantel.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
*
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
Self-Portrait, 1889
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
People say—and I’m quite willing to believe it—that it’s difficult to know oneself—but it’s not easy to paint oneself
either. Thus I’m working on two portraits of myself at the moment—for want of another model—because it’s more
than time that I did a bit of figure work. One I began the first day I got up, I was thin, pale as a devil. It’s dark violet
blue and the head whiteish with yellow hair, thus a color effect.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 5 or 6 September 1889
Van Gogh had been too ill to paint from mid-July until late August 1889. As he recovered, encouraging letters
arrived from family and friends, including Joseph Roulin. While Van Gogh was working on this self-portrait, he
reminisced in his letters about his enduring commitment to portraiture and the intense period of time when he
worked on the Roulin portraits. The immediacy of the lively brushwork in this self-portrait and the blue garment
against a blue background recall Van Gogh’s first portrait of Joseph Roulin painted a year prior. The painter felt a
certain kinship with the russet-haired postman, who “isn’t exactly old enough to be like a father to me.”
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney, 1998.74.5
Vincent van Gogh
Dutch (worked in France), 1853–1890
The Bedroom, 1889
Oil on canvas
[QUOTE]
It’s simply my bedroom, but the color has to do the job here, and through its being simplified by giving a grander
style to things, to be suggestive here of rest or of sleep in general. In short, looking at the painting should rest the
mind, or rather, the imagination. [...] The solidity of the furniture should also now express unshakeable repose.
Van Gogh to Theo van Gogh, 16 October 1888
Van Gogh took pride in the bedroom he decorated for himself within the beloved Yellow House. This is his second
painting of that space. Made a year after he moved in (by which point he no longer lived there), this work harkens
back to a happier time when he was focused on the Roulin portraits and the anticipated arrival of Gauguin. The
portraits hanging above the bed attest to the prominence of portraiture in his creative practice and his sense of self.
In the first version (shown on the right), the two portraits depict Van Gogh’s male friends, but here they are a (likely)
self-portrait and a painting of an unidentified woman, perhaps a longed-for companion.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection
Vincent van Gogh, The Bedroom, October 1888, oil on canvas. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh
Foundation)
Van Gogh Table of Voices
The exhibition’s content team wishes to thank our Table of Voices Cohort whose varied and thoughtful perspectives
helped to shape this project. Table of Voices is generously sponsored by the Linde Family Foundation.
Table of Voices Cohort
Anthony Febo
Reid Flynn
Stephanie May
Quandre McGhee
Marla McLeod
Genaro (Geo) Ortega
Heather Ross
Angela Soo Hoo
Emily Conwell, Table of Voices Manager
MFA Exhibition Content Team
Kat Bossi
Katie Hanson
Catherine Johnson-Roehr
Nick Pioggia
Sanah Rao
Eve Rosekind
George Scharoun
This exhibition also benefited from the participation of our co-curator Nienke Bakker and her colleagues at the Van
Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.
Exit Lobby
Please touch!
Van Gogh in 3D
In September 2023, MFA conservators began a collaboration with Canon EU and Canon North America to create a
sensory experience that allows visitors to encounter Van Gogh’s paintings in a new way. Paintings conservators
Lydia Vagts and Rachel Childers along with conservation scientists Richard Newman and Erin Mysak began an
intensive examination and technical study of La Berceuse in anticipation of this exhibition. The painting’s highly
textured surface was captured using photogrammetry. This technique consists of photographing the painting under
a series of dramatic light angles. The images are compiled into a 3-dimensional model of the surface, which can
then be reproduced using a 3D printer. Feel the impasto, its sharp peaks and rounded edges. Enjoy this unique
experience of feeling the thick brush strokes that continue to captivate viewers more than 135 years after Van Gogh
applied them to canvas.
We wish to thank MFA Objects Conservator Eve Mayberger, MFA Pathways Intern Parker Thompson, Clemens
Weijkamp at Canon EU, and Steve Toombs at Canon North America. Without their hard work and support, this 3D
print experience wouldn’t have been possible.
If you would like to see and feel more prints, and explore the new findings from the recent technical analysis, visit
the Robert and Carol Henderson Conservation Learning Center on the MFA’s third floor in the Linde Family Wing
(accessible by an elevator near Taste Café). You can also watch a video with the curator Katie Hanson and
conservator Lydia Vagts discussing La Berceuse, the MFA’s painting of Augustine Roulin.
*
Feel the linear dashed-on eyebrows and long brush strokes of chrome yellow as a skin tone. Van Gogh’s unique
choice of color and his painting technique led to the creation of this captivating portrait of 37-year-old Augustine
Roulin, who posed soon after giving birth to her daughter Marcelle.
One of the final design elements for the elaborate floral background was the dark blue oval around each orange dot.
Feel how these brushstrokes overlap the flower petals and vines.
Much to Van Gogh’s annoyance, the orange paint he used to create dots throughout the background was too dilute
and began dripping down the surface. Feel here how he both scraped the paint drips away and painted over them
with a lighter green. Some dots dripped upward, indicating Van Gogh turned the painting upside down at one point.
Here you can see Van Gogh’s use of geranium lake, a dye-based paint that gets its name from its rich, transparent
effect. Artists were aware of the fugitive quality of the lake colors, but that didn’t dissuade painters like Van Gogh
from using them. In this work, the entire upper layer of the red paint film developed a dark crust due to light
exposure, except a narrow strip along the right side that was protected by the frame.
Augustine’s hand carefully holds the rope that’s attached to her newborn baby’s crib, rocking it while she posed for
her portrait. Feel the sharp, linear lines that make up the highlights on her hand and the accidental smear of the
paint on her left sleeve.
The flower petals in the background of La Berceuse offer the richest impasto. In contrast, the centers of these
flowers reveal the primed canvas with the pattern of the weave peeking through.
Vincent van Gogh once wrote to his brother about the vibrant pink/reds in the flowers. While some of the red
survived (see top right flower), the flowers have faded significantly over time.
“Genìa Da Vinci,” by Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato, is published by Angelo Pontecorboli Editors with the support of the Richard Lounsbery Foundation and under the patronage of the Municipality of Vinci, as part of the “Leonardo DNA Project.”
VINCI. Italy — For over five centuries, Leonardo Da Vinci has been celebrated as a visionary artist, scientist, and inventor, known for his extraordinary talent and groundbreaking experiments. Today, an international collaboration known as the Leonardo DNA Project is closer than ever to uncovering the biological secrets of the greatest genius of the Renaissance.
In their new book “Genìa Da Vinci. Genealogy and Genetics for Leonardo’s DNA,” published by Angelo Pontecorboli Editore, experts Alessandro Vezzosi and Agnese Sabato of the Leonardo Da Vinci Heritage Association, Vinci, present findings from 30 years of genealogical research that have culminated in groundbreaking insights. Published with the support of the Municipality of Vinci, the book documents an elaborate family tree tracing back to 1331, spanning 21 generations and involving over 400 individuals. The work lays the groundwork for one of the most advanced historical-genetic investigations ever undertaken: the reconstruction of Leonardo’s genetic profile.
Through meticulous analysis of sources and archival documents — now published in the book — Vezzosi and Sabato successfully reconstructed branches of the family to which Leonardo belonged, including the identification of 15 direct male-line descendants related genealogically to both Leonardo’s father and to his half-brother, Domenico Benedetto.
This allowed David Caramelli, the Leonardo DNA Project’s coordinator for anthropological and molecular aspects, and Director of the Department of Biology at the University of Florence, along with forensic anthropologist Elena Pilli, to subject six of these descendants to DNA testing. Their analysis revealed that segments of the Y chromosome — used for individual identification — matched across these men, confirming the genetic continuity of the Da Vinci male line, at least since the 15th generation.
The authors also confirmed the existence of a Da Vinci family tomb in the Church of Santa Croce in Vinci, currently under archaeological excavation in collaboration with the University of Florence. This may be the burial site of Leonardo’s grandfather Antonio, uncle Francesco, and several half-brothers — Antonio, Pandolfo, and Giovanni.
The excavation leaders, University of Florence anthropologists Alessandro Riga and Luca Bachechi, recovered bone fragments, some of which have been radiocarbon dated. One specimen, consistent in age with Leonardo’s presumed relatives, has undergone paleogenomic analysis. Preliminary results from Caramelli and molecular anthropologist Martina Lari indicate the individual was male.
"Further detailed analyses are necessary to determine whether the DNA extracted is sufficiently preserved,” says Caramelli, who is also President of the University Museum System. “Based on the results, we can proceed with analysis of Y chromosome fragments for comparison with current descendants.”
If the Y chromosome of the living descendants is also found in the older remains in the Vinci church tombs, it would support the accuracy of paternity records, the historical reconstruction of the lineage established through death registers, and would allow for a more in-depth examination of the biological material attributed to Leonardo, as well as traces left on his original manuscripts or other works, potentially leading to the reconstruction of his DNA.
Launched in 2016 and coordinated from The Rockefeller University, New York, the Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project involves the J. Craig Venter Institute of California, the University of Florence and other institutions, with support from the Achelis and Bodman Foundation (New York), the Richard Lounsbery Foundation (Washington, D.C.), and other public and private partners.
The team’s scientific starting point was a hypothesis as simple as it is crucial: to trace the Y chromosome, which is passed unchanged from father to son.
“Our goal in reconstructing the Da Vinci family’s lineage up to the present day, while also preserving and valuing the places connected to Leonardo, is to enable scientific research on his DNA,” says Vezzosi. “Through the recovery of Leonardo’s DNA, we hope to understand the biological roots of his extraordinary visual acuity, creativity, and possibly even aspects of his health and causes of death.”
”Even a tiny fingerprint on a page could contain cells to sequence,” says Jesse H. Ausubel of The Rockefeller University and director of the project. “21st-century biology is moving the boundary between the unknowable and the unknown. Soon we may gain information about Leonardo and other historical figures once believed lost forever.”
Surprising revelations
The book’s revelations extend beyond genetics. In 21 chapters, it takes readers on a rigorous and fascinating journey through genealogy, history, and geography to rediscover the environment that shaped Leonardo.
Through analysis of ancient land registries, the authors identified seven Da Vinci family homes in Vinci’s village and castle, as well as two properties owned by Leonardo himself, inherited from his uncle Francesco and contested in a long dispute with his half-brothers.
The authors devote special focus to two key figures in Leonardo's life: His paternal grandfather Antonio — not merely a farmer but a merchant who traveled between Catalan Spain and Morocco — and Leonardo’s mother, Caterina. Through careful examination of existing research, sources, and archives, a clearer, non-romanticized picture of Caterina emerges. Increasingly plausible is her identification as a slave in the service of wealthy banker Vanni di Niccolò di ser Vanni. A series of wills and donation records from 1449 onward document the relationship between Vanni and his executor, the young notary ser Piero, Leonardo's father.
A “Unicorn Dragon” ... by Leonardo?
Among the most intriguing revelations: The authors publish for the first time a study hypothesizing that a mysterious charcoal drawing of rare expressive intensity may be attributed to Leonardo. It was discovered on the fireplace mantle of an old building in Vinci (formerly the Bracci house), now owned by the Municipality.
The fantastical creature features several striking iconographic elements, though worn by time: A spiral horn on the head, elongated snout and curved beak, hooked teeth, flaming tongue, clawed limbs, pointed ears, pronounced scales on the back and neck, and a fan-like membranous wing with fingered extensions — anticipating Leonardo’s later studies of bird and bat flight — along with a serpentine tail.
Due to these features, Vezzosi and Sabato have named the work “Unicorn Dragon.” Particularly compelling is a comparison with a detail from Windsor sheet RL 12370, dated to the 1470s.
The attribution hypothesis is currently supported by Roberta Barsanti, Director of the Leonardian Museum and Library, and by Vinci’s Mayor, Daniele Vanni. The Municipality has planned scientific analysis and restoration of the large drawing (about 80x70 cm), under the supervision of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the Metropolitan City of Florence and the provinces of Pistoia and Prato.
Leonardo: Epigenetics Pioneer?
The book suggests that Leonardo may have intuited concepts we now call “epigenetic.” In his writings on heredity, he reflects on the influence of diet, blood, and parental behavior on offspring — observations still relevant today.
“Leonardo questioned the origins of human life not only biologically: in his studies on generation, conception becomes a complex act where nature, emotion, and fate intertwine — anticipating themes now central to the genetics–epigenetics debate,” explains Agnese Sabato.
Towards a genetic portrait
The final chapter explores evocative similarities between some current descendants and Leonardo’s famed self-portrait, offered as a reflection. Nonetheless, the project’s scientific ambitions remain paramount. If enough DNA fragments can be sequenced, researchers could reveal new insights into Leonardo’s genetic heritage, physical traits, and perhaps even vulnerabilities that shaped his life and work.
“This is not just about the author of the world’s most famous painting,” concludes Ausubel. “It’s a challenge to redefine the limits of historical knowledge and cultural heritage.”
Reconstructing Leonardo’s genetic profile represents a milestone of international significance — for both science and the valourization of historical identity.
For the small Tuscan town of Vinci, which once welcomed a very special illegitimate child named Leonardo, the echo of his “genetic voice” across the centuries is now a source of deep pride and renewed wonder.
The historical research will also support an upcoming documentary and an international film production.
The book’s premiere presentation is scheduled for May 22, 2025, at the Vinci Theater.
And one thing is increasingly clear: our understanding of Leonardo Da Vinci is far from complete.
Key Points:
Leonardo da Vinci DNA Project: The first scientific project aimed at reconstructing Leonardo’s genome, through indirect and comparative biological sources
Art meets genetics: DNA found on manuscripts or drawings could confirm artwork authenticity, and techniques developed through the project could revolutionize how contested works are verified
Forensic analysis: Leonardo’s genetic profile could reveal biological traits like left-handedness, visual perception, diet, possible health predispositions, and physical appearance
21 documented generations: The reconstructed family tree has been updated from 1331 to the present, including the documentation of extinct family lines
Rediscovered heritage: Over 400 individuals analyzed, including 219 Da Vinci/Vinci (119 males and 100 females)
15 male descendants identified belonging to the direct patrilineal line, crucial for the study of the Y chromosome
Y chromosome: 6 direct male-line descendants successfully involved in comparative DNA analyses
The “Unicorn Dragon”: The hypothesis that a large drawing in Leonardo’s hometown may be attributed to him
Archaeological excavation in Vinci: First effort to identify remains in a Da Vinci family tomb documented in the Church of Santa Croce
Digital Archive “GenìaDaVinci”: A genealogical and documentary database for scholars, genealogists, and enthusiasts, based on traceability and historical verification criteria
Residences of Leonardo’s family: A new map of Da Vinci homes in Vinci village and countryside, including two of Leonardo’s own properties
Maternal mystery: A historically updated reconstruction of the hypotheses about Leonardo’s mother’s identity
In an exclusive showing in Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is bringing to light the story of Berthe Weill: a nearly forgotten figure of Modern art who played a seminal role in the development of Avant-garde movements in France in the first half of the 20th century.
