The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Shows "Rembrandt & Degas: Two Young Artists"

Written by Carolyn McCarthy Friday, 27 January 2012 02:01

Williamstown, MA.- A selection of portraits by two great masters will be on view at the Clark in the intimate exhibition "Rembrandt and Degas: Two Young Artists", a first-time exploration of Rembrandt van Rijn’s influence on Degas presents portraits by both artists side-by-side. The portraits and etchings on view will include Rembrandt’s "Self-Portrait as a Young Man" (c. 1628–29) from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and "Self-Portrait as a Young Man" (c. 1628–29) from the Alte Pinakothek, Munich, and Degas’s "Self Portrait" (c. 1857) from the Clark’s collection. "Rembrandt and Degas: Two Young Artists" comes to the Clark from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Following the Clark, the exhibition will travel to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in February. The exhibition was organized by the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, in association with the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and the works are drawn primarily from the holdings of each institution.

At the beginning of his career Edgar Degas created about forty self portraits in paintings, prints, and drawings during a brief period in the mid- to late-1850s. As a developing artist he studied the portraiture of earlier masters, perhaps none more closely than Rembrandt, who had made self portraits throughout his life. Degas encountered Rembrandt’s etchings during his student years and on subsequent travels in Italy, and he made several direct copies of Rembrandt’s prints. This experience seems to have stimulated Degas’s own exploration of the technical and expressive potential of portraiture and self-portraiture in painted and graphic form. Athough it is well known that the famous French impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834-1917) was inspired by Rembrandt, the forthcoming exhibition will be the first actually devoted to Rembrandt’s influence on Degas. Rarely displayed together, the Degas self-portraits originate from internationally renowned collections such as those at The Metropolitan Museum in New York, The National Gallery of Art in Washington and The Getty Museum in Los Angeles. One of the Degas self-portraits is particularly special, as it comes from a private collection and has never been shown before. The self-portraits show the artists around the age of 23, at a time when they were both starting out on illustrious careers. Degas was in Rome at the time, studying art, including that of the old masters, and he became inspired by Rembrandt’s etchings. We can see the inspiration in particular in his experiments with various poses and with the already widely praised use of light and shade. In addition to a large number of etchings by Rembrandt and the Self-Portrait as a Young Man from the Rijksmuseum collection, the exhibition also includes a magnificent panel self-portrait by Rembrandt on loan from the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.

In 1950 Sterling and Francine Clark chartered the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute as a home for their extensive art collection. Opened to public in 1955, the Institute has built upon this extraordinary group of works to become one of the most beloved and respected art museums in the world, known for its intimate galleries and stunning natural environment. One of the few institutions in the United States that combines a public art museum with a complement of research and academic programs, including a major art history library, the Clark is now a leading international center for research and discussion on the nature of art and art history. Building upon the founders' legacy, the Institute has recently unveiled its master plan for the twenty-first century, which fosters the Clark's commitment to providing space for its expanding research and museum programs while maintaining the unique character of its beautiful rural setting. Although the collections have expanded greatly since the opening of the Clark in 1955, their scope and character continue to represent the taste and interests of Sterling and Francine Clark. Thus the collections focus almost exclusively on European and American painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative art from the Renaissance to the early twentieth century. The Institute's greatest strengths lie in nineteenth-century European and American painting, especially the French Impressionists; English silver; master drawings and prints; and, in recent years, the Institute's growing collection of early photography. In March 2011, a number of nineteenth-century French paintings from the Clark's noted collection began a three-year international tour. While these paintings are on exhibition elsewhere, many of the Clark's other beloved works, including exceptional works by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent continue to delight visitors. A rigorous program of special exhibitions further complements the Clark's esteemed permanent collection. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.clarkart.edu

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