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Description: Rembrandt’s Journey: Painter · Draftsman · Etcher
~Rembrandt’s Journey was originally conceived by Clifford Ackley as a major survey of Rembrandt’s varied production as an etcher. The Museum of Fine Arts had organized the exhibitions Rembrandt: Experimental Etcher in 1969 and Printmaking in the Age of Rembrandt in 1980 but neither of these exhibitions had dealt with the full...
PublisherMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston
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Acknowledgments
Rembrandt’s Journey was originally conceived by Clifford Ackley as a major survey of Rembrandt’s varied production as an etcher. The Museum of Fine Arts had organized the exhibitions Rembrandt: Experimental Etcher in 1969 and Printmaking in the Age of Rembrandt in 1980 but neither of these exhibitions had dealt with the full range and development of Rembrandt the printmaker. Early in the discussion of the project Boston’s director Malcolm Rogers proposed that Rembrandt paintings be added to the mix and it was agreed that the role of Rembrandt’s third medium, drawing, would also be expanded. At that point Ronni Baer was brought into the project to negotiate the painting loans and to write an essay on the oil sketches, and William Robinson of the Fogg Art Museum was engaged as an expert advisor on the drawings. A new member of the staff of the Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, Thomas Rassieur, with his extensive experience with Rembrandt prints in the major European collections, was also made part of the exhibition team.
This exhibition would not have been possible without the large number of generous loans of significant Rembrandt works from public art institutions. In Amsterdam, at the Rijksmuseum, we are very indebted to Jan Piet Filedt Kok and, in the Rijksprentenkabinet, to Peter Schatborn, Ger Luijten, Huigen Leeflang, and Cindy van Weele. At the Rembrandt House we wish to thank Ed de Heer and Bob van den Boogert. In Berlin, Jan Kelch of the Gemäldegalerie of the Staatliche Museen was of great assistance, as were Alexander Dückers and Holm Bevers of the Kupferstichkabinett. In Boston at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Alan Chong made things possible. In Cambridge, England, at the Fitzwilliam Museum, we are indebted to Duncan Robinson, David Scrase, and Craig Hartley. In Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, we would like to thank James Cuno, Marjorie Cohn, and William Robinson. At the Cleveland Museum of Art we are grateful to Charles Venable, Diane DeGrazia, and Carter Foster. In Copenhagen, at the Statens Museum for Kunst, we are indebted to Chris Fischer and Jan Garff. At The Detroit Institute of Arts, we recognize the generosity of Graham W.J. Beal and George Keyes. In Dublin, at the National Gallery, we are in the debt of Raymond Keaveney. In Glasgow at the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, Mungo Campbell and Peter Black were of great assistance. In Haarlem, at the Teylers Museum we wish to thank Carel van Tuyll van Serooskerken. In Hanover, New Hampshire, at the Hood Art Museum, Dartmouth College, Barton Thurber was very helpful. In Kassel, at the Staatliche Museum, we are in the debt of Bernhard Schnackenburg. In London, at the British Museum, Antony Griffiths and Martin Royalton-Kisch extended themselves. At the National Gallery, Neil MacGregor, David Jaffé, and Axel Rüger generously agreed to the loans. In Los Angeles, at The J. Paul Getty Museum, Scott Schaefer and Lee Hendrix facilitated the loans. In Moscow, at the Pushkin Museum, Irina Antonova and Natalia Markova were extremely generous and helpful. In New York, at The Metropolitan Museum, we are thankful to Walter Liedtke, George Goldner, and Nadine Orenstein. At the Pierpont Morgan Library we are indebted to Cara Denison, Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, and Jan Leja. In Paris, at the Institut Néerlandais, the Frits Lugt Collection, we are grateful to Maria van Berge-Gerbaud and Hans Buijs. In Poughkeepsie, New York, at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College, James Mundy and Patricia Phagan came to our assistance. In Rotterdam, at the Museum Boijmans-van Beuningen, we would like to thank Chris Dercon, Guido Jansen, and Jeroen Giltaij. At the St. Louis Art Museum, Brent Benjamin and Francesca Consagra deserve our gratitude. In St. Petersburg, at The State Hermitage Museum, we recognize the generous assistance of Mikhail Piotrovsky, Vladimir Matveyev, and Irina Sokolova. In Washington, D.C., at the National Gallery of Art, we wish to thank Alan Shestack, Arthur Wheelock, Andrew Robison, Peter Parshall, and Gregory Jecmen.