A trailblazing female art dealer, Berthe Weill (1865-1951) was the first to sell Pablo Picasso’s work and to exhibit Henri Matisse. She was also the only dealer to organize a solo show for Amedeo Modigliani during his lifetime. Passionate, outspoken and visionary, Weill unwaveringly supported fledgling artists, many of whom went on to become icons of Modernism.
Comprising over 100 works and archival documents, Berthe Weill, Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-garde features exceptional paintings and sculptures by major figures of Modern art ranging from Pablo Picasso to Suzanne Valadon. It is the first large-scale exhibition dedicated to the career and artistic vision of Berthe Weill.
Weill opened her Paris gallery in 1901 in the bustling neighbourhood of Montmartre. She was the first woman to show the work of young artists and the only one to specialize in emerging talent. Her efforts led to the discovery of some of the biggest names we know today. She exhibited works by Pablo Picasso, Aristide Maillol, Henri Matisse, André Derain, Raoul Dufy, Maurice de Vlaminck, Robert Delaunay, Diego Rivera, Amedeo Modigliani, and Marc Chagall, among others, before they had made a name for themselves. She also strove to foster the recognition of women artists, like Émilie Charmy, Hermine David, Alice Halicka, Jacqueline Marval, and Suzanne Valadon. With unflagging enthusiasm and biting humour, the one whom artists affectionately called la petite mère Weill persevered in supporting young artists throughout the nearly four decades of the Galerie B. Weill’s existence (1901-1941).
The exhibition examines Weill’s overlooked contribution to the history of Modernism, highlighting the remarkable achievements of this indomitable businesswoman who overcame sexism and anti-Semitism to preserve her freedom and autonomy.
Organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Grey Art Museum, New York University, and the Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris, the exhibition boasts exceptional loans from major European and North American museums, some of which will be shown exclusively at the Montreal presentation. It brings together over 100 works by 55 artists, consisting mainly of paintings, but also of sculptures, drawing and prints.
It also features works from the MMFA’s collection, including two strikingly modern portraits of Berthe Weill that were recently acquired: one by Émilie Charmy and the other by Édouard Goerg. A selection of archival documents, such as invitations, exhibition catalogues, photographs, and letters, underscore Galerie B. Weill’s importance and provide further insight into this artistically prolific period.
“We are thrilled to introduce Quebec and Canadian audiences to the first art dealer to devote her gallery exclusively to the promotion of emerging artists, and to celebrate her profound influence on the history of art. Conceived in collaboration with the Grey Art Museum in New York City and the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, this exhibition offers a rare chance to delve into the life and legacy of this bold, and visionary woman who discovered some of the greatest artists of her time – including many women. Works by leading figures of the 20th century avant-garde, several of which are on exclusive view in Montreal, shed new light on the lasting impact of this extraordinary trailblazer,” says Mary‑Dailey Desmarais, Zhao-Ionescu Chief Curator of the MMFA.
“Of modest beginnings, Berthe Weill showed a selfless commitment to supporting emerging artists. She introduced the world to some of the greatest names in art in the 20th century, and championed many others whose works merit being better known today. At a time when we are working to bring women out of the margins of history, this exhibition offers a unique opportunity to see the extraordinary art that passed through Weill’s Parisian gallery while bringing to light her fascinating story,” says Anne Grace, Curator of Modern Art at the MMFA and co-curator of the exhibition.
“This exhibition marks the culmination of 15 years of research. At long last, Berthe Weill is receiving her due – a vindication made possible through a striking selection of works that once passed through her hands. These pieces restore her rightful place among the world’s great art dealers after half a century of her languishing in obscurity. Beyond acknowledging her pivotal role during the heights of the Modernist era, it is also an act of justice to recognize that her discerning eye and unwavering dedication helped shift the artistic sensibilities of her time. Her life stands as a powerful example of resilience and independence – an enduring source of inspiration,” adds Marianne Le Morvan, guest curator and founder of the Berthe Weill Archives.
Curatorial team
Anne Grace, Curator of
Modern Art, at the MMFA;
Marianne Le Morvan, guest curator and founder of the Berthe Weill Archives; Lynn Gumpert, Director of the Grey Art Museum, New York University, from 1997 to 2025; and Sophie Eloy, Attache to the Collection at the Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris.
Exhibition design
Carolina Bassani,
Projet Manager –
Exhibition Design, MMFA
Publication
Berthe Weill: Art Dealer of the Parisian Avant-Garde
Author Lynn Gumpert and Marianne Le Morvan and Anne Grace and Stéphane Aquin and Claire Bernardi and Robert Parker and Charles Dellheim and Sophie Eloy and Kirsten Pai Buick and Ambre Gauthier
This book offers a rich introduction to the life and work of art dealer Berthe Weill—the risk-taking, rule-breaking facilitator of the modernist art movement in Paris.
This book and the accompanying traveling exhibition survey the groundbreaking career of Berthe Weill (1865–1951), the first female modern art dealer. She championed many fledgling masters of modern art from early in their careers—including Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Amedeo Modigliani—as well as numerous other talented artists. Examining Weill’s contributions to the history of modernism as a gallerist, a passionate advocate of contemporary art, and a Jew, this book brings to light the remarkable achievements of a singular figure who overcame sexism and anti-Semitism in her quest to promote emerging artists.
The exhibition, co-organized by New York University’s Grey Art Museum, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the Musée de l’Orangerie, features some eighty artworks that were originally displayed at her gallery during the first four decades of the twentieth century.
About The Author
Lynn Gumpert is director of New York University’s Grey Art Museum. Marianne Le Morvan is director and founder of the Berthe Weill archives. Anne Grace is curator of modern art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Stéphane Aquin is director of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Claire Bernardi is director of the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris. Robert Parker is an independent art scholar. Charles Dellheim, professor of history and Jewish studies at Boston University, is author of Belonging and Betrayal: How Jews Made the Art World Modern. Sophie Eloy is assistant director of the Musée de la Vie Romantique in Paris. Kirsten Pai Buick is director of Africana studies at the University of New Mexico. Ambre Gauthier is an art historian and independent curator.
The New Mexico Museum of Art is proud to presentMarsden Hartley: Adventurer in the Arts, a groundbreaking exhibition celebrating the life and work of Marsden Hartley (1877–1943). Known as the “painter of Maine,” Hartley was a pioneering figure in American modernism whose travels and personal mementos profoundly shaped his artistic vision.
Opening April 5, 2025, the exhibition, developed by the Vilcek Foundation in collaboration with the Bates College Museum of Art, features more than 40 paintings and drawings spanning 36 years of Hartley’s career, alongside personal artifacts that reveal his lifelong wanderlust and artistic vision. Highlights include Schiff (1915), a seminal work from Hartley’s time in Germany, which will be shown in the United States for only the second time. Artworks from the Vilcek and Bates collections are complemented by three important paintings from the New Mexico Museum of Art collection.
Marsden Hartley, Schiff, 1915, oil on canvas with painted frame, 39 ¾ x 31 7/8 in. Framed: 52 x 44 3/8 x 3 in. The Jan T. and Marica Vilcek Collection, Promised gift to The Vilcek Foundation, 2015.05.01
“This exhibition offers an intimate glimpse into Hartley’s artistic journey, showcasing not only his remarkable paintings but also the keepsakes and memories that shaped his life,” said NMMOA Executive Director Dr. Mark White. “Through his art and his mementos, we see a man constantly searching for inspiration, rooted in a profound connection to the places he called home.”
Marsden Hartley, Still Life, 1922, oil on canvas, 27 ½ x 21 ½ in. Collection of the New Mexico Museum of Art. Bequest of the Rebecca Salsbury James Estate, 1968 (2286.23P). Photo by Cameron Gay.
In addition to Hartley’s iconic works, visitors will discover personal objects—including postcards, pressed flowers, and photographs—that reveal the depth of his connection to the places he traveled. These objects, shown alongside his paintings, provide a deeper understanding of Hartley’s creative process and the role of place in shaping his art.
Marsden Hartley: Adventurer in the Arts is a must-see exhibition for art lovers, history enthusiasts, and anyone drawn to the intersection of travel and creativity.
About The New Mexico Museum of Art
The New Mexico Museum of Art is a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs. Programs and exhibits are supported by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation and its donors. The mission of the Museum of Art is to create authentic experiences that foster a deeper understanding and enjoyment of art throughout our state. With a collection of more than 20,000 pieces of work, the museum brings the art of the world to New Mexico and the art of New Mexico to the world.
The Vilcek Foundation was established in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, immigrants from the former Czechoslovakia. The mission of the foundation—to honor immigrant contributions to the United States and, more broadly, to foster appreciation of the arts and sciences—was inspired by the couple’s respective careers in biomedical science and art history. The foundation awards annual prizes to immigrant biomedical scientists and artists, sponsors cultural programs, and manages the Vilcek Foundation Art Collections.
The Marsden Hartley Memorial Collection at Bates College Museum of Art holds over 100 drawings, several paintings, and an incredible array of Hartley’s possessions, including objects from his studio, books, souvenirs, cultural objects from his travels, and other memorabilia. The extensive collection also features 160 books from Hartley’s library, original manuscripts of poems, photographs from throughout his life, and postcards from his travels. Bates College Museum of Art is also home to The Marsden Hartley Legacy Project: The Complete Paintings and Works on Paper.
Pablo Picasso, Woman seated in an armchair (Femme assise dans un fauteuil), 1939, installation view, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2025
Paul Cézanne, Portrait of Madame Cézanne, c 1885, installation view, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, 2025
Modernist masterpieces are now on display in the National Gallery of Australia’s major new exhibition –Cézanne to Giacometti: highlights from Museum Berggruen / Neue Nationalgalerie.
Exclusive to Kamberri/Canberra, this landmark exhibition showcases works by some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, including Paul Cézanne, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Paul Klee and Alberto Giacometti. Curated in partnership with Berlin’s Museum Berggruen, the works are presented alongside Australia’s national collection to examine how the revolutionary ideas of modern art spread and inspired developments in both European and Australian modernism.
Cézanne to Giacometti is on display from 31 May to 21 September 2025 and marks the first time works of art from this renowned German collection will be shown in Australia. Bringing together over 80 works from the Museum Berggruen collection with over 75 works from the National Gallery’s collection, the exhibition offers local audiences a rare opportunity to experience masterpieces that shaped the course of modern art – from here and abroad.
The exhibition begins with the revolutionary ideas of Cézanne, whose experiments with perspective, colour and form broke tradition and influenced generations of artists. His legacy is reflected in the work of Picasso, Matisse, Klee and others who pushed the boundaries of artistic expression in the 20th century. While many of these artists worked in Paris, their ideas spread globally and transformed Australian art in parallel.
Cézanne to Giacometti brings these global connections to life, presenting a genealogy of artists who have influenced one another across time, highlighting Australian art's connections to, and encounters with, the European avant-garde. Through an expansive exhibition experience, audiences will have the opportunity to explore artistic revolutions in perspective, colour, subject matter and materials that occurred over a 100-year period in Europe and Australia.
Fostered by Nicolas Berggruen, the son of Heinz Berggruen, during his visit to the National Gallery in 2023, this remarkable partnership with Museum Berggruen places works from their prestigious collection in dialogue with Australia’s national collection.
Nicolas Berggruen: ‘As the Berggruen Museum collection journeys around the world, its stop at the exceptional National Gallery of Australia is a tribute to the enduring inspiration of Europe’s great modern masters. We’re honoured to bring these works into dialogue with the National Gallery’s remarkable collection and the vibrant cultural landscape of Australia.’
Dr Nick Mitzevich, Director, National Gallery: ‘The Cézanne to Giacometti exhibition exemplifies the power of international collaboration. The exhibition highlights the connections between European and Australian art history, telling an expansive story of art in the modern era. While the physical distance between Europe and Australia is great, the personal and artistic connections between artists of both continents bridges this distance. I thank Nicolas Berggruen and the Museum Berggruen staff for entrusting your collection with the National Gallery of Australia. I am so grateful for such a fulsome collaboration to bring our two institutions together. We look forward to the inspiration and insights this exhibition will bring to our audiences.’
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated publication that explores the relationships between the two collections and the broader history of modernism. A vibrant program of public programs and digital experiences includes an audio tour narrated by Australian writer Bri Lee, a short exhibition film and an interactive play space designed by Gadigal Nura/Sydney-based contemporary artist Dr Sanné Mestrom.
This unique opportunity to bring one of Europe’s foremost collections of modern art to Australia is testament to the generosity of Museum Berggruen and the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, Germany, and the members of the Berggruen family. The collection was assembled by prominent art dealer Heinz Berggruen (1914–2007), who, after fleeing Germany ahead of the Second World War, lived in Paris for more than 50 years and formed close relationships with boundary-pushing artists. After returning to Berlin late in life, he sold the majority of his collection to the German government, ensuring its preservation and public access.
Klaus Biesenbach, Director, Neue Nationalgalerie—Stiftung, Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin: ‘As you explore Cézanne to Giacometti, I encourage you to engage with each artwork not just as an isolated piece but as part of a larger conversation — a dialogue that spans continents and generations.’
Exhibition organised in partnership with Berlin’s Museum Berggruen / Neue Nationalgalerie.
National Gallery Curators: David Greenhalgh, Curator, International Art, Deirdre Cannon, Assistant Curator, Australian Art and Simeran Maxwell, Associate Curator, Australian Art
FEATURED ARTISTS From the Museum Berggruen collection: Paul Cézanne, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse, Alberto Giacometti From the National Gallery of Australia collection: Russell Drysdale, Ian Fairweather, Grace Cossington Smith, George Bell, Lina Bryans, John Passmore, Dorrit Black, Grace Crowley, Roy de Maistre, Roland Wakelin, Paul Haefliger, Eric Wilson, Anne Dangar, Dora Maar, Ludwig Hirschfeld Mack, Normana Wight, Clement Meadmore, Inge King, Marcella Hempel, André Derain, John Russell, Pierre Bonnard, Rosemary Madigan, Auguste Rodin, Emile Bourdelle, Bea Maddock, Charles Blackman Private loans: Dora Maar, Georges Braque
ABOUT MUSEUM BERGGRUEN One of the most significant hubs of modern art in Germany and featuring one of the most significant collections of works by Pablo Picasso worldwide, the Museum Berggruen collection originates from the prominent gallerist and passionate collector Heinz Berggruen (1914–2007). Berggruen was born and raised in Berlin and spent more than half a century living in Paris, where he connected with artists of the time and built a truly unique collection of modern art. Featuring key works by Paul Cézanne, Paul Klee, Henri Matisse and Alberto Giacometti, Heinz Berggruen’s collection was acquired by the German state in 2000, and now forms an ideal and natural complement to the collection of modern art held at its mother institution the Neue Nationalgalerie. Currently closed to the public for major building renovations, the Museum Berggruen has been touring their collection since 2022. The exhibition at the National Gallery follows the recent success of Heinz Berggruen: a dealer and his collection at the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, which resulted in the third highest attendance to an exhibition in the history of the institution.
