From July 15 through October 1, 2006 the Morgan Library & Museum presented highlights from its outstanding collection of Dutch drawings from the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries. When Pierpont Morgan purchased the Fairfax Murray collection of old master drawings in 1909, he acquired one of the most substantial groups of Dutch drawings from the seventeenth century—the golden age of Dutch art—as well as important sheets by eighteenth-century artists. Since the Morgan’s founding in 1924, the collection has grown significantly and now extends into the nineteenth century. The Morgan today preserves one of the most comprehensive groups of Dutch drawings in the country. Comprising approximately forty drawings spanning three centuries, the exhibition celebrated the contemporaneous publication of the catalogue raisonné of the Morgan’s Dutch drawings.
From Rembrandt to van Gogh opened with drawings by seventeenth century artists active in Holland. Principal themes of Dutch art emerge in portraits by David Bailly and Jan Lievens, marine views by Hendrick Avercamp and Ludolf Bakhuizen, and pastoral scenes by Nicolaes Berchem. A concern for natural history is revealed in a drawing of tulips by Anthony Claesz. II and a study of a camel by Samuel van Hoogstraten. Genre scenes of alehouse interiors by Adriaen van Ostade reveal the humorous aspect of Dutch art. Rembrandt’s achievement as a draftsman is represented by four sheets, accompanied by selections from the Morgan’s rich collection of drawings by the artist’s pupils, that serve to illustrate the master’s influence. The Dutch landscape is a recurrent subject in exhibited drawings by Rembrandt, Jacob van Ruisdael, Abraham Rutgers, and Anthonie Waterloo.
The continuing tradition of draftsmanship during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is chronicled by a selection of sheets, including Italian landscape views by Isaac de Moucheron, a genre scene by Cornelis Troost, a powerful head study by Jacob de Wit, pastoral scenes by Aert Schouman and Jacob van Strij, and a watercolor view of the interior of the Oranjezaal (a room in the royal château Huis ten Bosch) by Tieleman Cato Bruining. A luminous vanitas image on vellum by Herman Henstenburgh and a robust study of flowers by Jan van Huysum are characteristic of the ongoing interest in still-life subjects. The exhibition concludes with landscapes by Johan Barthold Jongkind and by Vincent van Gogh, the greatest Dutch-born artist of the nineteenth century.
From Rembrandt to van Gogh: Dutch Drawings from the Morgan was organized by Jennifer Tonkovich, Associate Curator of Drawings and Prints, The Morgan Library & Museum.
The exhibition was accompanied by the catalogue Dutch Drawings in the Morgan Library: Seventeenth to Nineteenth Centuries, by Jane Shoaf Turner, which documents, discusses, and reproduces the more than four hundred drawings from this period in the Morgan’s collection.
From Rembrandt to van Gogh: Dutch Drawings from the Morgan
July 15 through October 1, 2006
Exhibition Checklist
Hendrick de Keyser (1565–1621)
Portrait of a Man in a Tall Hat, Seen Bust-Length in Profile to the Left
Pen and brown ink
2001.17. Purchased as the gift of the Markus family in memory of Frits Markus.
David Bailly (1584–1657)
Portrait of Daniel Heinsius (1580/81–1655), ca. 1630
Point of brush and gray and some brown wash, with pen and brown ink
I, 118. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Hendrick Avercamp (1585–1634)
River Landscape with a Man and Two Women in a Fishing Boat, One Woman Pulling up a Net, with a
Ship in the Distance at Right
Pen and black and brown ink, with green, blue, brown, and gray wash
Promised gift of Werner H. Kramarsky.
Willem (Pietersz.) Buytewech (1591/92–1624)
River Landscape with Sailboats
Pen and brown, black, and gray ink, brush and gray wash
Thaw Collection.
Pieter Saenredam (1597–1665)
Interior of the Nieuwe Kerck of Haarlem Looking from the North to the South, 1650
Pen and brown ink, watercolor in shades of gray, yellow, red, brown, and blue, with some red
chalk, over traces of graphite
Thaw Collection.
Simon (Jacobsz.) de Vlieger (ca. 1600/01–1653)
A Dutch Coastal Scene near Scheveningen, with Fishing Pinks Hauled up on Rollers and a Group of Fishing
People in the Center
Pen and brown ink, gray wash
III, 184. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Herman van Swanevelt (1604?–1655)
Joseph Recounting His Dreams to His Brethren (Genesis 37: 5–10)
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, over faint traces of black chalk
I, 270. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J.P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Rembrandt (Harmensz.) van Rijn (1606–1669)
Two Studies of Saskia Asleep
Pen and brown ink, brown wash
I, 180. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Rembrandt (Harmensz.) van Rijn (1606–1669)
Two Mummers on Horseback
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, with yellow and red chalks, some white chalk in ruffs
I, 201. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Rembrandt (Harmensz.) van Rijn (1606–1669)
Canal and Bridge Beside a Tall Tree, a Couple Seated on a Bank
Pen and brown ink, gray-brown wash (added by a later hand), on paper toned brown
I, 202. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Rembrandt (Harmensz.) van Rijn (1606–1669)
Three Studies for a “Descent from the Cross” (Mark 15:42–46)
Quill and reed pen and brown ink
Thaw Collection.
