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Nicolaes Maes (1634-1693)

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Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath Dutch, about 1670-80 Pen and brown wash 20.5 x 32.5 cm The subject is from the ‘Kings’, XVII: 10. This drawing shows the biblical story from Kings during which the Lord directs Elijah to the town gates of Zarephath where a widow has been directed to provide him with … Read more

Lambert Doomer (1622/3-1700)

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Rock Dwellings at Saumur on the Loire Dutch, 1646 Pen with grey and brown washes 22.8 x 36.5 cm The inhabitants of a rock dwelling execute their daily tasks. This scene at Saumur is on of a number of drawings made in the Loire Valley by the artist en route from Nantes in 1646. Other … Read more

Antoon Derkzen van Angeren (1878-1961)

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Two Skulls Dutch, 1908-9 Etching 30 x 39.7 cm This etching revives the distinctive Dutch seventeenth-century painting category of vanitas still-life. One or more skulls in isolation was a tradition established by Angeren’s seventeenth-century predecessor, Hercules Seers (1589/90-1633/38).  Purchased 2001 (No. 2001.1).

Jan Both (c. 1618-1652)

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The Mule Driver Netherlands, 1630s Etching  22 x 29.5 cm The mule with a low-slung head struggling under the weight of a heavy load is a motif that frequently appears in Both’s Italianate landscape scenes. For many, the mule was an affordable means of transport and an ideal working animal, combining the endurance and sure-footedness … Read more

Anthony Van Dyck (1599-1641)

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Lucas Vorsterman Antwerp, about 1630 Etching 248 X 160 MM Lucas Vorsterman (1595-1675) was a talented engraver who was employed by Rubens to create reproductions of the master’s work until a violent dispute ended their relationship. This engraving is one of 80 prints that appeared in Van Dyck’s series ‘portraits of famous men’, later known … Read more

Flinck in Focus

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A Question of Identity in 17th-century Dutch Portraiture One of Rembrandt’s most talented pupils, Govert Flinck was a highly prized and extremely successful portraitist and history painter, with a reputation that grew to match even that of his master. He was particularly popular for his portraits of children – a genre his teacher eschewed. But his … Read more

HENDRICK GOLTZIUS (1558-1617)

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Hercules and Cacus Haarlem, 1588 Woodcut 409 X 331 MM Hercules raises his club ready to strike Cacus, a fire-breathing monster, who cowers beneath him.  The cows, which Cacus had stolen from Hercules, crowd the right-hand side. Secondary characters add to the chaos of the scene by cluttering the background. The focus, however, is firmly on … Read more

REMBRANDT HARMENSZ VAN RIJN (1606-1669)

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Self-Portrait with Saskia Amsterdam, 1636 Etching Rembrandt and his wife Saskia are shown in historical dress in this self portrait from the 1630s. Well known for making self-portraits throughout his life, this etching shows the artist during his most prosperous decade before the tragic death of his wife and 3 of his 4 children. The … Read more

Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617)

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The companions of Cadmus devoured by the dragon Haarlem, 1588 Engraving 253 X 318 MM Goltzius worked with the artist, Cornelius van Haarlem, at the ‘Academy’ of Harlem, who made the painting (now at the National Gallery London) from which this engraving derives.  Ripping claws, fangs gouging deep into flesh, scattered heads and shredded bodies … Read more

Schelte Adamsz Bolswert (c. 1586-1659), after Peter Paul Rubens

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The Lion Hunt Flanders, late 1620s Engraving with etching 428 x 596 mm This violent and dramatic hunting scene, after a painting by Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), shows horses, men and wild beasts masterfully entwined, the range of facial expressions and contorted poses portraying the fury and fierce determination of each. The central horse, legs outstretched, … Read more

Nicolaes Maes (1634 – 1693)

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A Portrait of a Lady Amsterdam, the mid-1670s Oil on canvas 113.6 x 89.5 cm The identity of this fashionably-dressed woman posed in a landscape is not known.  The costume and her hairstyle suggest a date from the mid-1670s, after Maes had moved to Amsterdam and when he took up painting society portraits.  Maes had … Read more

REMBRANDT HARMENSZ VAN RIJN (1606-1669)

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A Sheet of Studies Netherlands, mid-1630s Pen, brown wash and red chalk 220 X 233 mm This sheet contains nine studies of five different figures and is the most important and complete set of studies by Rembrandt to survive intact. Many others appear to have been cut up at a later date. The exact dating … Read more