Paul Cézanne, L'Après-midi à Naples [Afternoon in Naples], c.1875, National Gallery of Australia, Kamberri/Canberra, purchased 1985
Unidentified artist, Venice. Pietro Mocenigo, Capitano Generale da Mar, 17th century. Oil on canvas; 41 1/4 x 86 5/8 in. Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia—Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo, Mocenigo 146
The Frist Art Museum presents Venice and the Ottoman Empire, an exhibition that explores the artistic and cultural exchange between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire over four centuries. Organized by the Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia and The Museum Box, the exhibition will be on view in the Frist’s Ingram Gallery from May 31 through September 1, 2025.
This ambitious cross-cultural exhibition examines the complex links between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire from 1400 to 1800 in artistic, culinary, diplomatic, economic, political, and technological spheres. “The relationship between Venice and the Ottomans represents a fascinating and multifaceted chapter in the history of Mediterranean geopolitics, one marked by a blend of cooperation and conflict, handshake- and arms-length approaches, diplomacy and back-stabbing, understanding and misunderstanding,” writes exhibition curator Stefano Carboni in the exhibition catalogue.
Featuring a richly diverse selection of more than 150 works of art in a broad range of media, including ceramics, glass, metalwork, paintings, prints, and textiles, the exhibition draws from the vast collections of seven of Venice’s renowned museums. The creative contributions of well-known Venetian artists such as Gentile Bellini, Vittore Carpaccio, and Cesare Vecellio are showcased alongside works created by the best anonymous craftspeople both in Venice and the Ottoman Empire. The Venetian loans are joined by a trove of recently salvaged objects from a major 16th-century Adriatic shipwreck of a large Venetian merchant vessel that have never been exhibited outside Croatia. A gallery dedicated to Mariano Fortuny’s Venetian- and Ottoman-inspired fashions and decorative arts created in the early 20th century brings the exhibition to a spectacular conclusion.
“Venice stood at the crossroads of a vast trade network connecting Africa, Asia, and Europe,” writes Frist Art Museum Curator at Large Trinita Kennedy. “To maintain its status as an international emporium, with markets full of ceramics, metalwork, spices, textiles, and other goods, Venice acquired overseas territories to its east and cultivated close ties with the Ottomans, whose empire became the wealthiest and most powerful in the Eastern Mediterranean after their conquest of Constantinople in 1453 and widespread expansion in the 16th century.”
Organized thematically, the exhibition begins with an overview of diplomacy and trade during the period illustrated through portraits of powerful Venetian and Ottoman leaders including doges, sultans, and ambassadors. On display are nautical maps as well as a printed manual that illustrates how merchants who spoke different languages conducted business using hand gestures. Despite diplomatic efforts, relations were not always harmonious. Between 1400 and 1800, the two powers fought seven major wars, with the Venetians gradually losing almost all their overseas territories to the Ottomans.
The exhibition, however, emphasizes that during periods of peace, the two powers forged a close relationship and shared aesthetic tastes. “Venetians and Ottomans admired and sought one another’s luxury goods and gave them to each other as gifts,” writes Kennedy. “Ottoman sultans liked Murano glass and portraits of themselves by Venetian artists, while Venetian women wore Ottoman clogs and perfumed their homes with incense burners imported from Ottoman regions.”
The next two sections are dedicated to decorative arts and textiles, which figured prominently in commercial exchanges and the interior design of Venetian homes. Extravagant Ottoman velvets and brocaded silks were synonymous with status and survive in Venetian museums today. The Ottomans were just as enthusiastic about Venetian textiles. “Both cultures favored red and gold and bold designs with carnation, pomegranate, and tulip motifs,” writes Kennedy. “Their textiles are so similar that sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether a textile was made in Venice or Bursa, the Ottomans’ principal textile center.”
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A section dedicated to the spice trade traces how Venetian merchants sailed to Ottoman-controlled ports in Africa and Asia to purchase goods and then sold them in markets back home to merchants from elsewhere in Western Europe. In addition to spices such as cardamom, nutmeg, pepper, and saffron, Venetians depended on trade with Ottomans for coffee, figs, pistachios, raisins, salted sturgeon, sugar, vinegar, and, most importantly, wheat. Through a video featuring two Nashville chefs, a take-home recipe card, a display of spices, and scent devices with fragrant aromas, guests will learn about Venetians’ and Ottomans’ shared culinary culture.
Ship building, sailing, and a storied shipwreck are the focus of the next two sections. One of the highlights of the exhibition is a large group of objects recovered from a shipwreck that illustrates the opportunities and perils of seafaring in this age. They come from the Gagliana Grossa, a fully loaded Venetian ship that sank in 1583 in the waters off the Dalmatian coast of modern-day Croatia while traveling to Constantinople. The ship’s diverse cargo offers evidence of the types of goods Venetians traded in the Eastern Mediterranean. “The Venetian Senate sent a Greek diver to salvage diamonds, emeralds, pearls, and some luxury textiles onboard, but the rest of the goods remained on the seabed until the site was rediscovered in the 1960s,” explains Kennedy. “Excavations are ongoing, and this exhibition presents some of the most recently found objects.”
Works in the penultimate section center the revered Venetian naval commander and doge Francesco Morosini (1619–1694), who played a major role in Venice’s interactions with the Ottoman Empire in the seventeenth century and amassed a large collection of art taken from his campaigns as well as acquired from the Venetian art market. The exhibition concludes with an enchanting gallery devoted to the exquisite creations of Mariano Fortuny (1871–1949)—the Spanish artist, designer, and inventor who lived and worked for most of his life in a Gothic palace in Venice creating sumptuous textiles with new printing techniques that recalled the bygone era of Venice and the Ottoman Empire.
Image Credits
1. Vittore Carpaccio. Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan, 1501–5. Tempera and oil on panel; 26 1/2 x 20 1/8 in. Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia—Museo Correr, Cl. I n. 0043
2. School of Paolo Veronese, Venice. Portrait of Mehmed I, second half of the 17th century. Oil on canvas; 26 x 19 1/4 in. Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia—Museo Correr, Cl. I n. 0856
3. Ottoman Turkish artisanship. Bath clogs, 17th century. Wood inlaid with mother-of-pearl, studded leather; 2 3/4 x 9 1/8 in. Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia—Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo, Cl. XXIV n. 0119
Exhibition Catalogue
The accompanying catalogue, Venice and the Ottoman Empire: A Tale of Art, Culture, and Exchange, offers freshly reviewed and new perspectives on the intricate artistic relationship that existed between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Published by Rizzoli Electa and edited by exhibition curator Stefano Carboni, the fully illustrated hardcover volume features newly researched essays by esteemed international scholars, including the Frist Art Museum’s Curator at Large Trinita Kennedy, on topics such as trade routes, the involvement of international communities in Venice, diplomatic interactions, and military power dynamics.
A pie on a pewter plate, a partially peeled lemon and overturned silver spoon on a pewter plate, crayfish and shrimp in a Wanli bowl, fruit, a walnut and an oyster on a pewter plate, a basket of fruit, a fluted glass, a silver-gilt cup, a roemer, an overturned silver tazza on a strong box, a silver ewer and a bread roll all on a partially draped table with a curtain beyond
Roses and other flowers in a terracotta vase with a bird’s nest on a marble ledge; and Fruit, roses and peonies in a basket with hazelnuts on a marble ledge
A cottage interior with an old woman ('Rembrandt's Mother') delousing a boy's hair
A cottage interior with an old woman ('Rembrandt's Mother') delousing a boy's hair exemplifies the seductively refined pictorial language and remarkable technique that made Gerrit Dou, like his master Rembrandt, one of the most successful Dutch artists of the seventeenth century. Celebrated for his painstakingly executed works, he enjoyed the favour of artists and connoisseurs alike, within his lifetime and in the centuries that followed..
Showing late Turner at the height of his powers as a watercolourist Lake Brienz, with the Setting Moon is a mesmerizingly peaceful Swiss view, from the 1840s (estimate: £600,000-800,000). Paving the way for the Impressionists, this work shows Turner focusing on the effects of changing light. EstimateGBP 600,000 - 800,000
CaixaForum Barcelona inaugurates the exhibition Rubens and the Flemish Baroque Artists, featuring 62 works from the collections of the Museo Nacional del Prado. The exhibition showcases the creative force of the foremost exponent of the Flemish Baroque in dialogue with other prominent artists of his time, such as Van Dyck, Jordaens and Brueghel. Structured into nine thematic areas, the exhibition features a parallel universe of activities to enrich the offering.
The director of CaixaForum Barcelona, Mireia Domingo; the director of the Museo Nacional del Prado, Miguel Falomir; and the curator of the exhibition and conservator at the Flemish Painting and Northern Schools Conservation Area of the Museo Nacional del Prado, José Juan Pérez Preciado, have this Wednesday presented the unprecedented exhibition Rubens and the Flemish Baroque Artists. Collections of the Museo del Prado.
This is the sixth exhibition jointly organised by the ”la Caixa” Foundation and the Museo Nacional del Prado to be held at CaixaForum Barcelona, following Goya: Lights and Shadows (2012); Captive Beauty: Small Treasures from the Prado Museum (2014); Velázquez and the Golden Age (2018–2019); Art and Myth: The Gods of the Prado (2018–2023); and The Nineteenth Century: The Age of Portraiture. The Prado Museum Collections. From the Enlightenment to Modernity (2023–2024). Both institutions have maintained a strategic alliance since 2011 to bring part of the rich artistic heritage safeguarded by the Museo Nacional del Prado closer to the public.
The exhibition, which can be visited until 21 September at CaixaForum Barcelona, features a sober and elegant staging, and is divided into an introduction and nine thematic, non-chronological sections:
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), regarded as a pivotal figure in art history, was already celebrated in his own time as one of the most powerful artistic creators in history. A central figure with numerous followers, he was instrumental in the development of Flemish Baroque. Rubens transcended his role as an artist; he was a scholar and a profound connoisseur of antiquity, especially Stoic philosophy. He was also an eloquent speaker and a polyglot, qualities that opened the doors of European royal courts to him, leading to invitations from various courts throughout his life.
Artistically, Rubens is renowned for his impassioned compositions, characterised by an almost violent dynamism and a profoundly sensual expressiveness – hallmarks that became fundamental to Baroque aesthetics. His immense output and compelling personality propelled the renewal of artistic creation in 17th-century Flanders. Inspired by his spirit, various local artists either followed in Rubens’ creative footsteps or developed parallel artistic identities, as reflected in this exhibition. Thus, Flemish Baroque represents one of the most evocative and visually captivating periods in Western culture.
The exhibition underscores these principles through the rich collections of the Museo Nacional del Prado.On display are not only some of the most spectacular paintings by this artist and other prominent painters, such as Anthony van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, Jan Brueghel the Elderand David Teniers, which typically adorn the museum’s walls, but also an extensive array of prints, drawings, ivories, silver objects and books from its lesser-known holdings, providing a comprehensive view of the excellence achieved by Flemish Baroque creativity.
These works illustrate the intense intellectual and aesthetic weight that marked the output of Rubens and his Flemish contemporaries, which today, 400 years later, continues to captivate and fascinate, both for the spectacular nature of their art and for the subtlety of the ideas they convey.
A scenographic recreation of an artist’s workshop –reminiscent of the one overseen by Rubens, complete with easels, ornate chairs, frames and other working materials– welcomes visitors to the exhibition, immersing them in the atmosphere of a Flemish Baroque artistic workspace.
As an introductory feature, visitors will encounter an engraving of Rubens in which he portrays himself as a distinguished nobleman, a piece that has been specially restored for the occasion.
The first section, “Impassioned Creation", showcases Rubens as an extraordinarily multifaceted artist. Painter, scholar, courtier, diplomat and collector, his cosmopolitan nature and extensive cultural knowledge, combined with his profound and vibrant approach to life and art, were exceptionally rare among artists in the Low Countries at that time.
The spectacular nature of Rubens’ pictorial compositions was a reflection of an exalted creative drive that led him to study and copy works by earlier artists, from antiquity, the Renaissance and the local Flemish tradition. He would sometimes modify these works, as if aiming to perfect them, introducing paradigmatic images of a grand artistic past to the north. Moreover, as a great admirer of classical culture, the artist incorporated sculptural pieces from the past into his paintings. Among these, the Mannerist The Last Supper by Maarten van Heemskerck stands out, which Rubens himself retouched with white highlights to impart different tonalities.
He was a remarkable draughtsman who designed tapestries, architectural works, book covers and ephemeral decorations for public ceremonies, always with a scholarly spirit and great imaginative and artistic capacity. His passion for creation led him to collect all kinds of pieces –from paintings and sculptures to books and luxury objects– which he treasured in a spectacular house-studio in Antwerp.
Notably, the painting The Death of Seneca, executed by Rubens and his workshop, depicts the philosopher committing suicide while his disciples take his final notes. The painting, inspired by the face of an ancient sculpture representing a fisherman, demonstrates the artist’s interest in revisiting the past.
During his journey to Italy, Rubens studied the great masters of the Renaissance, such as Raphael, Titian and Leonardo da Vinci. In fact, he also drew The Battle of Anghiari, to which Da Vinci dedicated a fresco in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, now lost. Thanks to Rubens’ interest in the past, we can now see that fresco by the Renaissance master.
Visitors can also see some of the numerous covers he made for various publications. An example is the cover of Opera quae extant. Chronicon et adversaria…, which Rubens drew and the engraver Cornelis Galle the Younger completed. It is also possible to see tapestries, as revealed by the sketch in the work that would represent Achilles Discovered among the Daughters of Lycomedes, a sketch that hints at the moral often hidden in his paintings about classical mythology.
Divine passions: classical mythology in Flemish Baroque
In the second section, “Divine Passions”, the exhibition delves into themes characteristic of Flemish Baroque painting, with a particular emphasis on classical mythology. A highlight of this section is Rubens’ painting The Judgement of Paris, one of the most remarkable and significant works in the exhibition, which has been specially restored for the occasion. In fact, at this link you can read a report on the work's arrival, as well as download images of the unpacking process.
Created in the later period of Rubens’ career, the painting reflects his deep interest in antiquity, classical myths, the study of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and the depiction of sensuality. In this large-scale composition, the Trojan prince Paris is tasked with choosing one of three goddesses, each offering him a different reward: love, wisdom or power. Paris selects Venus, the embodiment of love, thereby setting in motion the events leading to the Trojan War.
