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Materials Lab Workshop: Dutch Old Master Drawing Materials and Techniques [AT CAPACITY]

Jacques de Gheyn II, A Roma Woman with a Child, c. 1604. Brown ink and black chalk on light tan antique laid paper. The Maida and George Abrams Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Promised gift, 25.1998.10.

Workshop

Harvard Art Museums
32 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA

This event is at capacity.

The 16th and 17th centuries witnessed an explosion of subject matter in Dutch art—from life studies and landscapes to genre scenes of peasant life, as well as more traditional historical subjects. Artists experimented with a range of drawing materials and techniques, including black chalk, pen and ink, and metal point, often favoring a particular material for a chosen topic. In chalk, Hendrick Goltzius found the perfect medium to render the subtleties of musculature and softness of flesh. With fine quill pen and ink, Jacques de Gheyn II captured minute details he observed in the natural world. And in just a few strokes of the pen, Rembrandt managed to convey the depth of human expression. Join us to learn more about the varied qualities inherent in each medium and how artists used them to maximum effect.

After taking a closer look at early Dutch Golden Age drawings from the Abrams Collection with a curator and a conservator in the Art Study Center and in the galleries, participants will join Francesca Bewer, research curator for conservation and technical studies programs, in the Materials Lab to try their hand at drawing in the manner of early Dutch masters, exploring historical media and instruments.

This workshop is offered in conjunction with the installation The Art of Drawing in the Early Dutch Golden Age, 1590–1630: Selected Works from the Abrams Collection, on view at the Harvard Art Museums from September 9, 2017 to January 14, 2018.

The generous gift from Maida and George Abrams (Harvard College ’54; Harvard Law ’57) of 110 Dutch works in 1999 transformed the Harvard Art Museums’ Dutch drawings collection into one of the most comprehensive in any U.S. museum.

The event will be held in the Materials Lab, Lower Level.

$15 materials fee. Registration is required and payment must be made in advance. Please email am_visitorservices@harvard.edu or stop by the museums’ admissions desk to register. Space is limited to 15 participants. Minimum age of 14.