Certain collections from which no loans were requested were nevertheless closely studied in preparation for this project. In Amsterdam, we are indebted to Jan Six of the Six Collection. In Paris, at the Bibliothèque Nationale, we are grateful to Gisele Lambert and Maxim Préaud. At the Dutuit Collection of the Petit Palais we would like to thank Sophie de Bussierre. At the Rothschild Collection of the Louvre, Pierrette Jean-Richard was most accommodating. In Vienna, at the Albertina, Marianne Bisanz-Prakken was very helpful.
A number of private collectors provided essential loans: Maida and George Abrams, The Aurora Art Fund (courtesy of Stiebel, Ltd.), S. William Pelletier, James M. and Melinda A. Rabb, Alan and Marianne Schwartz, and a private collection through Sotheby’s, Japan. In addition to the above, we are indebted to several other collectors who wished to remain anonymous.
Many scholars of Rembrandt have been of assistance in answering the organizers’ inquiries. Some of those who have been particularly helpful are Paul Crenshaw, Stephanie Dickey, Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann, Erik Hinterding, Peter Schatborn, Ernst van de Wetering, Elizabeth Wyckoff, and Michael Zell. We would like to thank Annewies van den Hoek for kind assistance with Dutch translation. Certain knowledgeable art dealers have also been very helpful with information: Adrian Eeles, Armin Kunz, Robert M. Light, Lutz Riester, Helmut Rumbler, and Nicholas Stogdon.
The co-organizers, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and The Art Institute of Chicago, have, of course, made substantial loan commitments to the exhibition and their staffs have of necessity been closely and deeply involved in the evolution of this complex project. At the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, we would like to mention first of all Kate Harper, special research assistant for the exhibition, whose dedication to the project has been an inspiration to us all. The entire Department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs has been affected by this consuming project. We would like to mention in particular Joanna Karlgaard, whose attention to loan forms, photo orders, and labels has been essential. Patrick Murphy provided welcome assistance in the early stages of the development of the project. Stephanie Stepanek and Sue Reed were helpful with proofreading and advice. In the Department of the Art of Europe, Chris Atkins was of invaluable help to Ronni Baer in preparing for the exhibition. George Shackelford, Tracey Albainy, Frederick Ilchman, Lien de Keukelaere, and the entire staff of the department also lent their support and advice. In the Paper Conservation Laboratory we are indebted to Roy Perkinson, Deborah La Camera, and Kimberly Nichols, but in particular to Annette Manick, whose careful examination and restoration of Rembrandt prints in the collection were critical for the final selection of the exhibition. Gail English and Sarah Gurney ensured that the Museum’s Rembrandts as well as a number of loans were appropriately matted and framed. In Paintings Conservation Jim Wright and Rhona MacBeth provided essential information and support, as did Andrew Haines for framing. In Museum Learning and Public Programs we are grateful for the contributions of Gilian Shallcross, Barbara Martin, and Lois Solomon. In the Administration, we gratefully acknowledge director Malcolm Rogers, who challenged us to expand the scope of the exhibition, and we recognize the able coordination provided by Katie Getchell and Jennifer Bose, and in External Relations the fundraising assistance of Patricia Jacoby, William McAvoy, and Jennifer Cooper. In Public Relations we would like to acknowledge the enthusiastic support of Dawn Griffin, Kelly Gifford, and Lisa Colli. Registrar Pat Loiko, as ever, made the impossible possible. The photographers Tom Lang, John Woolf, David Matthews, and media coordinator Nicole Crawford fulfilled our often difficult demands. Publisher Mark Polizzotti and his team of Terry McAweeney, production manager, editor Emiko Usui, copyeditor Denise Bergman, and book designer Christopher Kuntze gave proper form to a very complex publication. Jim Armbruster provided the installation design and Janet O’Donoghue the graphic design. David Geldart and the utility teams and shops gave the exhibition its final physical form.
At our co-organizing institution, The Art Institute of Chicago, we are indebted to director James Wood, to Douglas Druick and Martha Wolff, and in particular to Suzanne McCullagh whose devotion kept the flame alive. In Administration, Dorothy Schroeder provided essential coordination, and in Development we are grateful to Alice DuBose and Lisa Key, in Paper Conservation to Margo McFarland, in Public Affairs to Eileen Harakal, in Education to Mary Sue Glosser and Jeffrey Nigro, in Design to Lyn Delliquadri and Joseph Cochand and, above all, to Registrars Mary Solt and Therese Peskowits. William Caddick of the Physical Plant and Anders Nyberg of Visitor Services provided essential support.
We would also like to thank certain friends and family members who were particularly patient and supportive during the stress and strain of Rembrandt’s Journey: Steven, Jake, and Jane Elmets, Daan MacGillavry, Elke Oberthaler, John Powell, Rosemary Wilson, Joan and Jim Wright, and Howard and Katherine Yezerski.
THE AUTHORS
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