Another painting featured in this section is Diana and Her Nymphs Surprised by satyrs, in which Rubens presents one of his favourite themes, with mythological figures enjoying love and nature. Artistically, Rubens demonstrates his study of antiquity and the Renaissance. This work is part of a series of hunting scenes, typical of that historical period.
In The Rape of Europa, a depiction of another episode from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, the artist lays out the foundations of a painting through a sketch, offering insight into how he worked and developed proposals for other artists in his circle. Nearby, there is a life-sized canvas of the same subject by the artist Erasmus Quellinus, executed on the basis of Rubens’ original design.
Also included are works such as the drawing The Birth of Apollo and Diana, which has been exhibited on very few occasions. In keeping with Rubens’ interest in mythology, other artists followed his influence. This can be seen in works such as Apollo Victorious over Pan by Jacques Jordaens, and the exquisitely delicate Dance of Children with the God Pan, carved in ivory by Lucas Faydherbe.
In the third section, “Image and Counter-Reformation”, Rubens is highlighted as a key figure in the renewal of religious iconography. As a result of the religious wars in the latter half of the 16th century, much of the religious heritage in the Low Countries was destroyed by Protestant iconoclasts, leaving many church interiors empty.
This situation, combined with the renewed propagandistic impetus of the Catholic Counter-Reformation, presented a unique opportunity for Rubens and the new generation of Flemish artists. Rubens channelled his creative force into serving the new religious ideals through images imbued with tension, emotion, violence and faith. These were manifested in monumental altarpieces for churches and cathedrals, as well as in smaller paintings intended for private oratories, such as his Rest on the Flight into Egypt with Saints, which once belonged to Charles I of England.
Other notable works in this section include Pietà by Anthony van Dyck, painted with a more sensual, appealing and less violent approach than that of Rubens. Nearby is the Pietà by Jordaens, whose depiction of the lifeless arm recalls the iconic The Descent from the Cross by Rogier van der Weyden, which can be seen at the Prado Museum.
In Jordaens’ The Entombment of Christ, visitors can observe how the artist employed ink drawing techniques, in contrast to the painting technique used in his Pietà.
In reference to grand altarpieces, The Massacre of the Innocents is displayed – an engraving by Paulus Pontius based on a large altarpiece by Rubens, usually housed in Munich and notable for its intensity and visual violence. In contrast, another drawing, The Mystical Vision of Hermann-Joseph, by the same artist, reproduces a painting by Van Dyck with a more devotional yet equally captivating aesthetic.
This section culminates with The Birth of the Virgin by Erasmus Quellinus, characterised by a more classicist style, featuring references to architectural elements from antiquity, such as a Greek pediment, alongside Baroque Solomonic columns.
The birth of collecting during the Baroque period
The fourth section, “Patronage and Collecting”, examines how the culture of collecting emerged in Flanders during the Baroque period. The rich artistic production of Flemish Baroque art was greatly supported by a group of art lovers who supported artists and took pleasure in amassing their creations.
Isabel Clara Eugenia, daughter of Philip II and governor of the Low Countries, recognised the potential of Flemish art to proclaim the prosperity of the territories under her rule. Rubens’ brushes joined the Isabelline cause alongside that of another of her protégés, Jan Brueghel the Elder, who specialised in landscapes and still life themes. Their collaboration resulted in works where visual beauty and delicacy were as significant as the message of cultural excellence they sought to convey – paintings that were often sent to the Spanish court.
This section includes the painting The Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia, by Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder, considered one of the most prominent artists of the period. She governed during Rubens’ artistic career and became a great patron of the artist.
A remarkable oil painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Giulio Cesare Procaccini, Garland with the Virgin and Child and Two Angels, is also on display. This collaborative work was likely commissioned by Federico Borromeo, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan, a scholar of art and patron to both artists. Depictions of the Virgin surrounded by flowers became prominent among Flemish artists in the early 17th century as a response to the Protestant Reformation, which rejected the representation of devotional images.
Another outstanding painting is the large-format canvas Sight and Smell, created by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Hendrick van Balen, Frans Francken II and others. This work exemplifies the emergence and rise of collecting culture in the Low Countries during that period. Along with its companion piece, Taste, Hearing and Touch, these paintings are replicas of two lost originals that the City of Antwerp gifted to Archdukes Albert and Isabella Clara Eugenia to showcase the wealth, exuberance and progress of the Flemish region.
The painting The Vision of Saint Hubert, by Rubens and Jan Brueghel the Elder, depicts a distinctly Flemish theme through the story of Saint Hubert, the patron saint of the Low Countries. According to legend, Hubert led a dissolute life until he experienced a divine epiphany: while about to hunt a stag, he saw a crucifix appear between its antlers. This vision led to his conversion to Christianity. The artwork was once owned by the Marquis of Leganés, a prominent admirer of Flemish painting at the court of Philip IV.
Also featured in this section is the painting Vase of Flowers, which showcases the exceptional artistic skill achieved by Brueghel the Elder, rendered with near-botanical precision. The vase depicted by the painter is of Chinese origin, highlighting Antwerp’s commercial significance during that era.
Religious and political propaganda
The fifth section, “Art and Power”, highlights how Flemish art became an excellent tool for political communication. In a Spain immersed in continuous wars against the Protestant world, its dissemination was often linked to religious propaganda, to which Rubens dedicated his artistic creations.
Given his diplomatic skills and courtly manners, Rubens painted portraits of rulers throughout Europe, which frequently influenced local artists. He also created allegorical compositions tailored to the powerful, combining formidable visual strength with highly effective propagandistic messages.
In addition to Rubens, other painters, engravers, poets and scholars who were also in the service of the same powers created artistic works that celebrated the military and political glories of European princes. The origin of the pieces presented here is, for the most part, the Spanish Royal Collection, the seed of the Museo del Prado, since they were created to extol the glories of Spain during the reign of Philip IV.
The most outstanding work in this section is The Immaculate Conception by Rubens, whose devotion became a matter of state for Spain and was painted on a single occasion by the Flemish artist. The work was gifted to the Marquis of Leganés, one of his greatest admirers and his major patron at the Madrid court, in the same year that Rubens’ acceptance as a diplomat in the service of Philip IV was being debated in Spain. The Marquis of Leganés presented it to the king. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception was not approved until the 19th century, but in the 17th century it was a subject of great importance.
For the Allegorical Portrait of the Count-Duke of Olivares, Rubens used Velázquez’s portrait of Philip IV’s favourite as a model to design a political allegory that exalted his figure as a ruler, later engraved by Paulus Pontius.
Battles became another recurring theme for propagandistic purposes. This is the case with Isabel Clara Eugenia at the Siege of Breda, by Peter Snayers, a work in which the artist depicts the Spanish siege of Breda, which lasted almost a year between 1624 and 1625. In the foreground, the governor Isabel Clara Eugenia appears alongside General Ambrosio de Spínola on the battlefield after the victory.
This work by Snayers, a great specialist in the pictorial representation of battles, is displayed near Jacques Callot’s etching The Siege of Breda, in which he depicted the details of the siege of Breda in six meticulous prints that, when joined together, could be hung in the manner of Snayers’ paintings.
The cultivation of portraiture and studies of the human figure
The cultivation of portraiture and studies of the human figure from live models, which were then used in the characters in paintings, were common practices among Flemish Baroque artists. Their skill in depicting physical details was matched by a clear desire to capture the sitter’s personality and to project highly individualised images with evident propagandistic overtones.
However, the means to achieve this varied and were always highly personal, encompassing all mediums and techniques, from oil portraits to drawings and engravings. Each artist employed diverse techniques and compositions, from Rubens’ loose brushwork to the more stereotyped approach of artists from another generation, such as Frans Pourbus the Younger; from the vehement scenes of Van Dyck to more classical ones, like those of Jordaens, who nonetheless used a very loose technique in his studies of heads.
The sixth section, “Faces and Personalities”, focuses on this theme and includes a notable portrait of Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, by Rubens himself, in which the strong personality and political power of the sitter are evident. Rubens began this unfinished portrait while painting the Marie de’ Medici cycle for her Luxembourg Palace in Paris.
Nearby, visitors can also see another portrait of Marie de’ Medici by the artist Frans Pourbus the Younger, who belonged to a family of portraitists from Bruges who settled in Antwerp, where he worked for the governors. His portraits, such as this one of the Queen Mother of France, denote a strict severity in the presentation of the sitter, with figures in emotionless and markedly distant poses, following a more traditional trend distinct from Rubens’ approach.
Anthony van Dyck was the preeminent portraitist among Flemish artists. His powerful portrait of Count Hendrik van den Bergh can be seen here. Alongside this painting is an engraving by Paulus Pontius, based on Van Dyck’s portrait, an artist who greatly influenced 18th-century English portrait painters.
In this section, attention is drawn to Jacob Jordaens’ work Three Itinerant Musicians, which exemplifies his relentless pursuit of expressiveness. Through loose brushstrokes, Jordaens endeavours to capture the physical essence of music.
The nobility of being a painter in that era
In the seventh section, “The Nobility of Painting”, the focus is on the self-representation of artists as distinguished figures. The concept of the ennobled artist, working for a prince and already a prominent member of society, is a common theme in Flemish art, which later painters such as Van Dyck and Rubens would incorporate into their portraits.
At the same time, the assertion of the art of painting as a noble pursuit, which indirectly conferred aristocracy upon its practitioners, is a theme already explored by Nordic artists before Rubens became its finest example. This is exemplified by certain allegorical engravings from the early 16th century, in which the practice and status of art and painting are presented as a superior intellectual activity.
In this space, the painting The Painter’s Family by Jacob Jordaens stands out, in which the artist portrays himself alongside his family as a bourgeois who enjoys music, accompanied by a maid bringing them fruit. Also notable is an engraving of Jan Brueghel by Van Dyck, who created a series of engravings of prominent men associated with the Low Countries known as The Iconography, which was widely disseminated at the time and included princes, aristocrats, politicians, military figures and artists.
Additionally, the space features a satirical painting on creation with the canvas The Monkey Painter, by David Teniers, in which a monkey with painter’s attributes recreates an idea on a canvas in his workshop; the future client, exuding grandeur, adorned with feathers, a gold chain and a pouch at his waist, attentively observes his skill.
The significant impact of pictorial genres on Flemish painting
The eighth section, “Inside and Outside”, explores the representation ofthe Flemish landscape as a genre and as a reflection of daily life in the Low Countries through various works, such as Market and Washing Place in Flanders by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Joos de Momper II, one of the leading specialists in this genre at the time.
Everyday life was a very common subject for artists in the Low Countries from the late 16th century onwards. Depictions of peasant customs, traditional festivities and even proverbs and popular sayings became common themes in art, giving rise to what are known as genre scenes. Thanks to these representations, we know what the fields, people and Flemish cities looked like. These are recreations of the famous kermesses, indoor and outdoor scenes that were also highly appreciated by collectors.
Certain artists dedicated themselves to this type of representation. The works of David Teniers became a paradigm of Flemish culture and popular life, of the enjoyment of everyday life, which was sometimes shared by the aristocracy. The exhibition features paintings such as Villagers’ Lunch, created in collaboration with the landscape painter Lucas van Uden; the exquisite drawing Village Festival, not previously exhibited; and the interior painting The Smokers, all of them significant pieces by the artist.
Finally, in the section “Living Nature, Still Life”, the exhibition explores kitchen scenes and still lifes popularised by certain Flemish Baroque painters, especially Frans Snyders, as a continuation of a genre that held significant prominence in the Low Countries at the end of the 16th century.
Particularly noteworthy is the painting Stag Attacked by a Pack of Hounds, by Paul de Vos, which depicts the unbridled violence of the hunt in a pictorial exercise that captures the anatomy of the animals, as well as other more challenging elements to portray, such as movement, agility and even ferocity, through a carefully composed arrangement filled with diagonals and foreshortenings.
Also noteworthy is the canvas The Fruit Bowl by Frans Snyders, where viewers can appreciate his remarkable ability to reproduce the tactile quality of fruit, objects and animals. This artist was highly esteemed during his time.
Additionally, the work Concert of Birds by Jan Fyt stands out. This painter possessed an exquisite skill in capturing the various textures of animals. The theme of the “concert of birds", of medieval origin, became fashionable among a group of Flemish artists led by Frans Snyders in the early decades of the 17th century.
Animal paintings became a speciality of Antwerp that, over the years, would be imitated in France and elsewhere. The growing interest in the study of animal behaviour and anatomy gave great impetus to its establishment as an autonomous pictorial genre. Its success was also due in part to the use of ancient fables as metaphors for human behaviour, as well as the development of hunting, an activity reserved for the elite.
These types of paintings became luxury items, reflecting the tastes and hobbies of the wealthy classes, who were eager to collect and display such works in their homes not only for their visual beauty but also for their modernity. It is a genre that would enjoy a long trajectory as a collectible. This is also reflected in other works included in this final section, such as Still Life with a Dog and a Cat, by Christiaan Luycks, initially attributed to Jan Fyt.
Visitors: collaborators of Rubens for a day
Midway through the exhibition, specifically between the seventh and eighth rooms, visitors can discover an educational audiovisual presentation that shows Rubens’ creative process and his workshop in detail, highlighting the layers and brushstrokes of various collaborators. The copy featured in the video, which is also on display, is of Rubens’ Mercury and Argus.
Vincent van Gogh, Wheat Fields with Reaper, Auvers, 1890, oil on canvas, Toledo Museum of Art, Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey.
Encounter inspiring masterpieces by some of the most influential artists of all time in A Century of Modern Art, opening Saturday 7 June at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki.
Robert Delauney, The City of Paris, circa 1911. Toledo Museum of Art, Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
On loan from the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio, this special exhibition showcases 57 paintings by 53 artists who changed the course of art history, including Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Helen Frankenthaler, Édouard Manet, William Merritt Chase, Amedeo Modigliani, Berthe Morisot, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Camille Pissarro, Robert Rauschenberg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, James McNeill Whistler, and many more.
Claude Monet, French, 1840-1926; Water Lilies ; about 1922;oil on canvas Toledo Museum of Art, purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Auckland Art Gallery Senior Curator International Art Sophie Matthiesson says, “A Century of Modern Art traces the revolutionary transformations in Western painting from the 1860s to the 1960s. This timeframe witnessed the introduction of electricity, two world wars, multiple social revolutions and the nuclear age.
Berthe Morisot, In the Garden at Maurecourt. (Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey)
“It is an extraordinary chance to see these works in person and reflect on how art evolved in response to a rapidly changing world. The exhibition shows the lively exchange of artistic ideas and techniques between artists and movements in Europe and the United States of America.”
