Golden Times of Dutch Painting.
Kremer Collection meets Collection Rau
April 14 – August 20 2023
Hardly any era is richer in art than the Dutch Golden Age, during which Holland rose to become a maritime and trading power. Numerous painters, still unforgotten today, created a wealth of pictures that draw on this cultural wealth.
The exhibition tells of two private collections in which Dutch painting occupies a high place. The first painting Gustav Rau acquired in 1958 was an old cook by Gerrit Dou, while George and Ilone Kremer's first collector's item is an early Rembrandt masterpiece they bought in 1995.
All three are inspired by the narrative joy of Dutch art: in the characterful portraits, the atmospheric landscapes, in the dramatic religious altarpieces, the humorous everyday scenes and, finally, in the dazzlingly colourful still lifes. We are showing a selection of the best here at the Arp Museum. It is a Who's Who of Dutch Baroque painting from Rembrandt, ter Brugghen, Hals, Leyster to Dou.
»Tot lering en vermaak« - for study and pleasure - the art of the Golden Age was created. Gustav Rau and George and Ilone Kremer are united by their passion for unravelling the painters and the contents of the often complex paintings. Under the warm tonality of the picture surfaces, the whole range of feelings and endless stories is offered, sometimes in classical, sometimes in everyday garb.