Dutch Art in a Global Age
You should consider visiting the High Museum in Atlanta, Georgia to see “Dutch Art in a Global Age” before it closes on July 14, 2024. The exhibition includes a diverse collection of still life paintings, portraits, sketches, etchings, silver and pottery.
The exhibition is a collection of works from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The High Museum exhibition web page might lead you to believe the exhibition is a small collection of works though we were pleased to discover it’s room after room of interesting works, each with their own story.
Dutch Art in a Global Age: Masterpieces from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Dutch art, even the still life paintings, should be studied. The works contain meticulous renderings of textures, fabrics and common materials that show you something new each time you look at the work.
For example, in the image below, what did you see the first time you looked at the image?
ABOVE: The Westerkerk, Amsterdam, ca. 1667-1670, oil on panel by Jan van der Heyden.
The bell tower of the west church and clouds in the background might have grabbed your attention. If you keep studying the painting, you discover a collection of people. Each building and person has its own story.
This work was painted as a celebration of the newly constructed Prinsengracht (“Prince’s Canal”). The Westerkerk was completed in 1631 and still stands today. You might have noticed this if you’ve visited the Anne Frank Haus museum in the next block.
The dish set below is one of many examples of works in the exhibition that help us understand the artistry in practical works.
ABOVE: Sweetmeat Set, ca. 1680 by Samuel van Eenhoorn from The Greek A Factory in Delft.
The star-shaped arrangement of dishes above is modeled after Chinese porcelain examples. While that might sound like a simple influence, we have to consider how that connection came to be. The Dutch were the first to sail around the Cape of Africa to the far east where they established trade.
The Dutch were influenced by Asian cultures as shown by this set of small dishes produced in Delft, a city known for it’s fine ceramics and pottery. Each of the nine dishes was molded and painted by hand. The dishes were used to serve sweet and savory preserves or candied fruit.
Not all exhibition catalogs are worth the cost. Happily, the Dutch Art in a Golden Age exhibition catalog (pictured above) does a very good job of providing detail about the works in the exhibition through a literal catalog of works supported by a series of essays. This catalog is an excellent starting point if you wish to learn more about the works in the exhibition after your visit.
The table of contents from the exhibition catalog shown below gives you an idea of the detail included to help support our learning and further understanding.
The exhibition is diverse so the catalog gives us many different types of works to discover and learn about. For example, still life paintings may not be your cup of tea so there are other works like the sketch below that display a different skill set.
ABOVE: Self-Portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill by Rembrant van Rijn, 1639
The seventeenth century is considered the “golden age” for Dutch art. It was driven by the Dutch Republic’s economic growth resulting from trade throughout the known world. That trade resulted in a vibrant Dutch economy which had room for many artists.
The Dutch artists of the “golden age” influenced others through their works. Even a still life painting could be studied for elements of architecture, interior design and art.
Johannes Vermeer produced works that included remarkably detailed maps on the wall behind the subjects of his paintings. While we were captivated by the subjects of Vermeer’s paintings, we eventually realized the detail Vermeer had inserted in the backgrounds of his work.
There is much to discover in the works of “golden age” Dutch artists so we hope you’ll consider visiting the High Museum to see the exhibition. If you’re able to visit, please take a moment to look at the descriptions of the other exhibitions currently open to see if there’s something that might be of interest to you.
Accessing the Exhibits
Admission to the High Museum provides access to all exhibitions. There’s on-site parking, the cost of which is included in a membership. There’s also an on-site restaurant and food available in the museum.
You may find that a membership is a less-expensive option if you plan to return more than once in a year. As these exhibitions will be replaced, a membership will allow you to visit their successors.
You may already have a membership that provides access to the High Museum. The High Museum participates in the North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association. If you don’t have a museum membership then a membership at the High Museum can open doors across North America!
Don’t Forget to Look Up!
The campus of the High Museum includes the 1983 building by Richard Meier fronting on Peachtree Street and additional projects behind it. The 30” by 30” metal panels used on the Meier building housing the Paris exhibition is intended to help the modern style relate to a human scale.
ABOVE: Richard Meier’s design sits closest to Peachtree Street with additions to the museum directly behind and to the left of the initial building.
Meier was awarded other important commissions, including the Getty Center in Los Angeles, following his work in Atlanta.
The building containing the Potter exhibition is the most recent. It was designed by Renzo Piano. As you move between exhibitions, see if you can spot how Piano brings natural light into the top floor without allowing it to overwhelm the space.
ABOVE: The light wells in the latest addition by Renzo Piano face north so they only provide indirect light.
ABOVE: You can see the shapes for the light wells from the outside of the building too. This view is looking up to the front of the building while standing in the courtyard outside the museum entrance and gift shop.
Architects encourage others to look up. Look up from your phone or other distractions to see the people, city and architecture around you. We hope you enjoy exploring the buildings of the museum campus.
Leave a comment below to let us know your thoughts: Would you like to visit one of more of these exhibitions? Have you visited the museum before? Have you already seen these exhibitions?
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