Paul Gauguin, French, 1848-1903; Street in Tahiti; 1891;oil on canvas (Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey)
The exhibition includes legendary highlights from Toledo Museum of Art’s world-famous collection, such as Water Lilies, circa 1922, Claude Monet’s shimmering painting of his beloved pond at Giverny; Paul Gauguin’s Street in Tahiti, 1891, where smouldering colours and curving forms captured his fantasy of the tropical island; Henri Matisse’s Dancer Resting, 1940, portraying model Lydia Delectorskaya in a moment of vivid repose in his studio; and Vincent van Gogh’s unforgettable Wheatfields with Reaper, Auvers, 1890, a swirling, sun-drenched portrayal of a harvest, painted days before his sudden death. This exhibition marks the first time Toledo Museum’s collection of modern paintings has travelled together outside their home institution.
Concurrent with the exhibition is an extensive programme of talks, tours, gallery open late nights, a kids and whānau guide, as well as family-friendly activities that will run throughout winter. Check out the newly launched range of tantalising themed products in the Gallery Shop, which includes Monet and van Gogh print, totes, scarves, scrunchies and much more.
A Century of Modern Art is organised by the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio. This exhibition is proudly supported by HSBC, Cordis, Auckland Art Gallery Foundation, NZME and indemnified by the New Zealand Government.
Museum to Debut New Special Exhibition Galleries with Major Vermeer Loans from Rijksmuseum and National Gallery of Ireland
In the first show to be held in The Frick Collection’s new Ronald S. Lauder Exhibition Galleries, three works by Johannes Vermeer will be presented from June 18 (starting at 1:00 p.m.) through August 31, 2025. The unprecedented installation Vermeer’s Love Letters unites the Frick’s iconic
Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675), Mistress and Maid, ca. 1666–67. Oil on canvas, 35 1/2 x 31 in. (90.2 x 78.7 cm). The Frick Collection, New York
Woman Writing a Letter with Her Maid from the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. Displayed together in a single gallery for the first time, this trio of works will offer visitors the opportunity to consider Vermeer’s exploration of the theme of letter writing and epistolary exchange in the context of the seventeenth-century domestic settings for which the artist is renowned. Beginning June 23, the Frick will also welcome visitors on Mondays, extending its public days from five to six weekly, Wednesday through Monday.
Stated Axel Rüger, the Frick’s Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Director, “This is the first exhibition in New York City since 2001 dedicated to works by Vermeer, one of the most famous artists in the world. We are excited to present this unprecedented examination of a fascinating aspect of the artist’s oeuvre in our new gallery space, designed by Selldorf Architects. We thank guest curator Dr. Robert Fucci, a distinguished scholar of seventeenth-century Dutch art from the University of Amsterdam, for his work on the show and the accompanying catalogue. For his role in securing exceptional support and much more, all due credit and heartfelt thanks go to my esteemed predecessor, Ian Wardropper, along with Xavier F. Salomon, Deputy Director and Peter Jay Sharp Chief Curator, and Aimee Ng, John Updike Curator, for their essential contributions.”
Added Salomon, “On the heels of the museum’s public reopening on April 17, it is fitting that we are debuting our new special exhibition galleries with a closer look at the work of Vermeer, one of the most popular artists in our collection. His Mistress and Maid is the final masterpiece that museum founder Henry Clay Frick acquired before his death, making this inaugural show a particularly appropriate tribute to his legacy as a collector.”
In taking up the motif of the exchange of letters, Vermeer and his contemporaries explored and imagined the inner lives and emotions of their painted subjects, often creating enigmatic narrative scenes. Of about three dozen surviving works by Vermeer, six are variations on this theme. The three works united in the exhibition share a particular focus on women in the domestic sphere: ladies and their maidservants. The complex relationships, tensions, and trust between these two social classes—domestic servants and their employers—is a topic linked to and exemplified by the writing, reading, and delivery of letters. Fucci examines these ideas in the literary and artistic contexts of Vermeer’s time. The display of the three works brought together in Vermeer’s Love Letters captures the artist’s ability to portray themes of everyday life with nuance, variety, and drama.
Visitors to the Frick will also have the opportunity to enjoy the museum’s other masterpieces by Vermeer, Officer and Laughing Girl and Girl Interrupted at Her Music, displayed nearby in the museum’s recently restored permanent collection galleries. Five additional works by the artist can be seen a few blocks north at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, making this an extraordinary occasion for Vermeer enthusiasts in New York City.
ACCOMPANYING PUBLICATION
The exhibition catalogue by Fucci provides a close examination of the three paintings in this show and of the motif of letter writing in Vermeer’s oeuvre and the broader cultural context of the time. Through meticulous analysis, Fucci presents the thematic undercurrents that connect these masterpieces, shedding light on Vermeer’s legacy and his ability to capture moments of intimacy with unparalleled depth.
Vermeer’s Love Letters is published by The Frick Collection in association with Rizzoli Electa. The 112-page hardcover volume includes 60 color illustrations.
The major exhibition RENDEZVOUS OF DREAMS at the Hamburger Kunsthalle
commemorates the 100th anniversary of the founding of international Surrealism
by examining its striking affinities with German Romanticism. Taking as its
starting point a novel comparison of two paintings in the Kunsthalle, the show
places over 230 iconic works by both great and lesser-known Surrealists – among
them Max Ernst, Meret Oppenheim, René Magritte, André Masson, Salvador Dalí,
Dorothea Tanning, Paul Klee, Valentine Hugo, Victor Brauner and Toyen – in new
contexts as well as stimulating juxtapositions with more than 70 masterpieces of
German Romanticism, including works by Caspar David Friedrich and Philipp Otto
Runge alongside examples of Romantic poetry.
Themes that fascinated German Romantic artists and writers, such as the night
and dreams – understood as a kind of higher vision – as well as the power of
imagination, the microcosm versus the macrocosm, and a special feeling for
nature would serve as sources of inspiration for Surrealism one century later. The
intellectual attitudes and pictorial inventions of Friedrich, Runge, Carl Gustav
Carus, Carl Wilhelm Kolbe and many more, along with the writings of Novalis,
Achim and Bettine v. Arnim, Karoline v. Günderrode, Johann Wolfgang v. Goethe,
Friedrich Hölderlin and Heinrich von Kleist, would play an important role in the
search for a revolutionary form of art in the twentieth century.
Astoundingly, this
recourse to Romanticism was even more pronounced in the years of war,
resistance and exile, when Surrealism took up the mantle of the earlier move-
ment as a reaction against the »disenchantment of the world«, reflecting its
revolutionary dimension. Both movements focused on evoking a certain attitude
toward life and calling into question assumptions about reality and its limitations
– culminating in nothing less than a transformation of individual and society.
Though born out of a different historical situation, Novalis’s credo of the
»romanticisation of the world« seems to anticipate the Surrealists’ striving for a
higher spiritual revolt in the form of a »surreality«.
When the two movements are considered together based on intriguing compar-
isons as well as explicit tributes, in some cases involving works selected from the
Kunsthalle’s own collection, certain analogies and differences become manifest.
One example is Max Ernst’s painting A Beautiful Morning (Un beau matin), an
homage to Morning (first version) (1808) by Philipp Otto Runge. Produced after
his first visit to the Hamburger Kunsthalle in 1965, Ernst’s painting makes refer-
ence both conceptually and formally to his revered Romantic colleague. The two
important works have been in the Kunsthalle’s collection for more than 60 years but are now being analysed and presented together for the very first time. New research has also brought
to light another surprising Hamburg reception history, in this case for Max Ernst’s programmatic Surrealist
painting The Rendezvous of Friends (1922).
In another section of the exhibition, Julian Rosefeldt’s contemporary video Manifesto (2015) highlights the
enduring relevance of the question André Breton posed 100 years ago in his Surrealist manifesto regard-
ing the importance of imagination, dreaming and the exploration of other levels of reality. RENDEZVOUS
OF DREAMS thus brings together specific local as well as far-flung international discoveries spanning
different media and periods.
For this large-scale exhibition, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is collaborating for the first time with the Centre
Pompidou, Musée national d’Art Moderne, Paris, enabling it to present over 30 exceptional works on loan
including Salvador Dalí’s The Invisible Sleeping Woman, Horse, Lion etc. (1930) and René Magritte’s The
Double Secret (1927). In its entirety, the comprehensive exhibition offers visitors the unique opportunity
to experience world-renowned artworks, some of them never before shown, from over 80 international,
private and public collections in the USA, Mexico and several European countries, including the Philadel-
phia Museum of Art; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Colección FEMSA (Mexico); the Centre
Pompidou in Paris; the Tate London; the Kunsthalle Prague; the Kunsthaus Zürich and many more, as well
as more than 30 international private collections, some of which have remained hidden until now.
The works on display date from the late eighteenth century to 1980 and cover all media, comprising
around 300 paintings, prints, drawings, photographs, films, sculptures and objects by 65 Surrealists and
30 Romantic artists. Among them are many still under-recognised Surrealists such as Meret Oppenheim,
Dorothea Tanning, Remedios Varo, Suzanne Van Damme and Jane Graverol. A large number of archival
documents and manuscripts in the show trace the reception of the German Romantics by the Surrealists.
In 15 chapters, including Friendship, Dream, Metamorphoses, Perception of Nature, Love, Ruin, Forest,
Cosmos and Hymns to the Night, the extensive exhibition compares and contrasts themes, philosophical
concepts, paradigms, motifs and methods in visual art, poetry and theory, beginning with a consideration
of the Manifesto of Surrealism by André Breton and explicit homages by the Surrealists to the German
Romantics.
RENDEZVOUS OF DREAMS comprises three exhibition areas and extends over a total of 2,000 square
metres, from the Hubertus Wald Forum (1/Dream), via a »Passage« consisting of several cabinets
providing background information, to the gallery before the Rotunda in the Lichtwark building (2/Forest)
and finally the stately domed hall (3/Cosmos).
In the »Passage« between the sections, the Kunsthalle’s Art Education and Outreach department has
devised interactive activities that allow viewers to draw inspiration from the original works to try out
various artistic techniques, Surrealist processes and games. In addition to a photo station and the Surreal-
ist game Cadavre Exquis, Romantic and Surrealist literature enables visitors to immerse themselves in the
artists’ world. Another station offers sylvan sounds and scents that attune visitors to the exhibition section
2/Forest.
A wide range of guided tours for the public or for private booking provide in-depth information on the
exhibits, as do the audio tours for adults (German/English) and for children and young people aged 8 and
over (German), which are available free of charge via the Kunsthalle app. On one Saturday a month,
various artistic techniques can be tried out at the Open Studio for the whole family.
The comprehensive event programme offers expert and artist talks as well as panel discussions at the
Hamburger Kunsthalle and the Abaton Cinema, which will be screening a number of Surrealist films toaccompany the exhibition. For example, the internationally renowned artist Julian Rosefeldt will speak
about the background behind his work Manifesto in the show and the power of Surrealism (4 Sept.). The
Salon Surreal (18 Sept.) will musically spotlight current topics relating to the exhibition and host some
interesting guests. And the young friends’ society, Junge Freunde der Kunsthalle e. V., is organising a big
party to round out the show (3 July).
An extensive, richly illustrated catalogue(344 pages, Hatje Cantz Verlag) is available for 45 euros at the
museum store or via www.freunde-der-kunsthalle.de at the bookstore price of 58 euros. Over 30 inter-
national scholars of Surrealism present here the latest findings on the relationship between international
Surrealism and German Romanticism, organised according to the chapters of the exhibition and with a
focus on individual protagonists.
The exhibition is part of the international celebration marking the 100th anniversary of the Manifesto of
Surrealism and is being hosted in varying forms at the Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique,
Brussels (21 February to 21 July 2024), the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (4 September 2024 to 13
January 2025), the Fundación Mapfre, Madrid (6 February to 11 May 2025), and the Philadelphia Museum
of Art (8 November 2025 to 16 February 2026).
Curator: Dr. Annabelle Görgen-Lammers Assistant curators: Vera Bornkessel and Maria Sitte
Research assistant: Laura Förster (Jan.–Sept. 2024)
Dr. Carsten Brosda, Hamburg Senator for Culture and Media: »Following the major exhibition
marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Caspar David Friedrich, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is now
celebrating 100 years of Surrealism. In keeping with the collection’s focus on Romanticism, the exhibition
explores for the first time the Surrealists’ fascination with the German Romantics and spotlights the extent
to which artists reacted to social upheavals in their works. The cooperation with the Centre Pompidou and
other renowned museums demonstrates what is possible when cultural institutions work together across
borders. The Kunsthalle is thus once again creating a first-rate cultural occasion for residents of the city
and a reason for visitors from all over to flock to Hamburg.«
Michael Behrendt, Chairman of the Hapag-Lloyd Foundation: »Surrealism, whose 100th anniversary
we are celebrating with this exhibition, promoted values that are more important today than ever:
questioning what is familiar, appreciating the power of the imagination and strengthening interpersonal
dialogue. We therefore immediately agreed to act as the main sponsor for this marvellous retrospective as
our contribution to the creative dynamism and cultural diversity of our ›home port‹ of Hamburg.«
Dr. Ekkehard Nümann, Chairman of the Freunde der Kunsthalle e. V.: »We are once again
delighted to be able to provide significant support for such a trailblazing exhibition project. The origins of
this show lie in a pair of paintings by Max Ernst and Philipp Otto Runge in the collection of the Hamburger
Kunsthalle that have prompted a joint consideration of German Romanticism and international Surrealism.
Comparing these two masterpieces has opened up new areas of research while offering art-lovers a fresh
perspective on the two periods.«
Prof. Dr. Frank Druffner, Acting Secretary General of the Kulturstiftung der Länder: »With this
exhibition, the Hamburger Kunsthalle is proposing a new approach to two important focal points of its
collection by juxtaposing works of German Romanticism for the first time with the international Surrealist
movement in order to trace intellectual affinities across time and national borders. I am particularly
pleased that the achievements of female artists from both movements are also being honoured here –
thanks to prestigious international loans – so that attention can be drawn to this gap in the history of art.«
A French painter best known for his poetic depictions of Montmartre and other Parisian cityscapes. Born in the Montmartre district of Paris, Utrillo was the son of the artist Suzanne Valadon, who had been a model for prominent painters such as Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec before becoming a painter herself. The identity of his father remains uncertain, though the Spanish artist Miguel Utrillo acknowledged paternity.
Utrillo’s early life was turbulent. He struggled with mental illness and alcoholism from a young age, spending time in asylums. To provide him with a calming and productive outlet, his mother encouraged him to take up painting. Utrillo proved to be a natural talent, developing a distinctive style that blended realism with Impressionistic light and color. His most acclaimed works were painted during his “white period” (circa 1909–1914), characterized by a pale palette and textured surfaces made with plaster and other materials mixed into his paint.
