Rubens, Poussin and 17th Century Artists
Musée Jacquemart-André
24th September 2010 - 24th January 2011
10.50/12 euros
Audioguides available in English and French
***
Assembled from around sixty paintings from the choicest private and public collections in Europe, this exhibition sets out to highlight the importance of the Flemish movement in France at the beginning of the 17th century. By displaying the works from the two great artistic movements of the 17th century: Flemish Baroque painting, of which Rubens is the chief protagonist, and the French Classical school led by Poussin, curators Nicolas Sainte Fare Garnot and Jan de Maere succinctly trace the progression of Flemish and French painting through the 17th century and successfully illustrate the intensity and wealth of the cultural exchanges between these two countries.
The exhibition's most compelling section focuses on the rise of French Classical art during the second half of the 17th century and its influence on Flemish art, thereby highlighting the reversal of influence which operated between these two schools during the century. Particularly impressive pieces include Gérard Douffet, Bertholet Flémal, and Gérard Goswin's Triple Portrait (1660-1670), painted by three hands this beautiful painting reflects the rare spirit of cooperation that prevailed in the workshops Liege at the time; Jean-Guillaume Carlier's Le Christ appelant à lui les petits enfants, which reveals an extraordinary synthesis of Carlier's fine draftsmanship and powerful colouring, and the fascinating conflation of influences from Caravaggio to Poussin; and Gérard de Lairesse's classical triumph La Fête de Vénus (1667-1670). Indeed, these three examples embody the exhibition's greatest draw, that is, the vast range of styles and the great variety of subjects within this relatively small collection. From great assembled family portraits to minature self-reflections, from the epic landscapes of Gaspard Duguet to intricate animal art and still lifes, and from the quotidian subjects and models of Flemish genre painting to the terrific mythological set-pieces and Roman military subjects of French Classicism.
Excellent mounted notes (in French) provide a comprehensive socio-political background to these great artistic movements, illuminating, in particular, Rubens' patronage by Mary of Medicis, Queen of France, and thus the history of Antwerp's domination of the French art scene at the beginning of the 17th centuary, and, later, how artists from the principality of Liège including Bertholet Flemalle and Gérard de Lairesse came to Paris to perfect and learn French pictorial techniques, attracted by the enormous potential of the French market and the magnificence of the court of Louis XIII and his successor Louis XIV.
The Jacquemart-André Museum provides the perfect space to display these masterpieces of French Classicism, and the modest size of the collection is off-set by the intimate proportions and private atmosphere of the mansion-museum. A highly recommended exhibition for all those interested in Flemish Baroque painting and the French Classical school, the influences these movements exerted over one another and the evolution of new pictoral models and points of reference. Nicolas Sainte Fare Garnot and Jan de Maere's artful interpretation of the works of Rubens and Poussin creates a truly compelling pictorial narrative to 17th century art.
