Overview: Dutch landscapes, still lifes, and scenes of daily life possess a remarkable immediacy and authenticity, giving the impression that Dutch artists painted them from life. However, artists actually executed these works—as well as biblical and mythological subjects—in studios, often using drawings as points of departure. Over ninety drawings and twenty-five paintings by such renowned Golden Age masters as Aelbert Cuyp, Pieter Jansz Saenredam, and Rembrandt van Rijn will reveal the many ways Dutch artists used preliminary drawings in the painting process. The exhibition will include compositional drawings, individual figure studies, carefully ruled construction drawings, and sketchbooks. It will also examine the underdrawings artists made on their panel and canvas supports before painting their scenes. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated scholarly catalog.

Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and Fondation Custodia, Collection Frits Lugt, Paris.