He became widely known for his quiet, atmospheric street scenes—churches, cafes, houses, and alleys rendered with a haunting stillness. Montmartre was a frequent subject, but he also painted in other French towns and cities. Though never as innovative as his contemporaries in the avant-garde, Utrillo gained popularity for the emotional resonance of his work and was celebrated in both France and abroad.
Despite his success, Utrillo led a troubled personal life, often struggling with mental instability and addiction. He married Lucie Valore in 1935 and spent his later years in relative seclusion in the south of France. Maurice Utrillo died in 1955 in Dax, France.
Today, Utrillo is remembered as one of the few notable painters of Montmartre born and raised in the district, and his evocative urban landscapes remain cherished contributions to 20th-century French art.
In summer 2025, the Barnes Foundation will present From Paris to Provence: French Painting at the Barnes, an exhibition featuring more than 50 iconic paintings from the first floor of the collection galleries by Paul Cézanne, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet, and other European artists. Curated by Cindy Kang, this exhibition reflects the expansion of the Barnes’s educational program, emphasizing the historical and cultural context of the works. On view in the Roberts Gallery from June 29 through August 31, 2025, From Paris to Provence: French Painting at the Barnes is sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal.
Charting a journey through France, this exhibition examines how place informed the work of modern painters in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The exhibition begins in Paris and its suburbs, dynamic places that were at once semi-industrial, as in Van Gogh’s The Factory, and sites of blooming suburban leisure, as in Monet’s Madame Monet Embroidering. Life in and around Paris and the coastal regions of Normandy and Brittany inspired the radical brushwork, light palette, and contemporary subject matter of impressionists like Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, their mentor and friend Édouard Manet, and the post-impressionists. Several of these painters subsequently moved to the South of France, seeking the warmer climate and dazzling sunlight that intensified their colors.
From Paris to Provence: French Painting at the Barnes highlights Van Gogh’s time in Arles and Saint-Rémy—uniting, for the first time, several Van Gogh paintings from the Barnes collection on one wall—as well as Cézanne’s deep connection to his native Provence, with nearly 20 works depicting scenes from the countryside and his family home, the Jas de Bouffan. Finally, the exhibition returns to Paris to explore a new generation of painters who flocked there from across Europe—Amedeo Modigliani, Chaïm Soutine, Giorgio de Chirico, and Joan Miró—and reaffirmed the French capital’s place as the center of modern art.
Creating space for new conversations between works—a critical aspect of education, research, and public access—this exhibition will provide visitors a rare opportunity to temporarily experience these paintings in new contexts and juxtapositions. While this exhibition is on view, rooms 2 through 13 of the Barnes collection will be closed for a floor refinishing project. Following the exhibition, the paintings will return to their original locations in the galleries.
“Featuring a wide variety of works from the first-floor galleries, this exhibition emphasizes the historical and cultural context of the paintings and offers the extraordinary opportunity for visitors to encounter beloved French paintings from the Barnes collection in new conversations,” says Thom Collins, Neubauer Family Executive Director and President.
“By seeing these works juxtaposed for the first time, visitors will discover how particular places—with their distinct landscapes, light, and people—shaped the work of each artist,” says Cindy Kang. “I hope this exhibition will inspire audiences to see these well-known paintings in a new light and with a renewed sense of appreciation and level of understanding.”
The exhibition will feature more than 50 major paintings from the first floor of the Barnes collection. Highlights include:
Édouard Manet, Laundry(1875): In this canvas, a woman washes linen in a flower-filled garden in Paris. A child to her right, as if eager to help, tugs at the pail of suds. Washerwomen were popular figures in 19th-century art and literature. Manet’s good friend Émile Zola, for example, described their tough lives in his novels. But this depiction is idyllic. Flashes of white paint—offset by grays and blues—become sunlight on the drying fabric. After the jury of the French Salon, the annual state art exhibition, rejected this painting, Manet exhibited it independently.
Claude Monet, The Studio Boat (1876): The figure in the boat is likely the artist, who outfitted this floating studio with all his supplies so that he could paint from the middle of the Seine River. Boating culture in Argenteuil, a suburb of Paris, inspired him to have this vessel constructed to his specifications. Often Monet would anchor his boat when working. But sometimes he painted as he drifted down the river, creating landscapes that are more a collection of momentary glimpses rather than a depiction of one specific spot.
Vincent van Gogh, The Postman (Joseph Étienne-Roulin)(1889): Van Gogh probably met Joseph Étienne-Roulin, a postman at the Arles train station in the South of France, when the artist rented a room above the nearby Café de la Gare. The two shared similar left-leaning political views and became close friends; in fact, it was Roulin who cared for Van Gogh during his hospital stay in nearby Saint-Rémy. Van Gogh painted six portraits of Roulin between 1888 and 1889 as well as several of Roulin’s wife and children.
Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire (1892–95): Mont Sainte-Victoire, which towers over the Aix-en-Provence region of southern France, was one of Cézanne’s favorite motifs. He spent his childhood exploring its terrain, and he painted it several dozen times from different vantage points. The mountain also held symbolic meaning to the artist, representing the ancient countryside during a moment of rapid industrialization and modernization. On the right side of the canvas, one can just make out an ancient Roman aqueduct.
Amedeo Modigliani, Portrait of the Red-Headed Woman(1918): Modigliani’s portrait of a woman who was part of his international, bohemian circles in Paris suggests how women’s lives had changed by the early 20th century. With her vivid hair and strapless dress, she drapes her shoulder over the chair and addresses the viewer with an unapologetic gaze. Her revealing dress shows how bold new fashions could represent a form of freedom. Modigliani used a thick round brush to describe the model’s flesh, and the textured surface seems to invite touch.
A major work by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Sonntag der Bergbauern (Sunday of the Mountain Farmers), is about to leave the Federal Chancellery in Berlin. The painting is known to a wide public because almost every evening it has been visible on the television news in the background of the German government’s Cabinet sessions. Exceptionally, it is now being allowed to leave its customary place, to appear as a guest in the Kunstmuseum Bern. For the first time since its joint exhibition with its pendant, Alpsonntag. Szene am Brunnen (Alp Sunday. The Scene at the Well) in 1933, the two paintings will be shown together, reunited, in the autumn exhibition Kirchner x Kirchner in the Kunstmuseum Bern, where they will form the sensational highlight of the exhibition.Kirchner x Kirchner: A homage to Kirchner’s biggest retrospective in 1933.
Between 12 September 2025 and 11 January 2026, the Kunstmuseum Bern is showing the exhibition
Kirchner x Kirchner. It features around 65 top-class works by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) which
are rarely shown in Switzerland. The artist is considered as one of the most outstanding protagonists of
modern art. With this exhibition, the Kunstmuseum Bern is recalling the largest retrospective in the
artist’s lifetime, held in the Kunsthalle Bern in 1933 and curated by the artist himself.
Kirchner’s monumental pair of paintings reunited as a highlight of the Kirchner x Kirchner
exhibition thanks to a sensational loan from Berlin. One particularly highlight of the 1933 exhibition was the presentation of the monumental pair of paintings
Sonntag der Bergbauern (Sunday of the Mountain Farmers) and Alpsonntag. Szene am Brunnen (Alp
Sunday. The Scene at the Well). They were hung in the entrance hall of the Kunsthalle, where they
formed a dramatic introduction (see press image 03). The artist made these two works as a unit in the
mid-1920s in Davos, where he had been recovering from service in the First World War since 1917, and
both the landscape and the life of the mountain farmers inspired him to explore new motifs.
‘I also already have an idea for the exhibition. Both 4 m paintings should go in the entrance hall. The
rear wall of the lantern light room is hung with 8 [eight] 75 x 150 formats. That provides a calm
horizontal as an introduction, and when one looks through the door there are only the verticals of the
portrait formats. A wonderful harmony on the right and left the big wooden figures of Adam and Eve.’
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, letter to Max Huggler, former Director of Kunsthalle Bern, 21 December 1932.
Today it’s a genuine sensation that the Kunstmuseum Bern is able to show, reunited after more than
90 years, the two oil paintings Sonntag der Bergbauern (Sunday of the Mountain Farmers) (see press
image 01) from the Cabinet Room of Berlin’s Federal Chancellery and its pendant Alpsonntag. Szene
am Brunnen (Alp Sunday. The Scene at the Well) (press image 02) from its own collection.
‘The Federal Republic of Germany is doing the Kunstmuseum Bern a very great honour by
exceptionally authorising the loan of this significant work by Kirchner. It makes us extremely happy
that we are enabled in to show these two major works together again to the public for the first time,
entirely as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner intended.’ Nina Zimmer, Director, Kunstmuseum Bern – Zentrum Paul Klee
‘That these two works, of central importance for Kirchner’s work and sense of himself as an artist can
no be shown together again for the first time – fully in line with his original intention – fills me with great
joy and deep gratitude.’ Nadine Franci, Curator of Prints & Drawings at Kunstmuseum Bern and Curator of the Exhibition.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Alpsonntag. Szene am Brunnen [Sunday in the Alps. Scene at the Well], 1923-24/ around 1929 Oil on canvas with original painted frame, 168 x 400 cm, Kunstmuseum Bern
Alpsonntag. Szene am Brunnen (Alp Sunday. The Scene at the Well):
an exceptional acquisition for the collection of the Kunstmuseum Bern After the 1933 exhibition the two works went their different ways. The Kunstmuseum Bern bought
Alpsonntag. Szene am Brunnen (Alp Sunday. The Scene at the Well) (1923-24/around 1929) directly
from the 1933 Kirchner exhibition thanks to donations and a generous accommodation by the author.
This purchase by the Kunstmuseum Bern meant much more to Kirchner than mere financial support –
it was an overdue symbolic recognition. Until then he had not been represented by a painting in a
single Swiss museum collection. In Germany his works were gradually disappearing from exhibitions,
and were banished to storage.
‘I have now had the painting bought by the Museum on Tuesday: Scene am Brunnen (The Scene at
the Well), delivered without accident to the place in the Museum that they indicated. [....] Now it will
presumably be hung, and will hopefully bring pleasure to many people, just as it brought me pleasure
to depict this peaceful, healthy life of our mountain peasants in the midst of their landscape. To be
able to do so, I spent summer in the Alps with them every year for 6 years.
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Letter to Johann Conrad von Mandach, Director of the Kunstmuseum Bern
(1920-1943), Davos Wildboden, 27.4.1933
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner
Sonntag der Bergbauern [Sunday of the Mountain Farmers], 1923-24/26 Oil on canvas, 170 x 400 cm Federal Republic of Germany
Sonntag der Bergbauern (Sunday of the Mountain Farmers):
a symbolic sign from the Federal Republic of Germany as reparation and for peace. The journey of the counter-loan Sonntag der Bergbauern (Sunday of the Mountain Farmers) led from
the artist’s estate to the Federal Chancellery in Germany. The German Expressionists already found
their way into the new Chancellery in Bonn under Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. As a sign of reparation
for the defamation that had taken place under the Nazis, and as a sign of peace, he had offices in the
building decorated with works by Expressionist artists in 1975. The artworks were loans from
museums, from the Federation’s collection or from private collectors. Roman Norbert Ketterer, the
administrator of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner’s estate, was friends with Helmut Schmidt, and entrusted him
with the large-format painting Sonntag der Bergbauern (170 x 400 cm) as a permanent loan. Helmut
Schmidt had it displayed to commanding effect in the Cabinet Room, in the so-called Chancellor’s
Building of the Bonn Federal Chancellery. The painting was purchased by the Federal Republic of
Germany in 1985.
When the new Federal Chancellery went into operation in Berlin in 2001, the painting moved with it,
finding a prominent and symbolic place in the Cabinet Room of the Federal Government.
Since the 1970s the painting has been present as a background to television reports from the German
government before Cabinet sessions, and has entered the collective consciousness in that way (press
image 04). The juxtaposition of the two paintings brings to the fore once again that ‘image of calm and
peace’ that Ernst Ludwig Kirchner already suggested in a letter to Nele van de Velde on 7 October 1921
– even before he started work on the painting. May it shine out upon our contemporary world.
03
Franz Henn
View of the Kirchner exhibition at the
Kunsthalle Bern with Alpsonntag. Szene am
Brunnen (left) and Sonntag der Bergbauern
(right), 1933.
Photography
Current and upcoming exhibitions at the Kunstmuseum Bern
Carol Rama. Rebel of Modernism
until 13.7.2025
Marisa Merz. Ascoltare lo spazio / Listen to the Space
until 17.8.2025
Kunstmuseum Bern of the Future. The Architectural Competition
until 28.9.2025
Collection Intervention by Amy Sillman
until 2.11.2025
Kirchner x Kirchner
12.9.25-11.1.26
Opening hours
Tuesday
10:00–20:00
Wednesday–Sunday
10:00–17:00
Monday closed
Contact
Anne-Cécile Foulon
Head of Communication & Marketing
press@kunstmuseumbern.ch +41 31 328 09 93
Accreditation for media representatives
Admission to all exhibitions at the Kunstmuseum Bern is free for media representatives with
a valid press card. Please fill in the digital accreditation form which you can either access via
kunstmuseumbern.ch/en/press/media-accreditation or by screening the QR-Code before
your visit.
Ahead of a major exhibition in 2026, the National Portrait Gallery has today announced the acquisition of 12 new works from the estate of Lucian Freud, one of Britain’s greatest portrait artists. Among these are 8 etchings, including a trial proof, which are the first of their medium by Freud to enter the National Portrait Gallery’s Collection. A curated selection of these newly acquired works will be exhibited at the NPG from today as part of a free display that explores Freud’s working practice and dedication to portraiture.
Archive research will also inform a major new 2026 exhibition, Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting (12 February – 3 May 2026), which will include some of these previously unseen materials.
One of the newly acquired etchings, which depicts the artist’s daughter, Bella Freud, will feature in the new exhibition, the first of the National Portrait Gallery 2026 programme. Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting will explore the artist’s lifelong preoccupation with the human face and figure from the 1930s to the early twenty-first century, focusing on Freud’s mastery of drawing in all its forms – from pencil, pen, and ink to charcoal and etching. In addition, a carefully selected group of important paintings will reveal the dynamic dialogue between his practice on paper and on canvas. Opening on 12 February 2026, tickets will go on sale this autumn.
Ahead of this, Bella in her Pluto T-Shirt (etching) and other new acquisitions – including an unsigned trial proof of the sitter, without face, and a preparatory sketch of the work – are exhibited as part of a reconfigured Collections display in gallery 26, titled The Making of an Artist: The Lucian Freud Archive. This archive display illustrates Freud’s creative process, with works exhibited side by side to demonstrate specifically how the artist reworked the face of his sitter in the final print. Other highlights include previously unseen sketchbooks and childhood drawings; the artist’s etching tools; and two artworks by Freud’s father, Ernst Freud.
