“Nicholas Rockox” by Anthonis van DyckFrom the subtle twining of veins beneath the skin to the play of light on a metal breastplate, the details captured by the hand of a Dutch master painter are magnificent to behold.
But the deft craftsmanship is even more apparent when the brushstrokes are on an especially small scale.
Through April 26, visitors to “Small Treasures” at the Birmingham Museum of Art will be able to view 40 diminutive oil paintings by celebrated 17th century Dutch and Flemish masters such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer and Frans Hals.
IF YOU GO
* What: “Small Treaures: Masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Dyck and Their Contemporaries.” * When: Through April 26 * Where: Birmingham Museum of Art, 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd., Birmingham, Ala. * Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday; open until 9 p.m. on first Thursdays (March 5, April 2); closed Mondays and major holidays. * Admission: $12 general admission; $10 seniors, adult groups and additional tickets for members; $8 students with valid ID; free for ages 12 and under, active military and museum members * Phone: 205-254-2565 * Website: www.artsbma.org
Each piece on display could fit within the confines of a sheet of copy paper, but they retain the attention to detail apparent in their artists’ larger-scale paintings, says Robert Schindler, the museum’s curator of European art.
“That’s something that’s so intriguing and impressive in these small works,” he says. “These small-form paintings are a unique, distinct area that scholars in the past have never really looked at.”
“Small Treasures” was organized in collaboration with the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, N.C., where it was on display until Jan. 4. It moved to Birmingham on Jan. 30.
“Girl in the Red Hat” by Johannes VermeerIn the exhibit, visitors will see a range of renderings, including individual and group portraits, self-portraits, character studies, genre and historical paintings. The fact that the exhibition has only been displayed at two Southern institutions is a coup for the Southern Arts community, says Gail Andrews, R. Hugh Daniel director of the Birmingham Museum of Art.
“To be able to offer, for example, two Vermeers, alongside delicate works from Rembrandt, Van Dyck and many others, is a wonderful opportunity for our community,” Andrews writes in a news release. “The ‘Small Treasures’ exhibition will offer our visitors the chance to carefully admire the striking detail work by some of the most highly regarded artists of all time.”
“Portrait of a Rabbi” by RembrandtMost of these pieces, Schindler says, have rarely been displayed, either because museums passed them over in favor of larger, showier pieces or — in the case of much of the portraiture — they have been privately held for generations by the original subjects’ descendants.
And now that they’re finally seeing the light of day, visitors are being encouraged to get as close as possible in order to appreciate the skill required to reproduce subtle nuances in such a confined space.
“We were very, very keen on enabling people to get close to them,” Schindler says. “The vast majority are mounted on the wall like any other painting and you can get as close to them as you want, within reason. We don’t want you touching it, but there aren’t any barriers, per se.
“What I like to say is: The closer you look, the more you see with these paintings.”
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on @PhillipsCTFP.