A major Rembrandt exhibition is opening in Southwest Florida. “Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black and White – Prints from the Rembrandt House Museum” opens Oct. 10 at the Naples Art Institute.
“It's a traveling exhibition that's only going to three museums in the U.S., and we're among that group,” reports Executive Director Frank Verpoorten. “We're really excited and can't wait to get the community excited about that, too, and let them know about what's in store.”
Rembrandt was more than a painter. He is among the greatest printmakers to ever work in the medium. The techniques he developed shaped the future of printmaking.
With subjects ranging from biblical narratives and portraits to landscapes and scenes of everyday life, the prints included in this exhibit underscore Rembrandt’s remarkable ability to convey emotion, character, and drama through line, texture, and light.
The exhibition will be on view through Jan. 24, 2027.
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Between 1626 and 1665, Rembrandt created some 300 etchings and dry points.
He kept the subjects he painted separate and distinct from those he treated in his printmaking practice, although he occasionally reproduced a painting in print form.
Among the prints that have survived are several self-portraits, although they were meant more as studies of different expressions than actual self-portraits.
Although the bulk of his oeuvre consisted of small sketches, several of the prints he created later in his career were just as large, detailed and intricate as his paintings, such as “The Good Samaritan” and “The Windmill.”
In addition to biblical themes, Rembrandt gravitated toward intensely dramatic landscapes featuring blustery, rainy Dutch weather.
“Rembrandt owned a large collection of prints by such earlier masters as Albrecht Dürer, Lucas van Leyden, and Antonio Tempesta, and he often drew inspiration from their work,” wrote Nadine M. Orenstein in 2004 for The Met.
Rembrandt was an innovator, often handling traditional materials in unconventional ways. His impact on printmaking is still reflected in etchings produced today.
“By the 1650s, Rembrandt began to treat the printing plate much like a canvas—leaving some ink or tone on the surface of the plate in order to create “painted” impressions of prints in which each impression would look different depending on the way he had inked the plate,” Orenstein noted. “Rembrandt often dramatically reworked his late prints, creating almost entirely new visions of a subject with each state. Since he preserved so many stages of his working process, the present-day viewer can in a certain sense bear witness to it.”
By the 1650s, Rembrandt had avid fans of his prints as far south as Italy.
“Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black and White — Prints from the Rembrandt House Museum” traces Rembrandt’s lifelong experimentation and innovation in the field of printmaking. Works by his teacher, pupils, and later artists place his achievement in context and demonstrate his lasting influence across centuries. Together, these prints show not only Rembrandt’s technical mastery, but also his deep insight into human experience, making this exhibition an exceptional opportunity to engage closely with the creative process of one of the greatest artists in Western art.
The exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Rembrandt House Museum, Amsterdam, with support from Dutch Culture USA, part of the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