The National Portrait Gallery acquired the archive of Lucian Freud in 2015, and – since its reopening in 2023 – has displayed the artist’s childhood drawings, letters and sketchbooks. This reconfigured display, which opens today, focuses on Freud’s life, artistic techniques and processes, with a particular emphasis his etching prints, plates and unsigned trial proofs.
“My father spent a long time working on Bella in her Pluto T-shirt, and he reworked my face several times before finalising the etching – it wasreally unusual for that to happen. And it was quite interesting, in a way, to see that not everything came out right, and how to deal with something when it doesn’t. Sometimes he would ‘scrap’ something, as he called it, and then start again. And this time he just didn’t… Eventually, it was good.I think that’s been a very useful lesson in my work and my life. You don’t give up: you look for a way to see how things can work and then something will come if you’re in that mindset.” Bella Freud Fashion designer and daughter of Lucian Freud
“The Lucian Freud Archive at the National Portrait Gallery is an incredible resource that helps us share unique insights into the artist’s working practice, from his childhood drawings to later sketchbooks. Ahead of next year’s major exhibition, which will focus on Freud’s skill as a draughtsman across many mediums, this free archive display in gallery 26 will delve into the ways in which he worked as a printmaker, displaying his tools and trial proofs alongside new etchings – the first to enter the NPG’s Collection. We’re delighted the Arts Council has supported the NPG in allocating the etchings and archive material to us.” Carys Lewis Archivist, National Portrait Gallery
“Over the course of his career, Lucian Freud developed a fondness for the National Portrait Gallery, working with us in the lead up to 2012 to produce the last major retrospective conceived in his lifetime. Partly in recognition of this relationship, the NPG is home to the artist’s rich and extensive archive, which has been at the heart of the research for this upcoming exhibition, Lucian Freud: Drawing into Painting. This is the first museum exhibition in this country to focus on the artist’s works on paper. I look forward to sharing some of the fascinating and rarely exhibited archive material alongside important national and international loans when the exhibition opens in 2026.” Sarah Howgate Senior Curator Contemporary Collections, National Portrait Gallery
Opening at the Brandywine Museum of Art this summer, Andrew Wyeth at Kuerner Farm: The Eye of the Earth brings together some of the artist’s most iconic works featuring the landscape, buildings, and inhabitants of Kuerner Farm in Chadds Ford, PA. Now a National Historic Landmark owned and operated by the Brandywine, Kuerner Farm inspired nearly 1,000 artworks by Andrew Wyeth in a wide variety of genres and media. Andrew Wyeth at Kuerner Farm is the first focused exhibition on this defining subject, surveying the artist’s sustained engagement with the site over the span of seven decades. This nationally traveling exhibition—co-organized by the Brandywine and the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, NC—has been years in the making and features nearly 50 paintings, including major works loaned from both private and public collections nationwide, as well as previously unexhibited works that will be new to public display. The exhibition will be on view at the Brandywine from June 22 through September 28, 2025, before traveling to its third and final venue later in the fall.
Kuerner Farm stands a short walk from Andrew Wyeth’s Chadds Ford studio—also a National Historic Landmark owned and operated by the Brandywine. Through many years of immersion in this landscape, walking and sketching and gradually earning the trust of the Kuerner family, the artist gained unusual access to the property, inside and out, and took sustained inspiration from the layers of this landscape, the evocative farmhouse at its heart, and the people who lived and worked there. “Visitors to the exhibition will be immersed in this multi-decade story of Wyeth’s engagement with the Kuerner Farm. Through this journey it becomes apparent that this was the place where key tenets of Wyeth’s practice crystallized, including the self-limited palette and geographic range that served as gateways to his distinct mode of modernism,” said William L. Coleman, Ph.D., co-curator of the exhibition and the Brandywine Museum of Art’s Wyeth Foundation Curator and Director of the Andrew & Betsy Wyeth Study Center. “Inspired by a significant but little-known watercolor of the pond found on the Kuerner property—a mysterious feature that the artist once called ‘the eye of the Earth’—this exhibition also marks 25 years of public access to the site through the Brandywine.”
Wyeth’s depictions of Kuerner Farm included some of his most iconic masterworks in his career in both tempera and watercolor. Highlights in the exhibition include the temperas Karl (1948), Groundhog Day (1959), and Snow Hill (1989), along with watercolor masterpieces like Evening at Kuerners (1970), Wolf Moon (1975), and Loden Coat (1978). “Kuerner Farm completely captivated Wyeth,” said Allison C. Slaby, Reynolda’s curator and the exhibition’s co-curator. “In his depictions of the farm, we gain a sense of the Kuerner world in its entirety: the land, the hill, the pond, the house, and its inhabitants. For decades, Wyeth had free rein at this singular place. It became for him ‘a world of his own.’ This exhibition presents a refreshed approach to these works, centering this iconic place that not only captured the fascination of one of America’s most notable painters, but that also held his love and affection over the course of his life.”
The exhibition is accompanied by a generously illustrated hardcover catalogue published by Rizzoli Electa, supported by the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. Like the exhibition itself, the catalogue gives a thorough examination of Wyeth’s connection to Kuerner Farm with essays from the exhibition co-curators, Coleman and Slaby, as well as contributions by Karen Baumgartner, Collection Manager in the Brandywine’s Andrew & Betsy Wyeth Study Center, and artist James Welling.
Following its presentation at the Brandywine, Andrew Wyeth at Kuerner Farm: The Eye of the Earth will travel to the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens in Jacksonville, Florida—the exhibition’s third and final venue—where it will be on view October 25, 2025–February 15, 2026. Generous support for the exhibition is provided by national sponsor Wells Fargo, with additional support for the exhibition and its publication provided by the Wyeth Foundation for American Art.
The
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art presents (Un)Settled:
The Landscape in American Art, a collaborative exhibition that
explores the rich, complicated, and evolving topic of the
American landscape, from its origins in 19th-century painting
to the present. The exhibition is the culmination of a multi-year
collaboration between four participating museums in the Art
Bridges Cohort Program’s American South Consortium.
(Un)Settled will be on view at the Wadsworth June 12–
September 14, 2025.
(Un)Settled uniquely brings together artworks from each of the partners’ collections to broaden
the story of American art.
The show presents a more expansive and complex view of landscape
and its relationship to identity by including artwork spanning hundreds of years and representing
regions across the United States and sites in Latin America.
“In collaboration with our three nationally acclaimed museum partners through the Art Bridges
Cohort Program, this show brings together selections of American art and material culture that
are beautiful, poignant, and thought-provoking. The Wadsworth is proud to celebrate the
significance of landscape across art history and its relevance in American art and visual culture.
Additionally, the display of many incredible loans in this museum will provide visitors with a rich,
meaningful experience,” says the Wadsworth Atheneum’s Director Matthew Hargraves.
Why (Un)Settled?
(Un)Settled highlights shifting attitudes toward landscape’s relevance and resonance in American
art. This multidisciplinary show features over 60 works of art including baskets, ceramics, glass,
photography, and painting. Building upon a central framework of the Wadsworth’s noted Hudson
River School paintings, each section opens with an artwork from the nineteenth century in
conversation with modern and contemporary interpretations.
To present a more comprehensive
history, the curatorial selection included the perspectives of Native American artists, women, and
artists of color.
(Un)Settled foregrounds multiple historic and cultural perspectives in each of its five thematic
sections:
The Beaten Path opens the show by revealing moments of connection and tension
between people and their surroundings.
Expanding Horizons features artists whose travels changed their perspectives and points
of view.
Counterpoints relates place and identity, foregrounding the experiences of individual.
Seminatural explores the romanticization of our views, be they natural or urban, and
attempts to impart order onto our surroundings.
(Un)Settled closes the exhibition, reflecting upon this multifaceted term that addresses the
movement of people over time, conversations about the significance of place, and how
landscape relates to a dialogue about national identity.
The exhibition in its totality reveals how artist’s impressions of the landscape are an enduring
cultural touchpoint, and are inherently unsettled. There are through lines from historic to
contemporary, such as environmental awareness which emerges in the first section in Thomas
Cole’s 1827 View of the White Mountains and remains a central part of Jacqueline Bishop’s
electrifying painting After the Rain (Methane) (2014–15), displayed in the final section.
Similarly,
contemporary artist Tom McGrath’s abstracted view of downtown Los Angeles appears alongside
Albert Bierstadt’s romanticized topographical views of the American West, which McGrath cites
as inspiration for his panoramic style.
The juxtaposition of a traditional 19th-century Coast Salish basket with a contemporary response
by glass artist Dan Friday (Lummi Nation, Coast Salish) brings to light the role of tradition and
memory sustained over generations.
William Christenberry’s photographs record specific places, primarily in the western part of his
home state of Alabama, and reflect upon memory, transformation, and physical change wrought
by time on landscape and the built environment. Similarly, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe’s black
and white portraits of the Gullah Geechee on Daufuskie Island off the coast of South Carolina
address disappearing or threatened cultural heritage and, in the artist,s words, “keep for the eyes
of history the way Daufuskie was.”
“From the local scenery to national parks, the individual to the communal, our cultural values and
beliefs can be shaped by our surroundings. (Un)Settled reminds us of this through beautiful and
compelling works of art,” says Erin Monroe, Krieble Curator of American Paintings and Sculpture
at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Monroe worked with Laura Leonard, Art Bridges
Project Coordinator and Curatorial Researcher on the final artist selection and interpretative
materials. As Leonard stated, “This project was enriched by the dialogue we had with our
partners and sharing different viewpoints on the topic. As a result, the exhibition includes several
regional artists to expand beyond the familiar and expected.”
For the Wadsworth’s presentation as the final venue for this traveling exhibition, the museum will
include additional works from the permanent collection that further highlight the significance of
artists relating to the landscape, such as Mark Dion’s sculptural display of objects excavated from
the Seekonk River Providence Cabinet (2001) and Alma Thomas’s abstract painting Red Azaleas
Jubliee (1976).
The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (Hartford, CT), is the lead institution in the Art Bridges
Cohort Program, centered on collection-sharing initiatives with its three partner museums: the
Columbia Museum of Art (Columbia, SC), the Mobile Museum of Art (Mobile, AL), and the
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (Montgomery, AL). Together, the four institutions are known as
the American South Consortium.
An Art Bridges Foundation partnership
(Un)Settled: The Landscape in American Art , a mid-sized exhibition, is one in a series of
American art exhibitions created through a multi-year, multi-institutional partnership formed by
the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art as part of the Art Bridges Cohort Program.
Images
Thomas Cole (1802–1848), View in the White Mountains, 1827. Oil on canvas.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Bequest of Daniel Wadsworth, 1848.17
A superlative exhibition was mounted in the newly opened Kunstmuseum Luzern in 1935 featuring works by Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miró, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Pablo Picasso, Georges
Braque, Alexander Calder and others. Whereas at the same time in National-Socialist Germany
art by Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee or Piet Mondrian was being defamed as «degenerate», in
1935 the Kunstmuseum Luzern showed precisely these modernist positions, at the heart of an
ever more totalitarian Europe.
The Kunstmuseum Luzern made its mark internationally with the historic exhibition entitled
These, Antithese, Synthese. To this very day, the exhibition is considered as «legendary», «inimitable» and «unsurpassable». The museum branch considers the 1935 exhibition to be impossible for a medium-sized institution like the Kunstmuseum Lucerne to reconstruct due to the
high calibre of the art it displayed; this belief roused the current team’s ambition. So now, under
the heading Kandinsky, Picasso, Miró et al. back in Lucerne, works will be presented that were on
show in Lucerne back then, or that qualify as valid alternatives to works not available on loan,
for whatever reasons.
Over a period of more than five years, research was carried out on the almost one hundred
works in the original 1935 exhibition. Most of them date from the 1920s and 30s and since
then, by way of the art market, are owned by the world’s most prestigious museums or by
private collectors. Other works have been lost, however, and some have even been destroyed.
What is more, the research work was hampered by the unsatisfactory source situation. Not
many papers dating from 1935 documenting the historic exhibition have been preserved. In
addition to the exhibition catalogue, which has few illustrations, all that exists in Lucerne’s city
archives is a scanty folder containing documents related to the exhibition. That it has been
possible to get quite a large number of the original works on loan is all the more astonishing.
Kandinsky, Picasso, Miró et al. back in Lucerne presents magnificent art. The celebrated works
also draw attention to additional stories, as the historical context of the legendary 1935 exhibition These, Antithese, Synthese includes the emergence of modern art, resentment toward the
avant-garde, fascism and communism. Kandinsky, Picasso, Miró et al. back in Lucerne conveys
the intellectual, political and cultural turmoil of the period between the world wars. This exhibition therefore stands for a critical self-reflection on the part of the institution and its history.
For contrary to the 1935 exhibition’s own aspiration to honour the promise of modernism and
facilitate an alternative to capitalism and fascism, that exhibition clearly overlooked women or
artists of non-European origins.
The only presented female artist was Sophie Taeuber-Arp. Given that the three exhibition makers, Paul Hilber, Konrad Farner und Hans Erni, are known to
have rejected Barbara Hepworth’s work, the exhibition Kandinsky, Picasso, Miró et al. back in
Lucerne is including a large group of works by that artist. It is thus highlighting the history of
modern art’s marginalised women artists, taking Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Barbara Hepworth as
examples.
The exhibition heightens our sensitivity to contexts. At the same time, it offers an
overwhelming art spectacle for the senses in view of the fact that the art is, plainly and simply, inspirational. Viewers will have the special and unique opportunity to experience the brilliant
works by modern art’s women pioneers gathered together at the Kunstmuseum Luzern.
Publication
A comprehensive catalogue will be published to accompany the exhibition, intensifying its cultural significance and illustrating it by a large number of reproductions.
curated by Fanni Fetzer
With Hans Arp, Georges Braque, Alexander Calder, Paul Cézanne, Giorgio de Chirico, André Derain, Hans Erni,
Max Ernst, Luis Fernández, Alberto Giacometti, Julio González, Juan Gris, Jean Hélion, Barbara Hepworth,
Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Fernand Léger, Joan Miró, Piet Mondrian, Ben Nicholson, Amédée Ozenfant,
Wolfgang Paalen, Pablo Picasso, Sophie Taeuber-Arp
These, Antithese, Synthese – reconstructed, 1935/2025,
with essays by Fanni Fetzer, Stanislaus von Moos, Beni
Muhl, Bettina Steinbrügge a. o., ed. by Kunstmuseum
Luzern, Skira Edition, g/e, 336 pages, ISBN 978-88-572-
5395-4, –
Wassily Kandinsky, Durchgehender Strich, 1923, Öl auf Leinwand, 140.8 ×
202 × 2.7 cm, Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, erworben 1967 aus einer Spende des Westdeutschen Rundfunks, Foto:
Walter Klein
Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Echelonnement, 1934, Öl auf Leinwand, 65 × 50.8
cm, Collection du Musée de Grenoble. Foto: Ville de Grenoble/Musée de
Grenoble - J.L. Lacroix
Paul Cézanne, Boîte à lait et citron, II, 1879–80, Öl auf Leinwand, 22.2 × 44
cm, Sammlung Rosengart, Luzern
Hans Erni, Plastide, 1934, Öl auf Leinwand, 73 × 92 cm, Nachlass Hans
Erni, Luzern, Foto: Andri Stadler
Hans Erni, Plakat zur Ausstellung These, Antithese, Synthese, 1935,
Kunstmuseum Luzern, Foto: Andri Stadler
This summer, for the first time in the history of the Rijksmuseum, a contemporary artist has been invited to curate a major exhibition, spanning the entirety of the Philips Wing.
