A selection of drawings by Rembrandt, the first in a series of displays designed to complement the exhibition programme and to increase awareness of the Courtauld’s collection of over 7,000 drawings, is on view until 3 June, 2007, and has coincided with the exhibition Guercino: Mind to Paper. The display has offered an opportunity to compare the work of Guercino (1591-1666), sometimes known as ‘the Rembrandt of the South’, with that of his famous Dutch contemporary.

The Courtauld houses one of the most important collections of drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–69) in Britain. This display features a total of 19 drawings by or attributed to the master. These include intimate studies of his wife Saskia, studies for finished compositions such as the celebrated Girl at the Window (Dulwich Picture Gallery) and St John the Baptist Preaching (Berlin, Gemäldegalerie), and a view of the town of Diemen. Also on show are several of the master’s single figure drawings, revealing his remarkable ability to capture both emotional expression and physical movement.

Mostly executed during the 1630s and 1640s, this rich group gives insights into Rembrandt’s creativity, and will provide an opportunity to consider disputed attributions, such as the bravura Seated Actor and A Quack Addressing a Crowd, the latter now considered by some scholars to be by Rembrandt’s gifted pupil Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (1621-74).


Dr. Stephanie Buck – Drawings Curator