We don't have to "go dutch" at the Kimbell Art Museum. I can treat you with my membership guest privileges. A friend, Trish, and I enjoyed a lovely hour or so visiting this new exhibit -
Dutch Art in a Global Age. Artists with bold strokes showed the power of the seas as ships transported goods. The swirling skies and rough waters are presented in dramatic renderings.
The Netherlands, 1600s, was the world's marketplace. The Dutch East India Company had trade routes to every exotic land. Commodities flowed. Money was made. Artists were fueled by Dutch society. Hals, Rembrandt, Ruisdael - these artists commemorated their world with portraits, landscapes, seascapes, and rich silver and ceramic objects.
This still life by Jan Davidsz de Heem shows the mastery. The gleam of glass, the rich rare fruits, the realism. From across the exhibit room, this painting positively glowed.
Amsterdam was a cosmopolitan hub. Numerous maps, paintings of homes and interiors, churches - all of the works demonstrated a rich and vibrant life. This exhibit brings home the power of a small nation in a global economy. The Dutch had it all - tea, coffee, sugar, spices, tobacco, silks. One underlying issue is the slave trade that accompanied this wealth. There's always more to the story.
Well done Kimbell by way of Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Start your year off right and visit a museum. Your eyes and brain will thank you.
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