Entitled Monomania – Rijksmuseum’s 2025 summer exhibition will be curated by the internationally acclaimed Indonesia-born Dutch artist Fiona Tan, who represented the Netherlands at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Tan’s fascination with the birth of psychiatry at the beginning of the 19th century serves as the starting point for the exhibition that draws from Rijksmuseum’s extensive collection including works by Francisco Goya, Edvard Munch, Raden Saleh as well as Japanese masks and christening gowns
Théodore Géricault, Portrait of a Kleptomaniac, c. 1820–1824, Ghent, Museum of Fine Arts, inv. no. 1908-F; gift of The Friends of the Museum Ghent, 1908.
Portrait of a Kleptomaniac (c. 1822) by the French artist Théodore Géricault (Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent) serves as the starting point for Fiona Tan’s research into the development of psychiatry at the beginning of the 19th century. The painting is part of Les Monomanes, a series of ten portraits of individuals believed to have an obsessive fixation. Only five of these paintings are still known today. Géricault, along with many other 19th century artists, was fascinated by the extremes of the psyche. They were keen to explore, like the physicians of the time, the idea that mental afflictions could be read upon the face.
Odilon Redon (signed by artist), Ophélie, la cape bleue sur les eaux (Ophelia with a Blue Wimple in the Water), 1900 - 1905, Rijksmuseum, Inv.no. SK-A-4840.
Edvard Munch, The Sin (Standing Nude with Red Hair), 1902, Rijksmuseum. inv.no. RP-P-1953 -888.
From 14 June to 5 October 2025, the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery) of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD, Dresden State Art Collections) is showing "TEAMWORK in Antwerp! Pieter Bruegel, Hendrick van Balen and the others", an exhibition on the structure and work of important studios in 17th-century Antwerp.
The exhibition is based on a comprehensive research project on the Flemish painting collections in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister that began in 2012. The latest, previously unpublished results of this research show how artists from different painting workshops joined forces and produced paintings together in efficiently organised work processes. The exhibition illustrates how this collaboration functioned on many different levels.
Almost all of the 53 paintings and 28 drawings and prints come from the SKD's holdings - plus six selected loans from Leipzig, Antwerp and private collections. More than half of the paintings have not been exhibited in Dresden since the Second World War, and some from the Brueghel and Francken family workshops have never been shown before.
After the storms of the Counter-Reformation under Spanish-Habsburg leadership, Antwerp experienced a new economic boom at the beginning of the 17th century, which brought a certain prosperity to an increasingly broad class of citizens. Cabinet paintings, i.e. small-format pictures with religious or mythological themes, landscape paintings and still lifes, were in great demand. So much in demand that artists, especially celebrated artists such as Jan Bruegel the Elder, Hendrik van Balen and Frans Francken the Younger, could barely keep up with production. As a result, workshop practice focussed on efficiency became increasingly important: Painters and their studios formed networks and co-operated in the production of paintings with an intensity and professionalism that had not previously been observed in Netherlandish painting.
The exhibition shows how this collaboration was organised, who was involved and how the paintings were produced. Artists such as Jan Brueghel the Elder and Frans Francken the Younger gave their names to the works. When paintings were painted in large numbers and of poorer quality in their workshops by assistants, pupils or itinerant labourers, care was taken to paint them at least ‘in the manner of’ Brueghel I or Balen’. The copies were sometimes so good that it was difficult to distinguish them from the original. The research project was able to shed light on this: 45 works were intensively analysed both technically (usually using radiation diagnostic methods, dendrochronology and microscopy) and in terms of art history. It was discovered that the big names sometimes concealed different artists.
The exhibition presents all the protagonists and the characteristics of their paintings: Jan Brueghel the Elder, for example, was famous for his landscape paintings and floral still lifes, while Hendrick van Balen loved to paint mythological figure scenes and Frans Francken specialised in small-figure biblical scenes.
They combined their talents for the efficient production of cabinet paintings. The division of labour took place not only within a studio, but also between the individual houses.
Works on paper form a separate focus in the exhibition. Drawn studies were created for popular motifs from everyday life, special natural scenes and fictional subjects, which were often widely received artistically. Drawings also served as sketches of ideas to clarify the overall composition and helped the artists to discuss individual motifs. TEAMWORK shows a total of 28 drawings and prints from the collection of the Kupferstich-Kabinett Dresden. Among others, the very rare and therefore rarely exhibited pen and ink drawing ‘The Gooseherd’ by Pieter Bruegel the Elder will be on display. Works of art such as this sheet provide an intimate insight into the process of creating the paintings and into artistic workshop practice.
Individual motifs are used to illustrate how they can be found in the various paintings and in different qualities. The visitors are encouraged to look closely and recognise painting styles and handwriting. The exhibition thus becomes a ‘school of seeing’.
The Whitney Museum of American Art presents a refreshed look
at the Museum’s collection in the exhibition “Untitled” (America). Coinciding with the Whitney’s
ten-year anniversary in its current building downtown, this reinstallation celebrates highlights of
the collection alongside new acquisitions in an open, dynamic exhibition design that forges
connections across subjects and decades.
Reflecting on the vision of its founder, sculptor, and
philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the presentation underscores the Museum’s
longtime commitment to supporting contemporary American art, even as the notion of “America”
has and continues to evolve.
Today, the Whitney’s collection is a testament to the ambitious and experimental practices of
artists in the United States, offering diverse stories of American life through formal, social, and
political lenses. “Untitled” (America) features recognizable favorites by renowned American
artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Barkley L. Hendricks, Edward Hopper, Jasper
Johns, Archibald John Motley Jr., Georgia O’Keeffe, Mark Rothko, Ed Ruscha, Alma
Thomas, Kay WalkingStick, and Andy Warhol, alongside more recent acquisitions from the
Museum’s collection. It highlights key ideas and artistic approaches in American art from 1900
through the early 1980s, at times cutting across chronological boundaries.
Beginning with the
Whitney’s robust holdings in figurative and realist traditions, the presentation considers how
artists have responded to place and memory in the American landscape, popular culture and
the rise of consumerism, the seductions and illusions of mass media, and the spatial and
cultural dynamics of abstraction.
“
We’re thrilled to welcome visitors back to our collection galleries,” said Kim Conaty, Nancy and
Steve Crown Family Chief Curator at the Whitney Museum. “The newly configured spaces offer
something for everyone, with favorite works in new conversations, and recent additions to the
collection making stunning debuts. Special installations, like a daylit sculpture gallery dedicated
to the work of Isamu Noguchi, celebrate the great strengths of the collection set within the
unique architecture of the Whitney’s downtown building.”
“Untitled” (America) will be on view at the Whitney Museum beginning July 5, 2025. The
exhibition is curated by Kim Conaty, Nancy and Steve Crown Family Chief Curator at the
Whitney, with Antonia Pocock, Curatorial Assistant. This presentation of the Whitney’s collection
is dedicated to the memory of Leonard A. Lauder, Chairman Emeritus, who recently passed
away, in honor of his extensive contributions to the Museum.
Exhibition Overview
“Untitled” (America)
On the occasion of the Whitney’s tenth anniversary downtown, “Untitled” (America) celebrates
the past, present, and future of the Museum’s collection. This presentation, which features
works from 1900 through 1980, highlights beloved icons from the Whitney’s collection, including
recent acquisitions that expand existing narratives and surface new ones.
Organized thematically, the exhibition foregrounds key ideas and approaches in
twentieth-century artmaking in the United States, and the open exhibition design allows for meaningful connections to be made across subjects and time periods. The exhibition title draws
inspiration from Felix Gonzalez-Torres, whose 1994 work of the same name will be installed in
the west window, just off the entrance to the exhibition. This work, consisting of twelve strands
of light bulbs, one of which will be installed here, offers a participatory meditation on the concept
of “America.”
As Gonzalez-Torres reflected, “The America that I now know is still a place of light,
a place of opportunities, of risks, of justice, of racism, of injustice, of hunger and excess, of
pleasure and growth. Democracy is a constant job, a collective dedication. My sculpture
“Untitled” (America) comes with no instructions. It can be installed any way someone might
want.”
In that spirit, this exhibition embraces the complexity and contradictions of “American” art,
leaving its definition open to question and collaboration from visitors.
“Untitled” (America) opens with five iconic works from the collection: Jasper Johns, Three Flags
(1958), Georgia O'Keeffe, Summer Days (1936), Barkley L. Hendricks, Steve (1976), Alma
Thomas, Mars Dust (1972), and Kay WalkingStick, April Contemplating May (1972).
The first gallery is dedicated to the Whitney’s rich history of collecting works by artists working in
figural and realist traditions. It highlights several works from the Museum’s founding collection,
including Robert Henri, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1916), George Bellows, Dempsey and
Firpo (1924), and Edward Hopper, Early Sunday Morning (1930). Reflecting on the Museum’s
continued commitment to realism and portraiture, Arshile Gorky’s The Artist and His Mother
(1936) will be paired with Alice Neel’s Andy Warhol (1970), both on view at the Museum for the
first time in several years.
The American landscape will be examined through conceptions of place, memory, and war, with
a selection of works from Jacob Lawrence’s War Series (1946-47), paired with a new acquisition
by Fritz Scholder, Massacre at Wounded Knee II (1970). Works by Elsie Driggs, Eldzier Cortor,
Joseph Stella, and a new acquisition by Aaron Douglas will examine the built landscape across
different moments in US history.
Subsequent galleries in the exhibition explore how artists have engaged with objects from
everyday life, both as materials and sources of inspiration.
Works like Yayoi Kusama’s Air Mail
Stickers (1969) explore an artist’s transformation of the mundane to the extraordinary, and
Marisol’s print Diptych (1971) introduces an irreverent take on self-portraiture through the use of
her own body as a matrix. Works by Gerald Murphy and Man Ray offer earlier examples of
artists questioning consumerism and bringing popular culture into their work.
The seductions and illusions of mass media are explored in works like Nam June Paik’s Magnet
TV (1965), which undermines the power of broadcast and mass media by distorting and
manipulating the content being served to the viewers. Ed Ruscha’s Large Trademark with Eight
Spotlights (1962), Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Hollywood Africans (1983), Andy Warhol’s Ethel Scull
36 Times (1963), and Rosalyn Drexler’s Marilyn Pursued by Death (1963) point to the artifice of
Hollywood and celebrity culture while engaging in the visual languages of commercial culture.
The final gallery of the exhibition explores abstraction through key Abstract Expressionist works,
including Clyfford Still’s Untitled (1956), Norman Lewis' American Totem (1960), and Mark
Rothko’s Four Darks in Red (1958). Alongside these paintings, Jay DeFeo’s The Rose
(1958-66), Lee Bontecou’s Untitled (1963), and a recent acquisition, Zilia Sánchez’s Eros
(1976/1998), push further at the spatial and material dynamics of abstraction.
George Bellows, Dempsey and Firpo, 1924. Oil on canvas, 51 1/8 × 63 1/4 in. (129.9 × 160.7 cm).
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase with funds from Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney 31.95;
Robert Henri, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, 1916. Oil on canvas, 49 15/16 × 72in. (126.8 × 182.9 cm).
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Flora Whitney Miller 86.70.3
Joseph Stella, The Brooklyn Bridge:
Variation on an Old Theme, 1939. Oil on canvas, 70 1/4 × 42 3/16 in. (178.4 × 107.2 cm). Whitney Museum of
American Art, New York; Purchase 42.15;
With over 50 works 'Renoir and Love' will be the most significant exhibition of the French impressionist’s work in the UK for 20 years.
The first exhibition devoted to the artist at the National Gallery since 2007 'Renoir and Love' will include his most experimental, ambitious and admired canvases including the iconic 'Bal au Moulin de la Galette' (1876, the Musée d’Orsay, Paris), which will be exhibited in the UK for the first time.
Organised in partnership with the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 'Renoir and Love' will focus on the crucial years of the artist’s career, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s.
The exhibition traces the evolution of the imagery of affection, seduction, conversation, male camaraderie and the sociability of the café and theatre, as well as merry-making, flirtation, courtship and child-rearing in Renoir’s art.
Loans from private collections and museums worldwide include pictures from Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen; the Städel Museum, Frankfurt; the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Norton Simon Art Foundation, Pasadena, California; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
Exhibition co-curator Christopher Riopelle, the Neil Westreich Curator of Post-1800 Paintings at the National Gallery, says: 'More than any of his contemporaries, Renoir was committed to chronicling love and friendship and their informal manifestations as keys to modern life. Whether on Parisian streetcorners or in sun-dappled woodlands, he understood that emotion could be as fleeting, as evanescent, as blinding, as his other great and transitory subject, sunlight itself.’
Such themes are explored in tender and personal works to beguiling multi-figure compositions of urban and suburban sociability. Several full-length figure compositions, such as 'The Umbrellas' (1881, reworked 1885, National Gallery), show how Renoir develops the theme into paintings 'worthy of the museum.' His Dance compositions remain universally loved symbols of the French fin-de-siècle. In the early 1880s Renoir moved away from Impressionist style with its fascination with the play of light to more solid, sculptural compositions, but the theme of friendship and joy in nature remains.
The exhibition was initiated by the Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and is organised by the Musée d’Orsay, the National Gallery and the Museum of Fine Arts, BostonThe curators are:
Paris
Paul Perrin, Chief Curator and Director of Conservation and Collections at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris; with the participation of Lucie Lachenal-Tabellet, Archival Research Assistant at the Musée d’Orsay
London
Christopher Riopelle, Neil Westreich Curator of Post-1800 Paintings, National Gallery, London, and Chiara Di Stefano, Associate Curator of Post-1800 Paintings at the National Gallery, London
Boston
Katie Hanson, William and Ann Elfers Curator of Paintings, Art of Europe, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; with the participation of Julia Welch, Arthur K. Solomon Assistant Curator of Paintings, Art of Europe, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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