Mastering the Market: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from Woburn Abbey

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Monday, May 13, 2024


Mastering the Market: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from Woburn Abbey
Teniers the Younger, The Interior of Archduke Leopold William's Picture Gallery at Brussels.



BIRMINGHAM.- This summer, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, will showcase a dazzling selection of Dutch and Flemish 17th-century masterpieces from Woburn Abbey, the ancestral home of the Dukes of Bedford. Featuring a dozen Old Master paintings, the exhibition Mastering the Market: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from Woburn Abbey (17 June – 24 September 2023) is one of the largest and most significant group of such works from this important ducal collection to be exhibited in a public gallery since the 1950s.

Mastering the Market, which focuses on the themes of patronage and collecting, is curated by four Art History and Curating MA students from the University, with guidance and supervision from experts at both the Barber Institute and Woburn Abbey. Other aspects of the innovative and dynamic 17th-century Dutch art market will also be explored – from the unique character of artistic culture in the newly independent Dutch Republic, through art dealership and attribution, to the demand for, and development of, new genres. The burgeoning wealth and rise of the merchant classes in the Netherlands in the 17th century sparked huge demand for portrait commissions, which the Barber exhibition examines, offering fresh interpretations of the works from Woburn Abbey.

Assembled principally by the 4th, 5th and 6th Dukes of Bedford between the 1730s and 1830s, the Woburn Abbey collection of Dutch and Flemish paintings is one of the finest in private hands in the UK. These include superb portraits and head studies by Rembrandt Van Rijn, Frans Hals and Anthony Van Dyck, exquisite landscapes and seascapes by Aelbert Cuyp and Jan van de Cappelle, and lively subject pictures by Jan Steen and David Teniers. The exceptional opportunity to see these paintings together in a public gallery has arisen due to the extensive and ongoing refurbishment of the Abbey.

Key loans include Rembrandt’s Portrait of a bearded Old Man, 1643, Hals’s Portrait of a Man, c. 1635-38, Van Dyck’s Portrait of a Married Couple, identified as Daniel Mytens and his Wife, c. 1632-34, Cuyp’s A Landscape near Calcar with the Artist sketching, c. 1652, Steen’s Twelfth Night or 'Le Roi Boit', 1670-71, and Van de Cappelle’s A Dutch Harbour, with numerous Fishing Boats, c. 1652-54.




Complementing the Woburn masterpieces is a small selection of the outstanding Dutch and Flemish paintings in the Barber’s own permanent collection, notably Jan Steen’s The Wrath of Ahasuerus, c. 1668-70, Van Dyck’s Ecce Homo, c.1625-26, and Portrait of François Langlois, early 1630s (jointly owned with the National Gallery, London), plus Hals’s Portrait of a Man holding a Skull, c. 1611-12. These will connect with the respective works by the same artists from Woburn.

Robert Wenley, Barber Institute Deputy Director, Research and Collections, says: “The exhibition will present the public with the rare opportunity to view these works up close in a gallery setting, and facilitate an appreciation of the ways in which patronage and collecting reflected and contributed to a dynamic period of European history.

“Our talented young team of student curators will also explore the tastes and achievements of the successive Dukes of Bedford as collectors of Dutch and Flemish paintings in the decades following their first purchases on the art market of works from these schools in the early 18th century.”

Professor Jennifer Powell, Director of the Barber Institute, says: “We are delighted to present works from this important collection in Birmingham. The Barber is proud to support this unique opportunity for students of the University of Birmingham to co-curate an exhibition of such exceptional quality in its main gallery programme”.

Matthew Hirst, Curator of the Woburn Abbey Collection, says: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to present these masterpieces from Woburn Abbey alongside other works by the same masters from the Barber’s own choice collection. This opportunity to compare these works and consider the phenomenon of the Dutch and Flemish market is only possible due to the input of the students at this unique time whilst Woburn Abbey is closed to undergo a generational refurbishment project”.