Jan Lievens (1607–1674)
Portrait of a Man
Black chalk
1976.49. Gift of Benjamin Sonnenberg.
Anthonie Waterloo (1609–1690)
Woodland Scene with a Duck Hunter
Black chalk, point of brush and black ink and gray wash
1964.5. Purchased as the gift of Alice Tully.
Adriaen van Ostade (1610–1685)
Alehouse Interior with Nine Peasants Smoking, Drinking, and Playing Cards and Tric-Trac
Pen and brown ink, watercolor and some gouache, over traces of black chalk; incised with stylus
1961.2. Purchased as the gift of the Fellows.
Attributed to Ferdinand Bol (1616–1680)
River Landscape
Pen and brown ink, watercolor, with touches of opaque white, over black chalk
I, 176. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Anthony Claesz. II (ca. 1616–ca. 1652)
Seven Tulips with Three Ladybugs
Watercolor and gouache
Promised gift of Charles Ryskamp.
Philips (de) Koninck (1619–1688)
Village Schoolmaster and His Pupils
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, with the addition of gum arabic in lower left corner on the
bench and jug, some corrections in opaque white
I, 213c. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Nicolaes (Pietersz.) Berchem (1620–1683)
Shepherdess Spinning by a Stream, with Cattle, Goats, and a Donkey, ca. 1665–66
Pen and point of brush and brown ink, brown wash, over faint traces of black chalk
I, 139. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (1621–1674)
Adoration of the Magi (Matthew 2:1–11)
Pen and brown ink, brown and gray washes, some opaque white, black and red chalks, and traces
of graphite
1970.1. Purchased as the gift of the Fellows.
Paulus (Pietersz.) Potter (1625–1654)
Sketch of a Steer
Black chalk
I, 141. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Karel Dujardin (1626–1678)
Study of a Long-Haired Young Man
Red chalk
III, 227. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627–1678)
Camel Seen from the Front
Pen and brown ink, brown wash
I, 204a. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Jan de Bray (ca. 1627–1697)
“Suffer the Little Children to Come unto Me” (Matthew 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17),
1663
Brush and gray wash, over pen and brown ink
1999.18. Purchased as the gift of the Markus family in memory of Frits Markus.
Jan de Bisschop (1628–1671)
Caritas (after Peter Paul Rubens)
Brush and brown wash, over black chalk
1997.17. Gift of Anne-Marie S. Logan.
Jacob (Isaacsz.) van Ruisdael (1628/9–1682)
Sun-Dappled Trees on a Stream
Point of brush, black and gray washes, over indications in black chalk
1957.2. Purchased as the gift of the Fellows with the special assistance of Mr. and Mrs. H. Nelson
Slater.
Anthonie van Borssom (1630/31–1677)
View of Toutenburg Hunting Lodge in Maartensdijk, 1673–1677
Pen and brown and some black ink, watercolor, over black chalk
1982.73. Purchased as the gift of Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard.
Ludolf Bakhuizen (1631–1708)
View Across the IJ with the Village of Ransdorp in the Distance and a Dutch States Yacht of Amsterdam and
Other Ships Before a Moderate Breeze in the Foreground
III, 223. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Abraham Rutgers the Elder (1632–1699)
Road by a Canal Approaching a Village
Pen and brown ink, over traces of black chalk
2000.5. Purchased as the gift of the Markus Family in memory of Frits Markus.
Attributed to Nicolaes Maes (1634–1693)
Woman Asleep in a Chair
Pen and brown ink, brown wash, slight corrections in opaque white in the figure’s bodice and skirt
I, 199. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Abraham van Dyck (1635/6–1672)
Old Woman Seated, Holding a Book
Pen and brown ink, brown and gray washes, some red chalk and opaque white, over preliminary
indications in black chalk
I, 194. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Cornelis Dusart (1660–1704)
The Chair Mender
Pen and brown ink, point of brush and brown wash, over preliminary indications in graphite
I, 161. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Willem van Mieris (1662–1747)
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife (Genesis 39:11–12), ca. 1691–96
Gouache on vellum
2001.46. Purchased on the Sunny Crawford von Bülow Fund 1978.
Herman Henstenburgh (1667–1726)
Vanitas Still Life
Gouache, some areas of gum arabic, over faint traces of black chalk, on vellum
1982.95. Purchased on the Edwin H. Herzog Fund.
Isaac de Moucheron (1667–1744)
View of Rome with the Castel Sant’Angelo, 1742
View of the Abbey of Grottaferrata, 1742
Pen and brown and some black ink, gray wash, over graphite
Pen and brown and black ink, gray wash
III, 237a, III, 237b. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Jan van Huysum (1682–1749)
Flowers in an Urn and Bird’s Nest on a Stone Plinth, with a Statue of Apollo and Daphne in the
Background
Black chalk and watercolor
I, 164. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Jacob de Wit (1695–1754)
Head of Moses, ca. 1726
Brush and black, gray, and red washes
1998.5. Purchased as the gift of Diane Nixon.
Aert Schouman (1710–1792)
Panoramic Landscape near Windsor, 1766
Watercolor and gouache over traces of graphite
Promised gift of Charles Ryskamp.
Jacob van Strij (1756–1815)
Farm in Winter
Pen and brown ink, watercolor
I, 168b. Purchased by Pierpont Morgan, 1909; gift of J. P. Morgan, Jr., 1924.
Tieleman Cato Bruining (1801–1877)
Interior of the Oranjezaal: View Toward the West, ca. 1860
Point of brush, ruling pen, and watercolor, with gum arabic, over pencil
1985.50:3. Purchased on the Sunny Crawford von Bülow Fund 1978.
Johan Barthold Jongkind (1819–1891)
Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, on the Côte-de-Grâce, near Honfleur, 1864
Watercolor, with some gouache, over black chalk
Thaw Collection.
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
Workers in a Field, Saint-Rémy de Provence
Pencil and black chalk
Thaw Collection.
