Rare Dutch paintings on display at de Young

‘The Girl With the Pearl Earring’, by Johannes Vermeer. This painting and more will be featured at the de Young Museum’s latest art exhibit.

Dutch master painter Rembrandt van Rijn has been dead for three and half centuries, but he’s still a rock star in the art world.

“Rembrandt really was one of a kind. He was an extremely gifted painter, as well as a printmaker, as well as a draftsman,” said James Ganz, who put together the new “Rembrandt’s Century” exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young Museum.

‘Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee’, by Rembrandt

“He had a long career,” Ganz said. “Rembrandt was prolific, and his work has been collected by art lovers all over the world. Even though Rembrandt never set foot outside of Holland, his work went everywhere.”

The de Young will present two related exhibits — “Rembrandt’s Century” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis” — Saturday (Jan. 26) through June 2.

Drawn largely from the collection of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco’s Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, where Ganz is curator, “Rembrandt’s Century” features 250 rare prints and other objects, by both Rembrandt and his peers from the 17th century.

The de Young is the first stop on the American tour of paintings from the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis at The Hague in the Netherlands, featuring Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (sometimes called the “the Dutch Mona Lisa”) and more than 30 other paintings by artists of the Dutch Golden Age, including Rembrandt.

The touring exhibit gives Ganz a chance to display rare items from the museum’s permanent collection that are usually only seen by appointment or by visiting classes.

“Those who come to see ‘The Girl With a Pearl Earring,’ if they spend a little time with us, also will be exposed to these great treasures that really belong to all of us,” he said.

“I have a lot of fun in my job going on treasure hunts” within the museum’s own collection, Ganz explained. “We have hundreds of boxes filled with prints. Some of these have never seen the light of day before.”

While not all of the work to be shown is by Rembrandt, it is the Dutch master’s star power that will help draw a crowd to the museum. The artist’s enduring appeal lies not only in his artistry, but also his accessibility.

“Rembrandt was not only an incredible technician, which was recognized in his own time, but also he was an amazing visual storyteller,” Ganz said.

“And he created many self-portraits, in paintings and etchings. The fact that he did so many means that when you mention the name Rembrandt, everybody can picture the artist,” Ganz added. “He documented his changing appearance from his youth through old age, so we feel we know him as a person.”

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. See his ARTS blog at arts.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.

DUTCH MASTER
What: “Rembrandt’s Century” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring: Dutch Paintings from the Mauritshuis”
Where: de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
When: Daily except Mondays through June 2. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Admission: $15-$25.
Information: deyoungmuseum.org, (415) 750-3600.