Sublime Lines

As part of a special Harvard exhibit of drawings by the 17th century Dutch master, Rembrandt Van Rijn, and his students, Rembrandt and his School: Drawings from the Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam will be on display at the Sackler Museum through January 28. The exhibit features more than 80 works; 25 are original Rembrandt drawings borrowed from the Rotterdam collection and from museums across the United States.

Rembrandt and His School: Drawings from the Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam

At the Sackler Museum

Through January 28

According to William Robinson, Curator of Drawings at the Fogg Art Museum, the show focuses on "the latest results in Rembrandt drawings scholarship, particularly with regard to attribution." Attribution refers to the complicated process of determining the author of a particular work.

Rembrandt scholars continue a heated debate over the authenticity of thousands of unsigned works, using techniques like X-ray photography and infrared analysis to discover the identity of their creator. The final decision, however, inevitably rests upon subjective judgement--an attribution is ultimately a matter of opinion and not indisputable fact.

Part of the problem is that the Dutch master left behind few records, enjoyed collaborating with other artists and taught his distinctive style to more than 50 exceptionally gifted students.

The Sackler exhibit alternates drawings thought to be genuine Rembrandts with works similar in subject and form that are attributed to his followers. The tantalizing juxtaposition of student and master drawings invites visitors to either agree or disagree with the experts' attributions.

Although the exhibit has been publicized with an emphasis on the attribution perspective, the drawings should also be appreciated for their own sake. They are, above all, supreme examples of technical skill and stand alone as tributes to the Rembrandt style.

Used for study and teaching purposes, the drawings were never meant to be shown publicly as finished art productions. Such sketches capture the artist at his most intimate--they are the diary of an artist's mind at work.

What is most remarkable about the Rembrandt sketches is their simplicity. A few quick brush strokes are enough to communicate a profound understanding of the subject. But perhaps it is in what the drawings deliberately leave unsaid that their enduring beauty lies.