Woburn Abbey is the home of the 15th Duke and Duchess of Bedford and has been the principal family seat since the 1620s. Shaped by successive generations to adapt to changing family life and taste, the Abbey is currently closed to facilitate a major refurbishment programme. Guided both by rigorous research and the requirements of modern family life, the Abbey’s interiors are being conserved and re-presented using traditional materials and methods.

Woburn Abbey houses an outstanding collection of works of art brought together by the family over nearly 500 years. During the closure, there is an active loans programme to share some of these treasures so they can be enjoyed in different contexts. Woburn has partnered with a number of prestigious venues since 2020, including Royal Museums Greenwich, the Holburne Museum, Worcester City Art Gallery and Gainsborough’s House. Many of the important works of art from the collection have been exhibited in new ways due to these partnerships.

Full restoration and renewal of the roof at Woburn Abbey has led to a prolonged closure period. This has enabled these partnerships to continue and expand offering more opportunities to share Woburn’s impressive art collection with a wider audience.

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is the art gallery, principal art collection and original concert hall for the University of Birmingham. It was founded in 1932 ‘for the study and encouragement of art and music’ by Lady Barber, who stipulated the acquisition of works ‘of that standard of quality required by the National Gallery and the Wallace Collection’. Housed in Birmingham’s most significant Art Deco building, designed by Robert Atkinson, the Barber Institute is home to a National Designated Collection, acquired and owned by the Henry Barber Trust and with holdings that now include some 160 paintings, dating from the early Renaissance through to the late 20th century, more than 800 works on paper, as well as sculpture, decorative arts and one of the most important caches of Roman, Byzantine and Medieval coins in the world. The collection features key works by (among others) Frank Auerbach, Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, Rosalba Carriera, Edgas Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, Gwen John, Kä the Kollwitz, René Magritte, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Auguste Rodin, Peter Paul Rubens, J.M.W Turner, Van Vincent Gogh, Elizabeth Vigée Lebrun and Rex Whistler.










Today's News

June 16, 2023

Met Museum trains 'Monuments Men' to save Ukrainian cultural heritage

From bronze in motion to fake iron trees: Public art at Art Basel

Rembrandt's masterpiece on show at Rijksmuseum

Early JMW Turner watercolour comes to market for first time

Dee Dee Ramone's iconic stage-worn leather jacket & punk art takes center stage at music auction

A Mexico City design landmark, reborn as something else

National Portrait Gallery presents "One Life: Frederick Douglass"

World Trade Center arts space to open with music, theater and dance

Asian Cultural Council Board of Trustees elect Josie Cruz Natori as Chairman

Mastering the Market: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from Woburn Abbey

Robert Gottlieb, eminent editor from le Carré to Clinton, dies at 92

Phillips' London 20th Century to Now Sale includes items from Collection of Thomas B. Lemann

French lyrical abstract painter Olivier Debré on view at Simon Lee Gallery

McEvoy Foundation for the Arts opening What are words worth?, last exhibition before permanently closing

Kelly Akashi: Formations now opening at the Frye Art Museum

New works by Maliza Kiasuwa create totems of mixed meaning out of everyday objects

Glenda Jackson, Oscar-winning actor turned politician, dies at 87

Neue Auctions' online-only sale to feature marble bust by Hiram Powers as well as Renoir prints

New exhibition explores the meaning of gifts and the stories we tell about them

Portuguese curator brings Japanese ALT group exhibition to Shoreditch

Beautiful evening of music emerged from a New York City sewer

In San Francisco, a week of destination opera

John Romita Sr., creative force at Marvel Comics, is dead at 93

Comprehensive Guide: Various Wallpaper Styles

What is a bingo and how to play it?

How to Play Online Slots

Exploring BNB Chain: A Comprehensive Guide to Unlock BNB Ecosystem

Abbi Johnson Captivates in Ajkun Ballet Theatre's Dracula

Unlocking the Canvas: A Palette of Artistic Expression Through My Essay Writer




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful