Small works by great masters on exhibit at Birmingham art museum

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! National Gallery of Art 'Small Treasures' !

Adriaen Brouwer (Flemish, 1605/1606 - 1638 ), Youth Making a Face, c. 1632/1635, oil on panel. !!end frame end frame end frame end instant-gallery div

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! !!end instant-gallery-app div IF YOU GO... WHAT: "Small Treasures: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals and Their Contemporaries" WHERE: Birmingham Museum of Art, 2000 Rev. Abraham Woods Jr. Blvd. WHEN: Through April 26 HOURS: Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday noon-5 p.m.; first Thursdays open until 9 p.m. Closed Mondays and major holidays. TICKETS: $12; $10 for seniors; $5 for students; free for children 12 and under and active military. Ticket sales close at 4 p.m. each day. INFO: 205-254-2565, artsbma.org !

! !!Posted: Sunday, March 1, 2015 10:00 am | Updated: 10:00 am, Sun Mar 1, 2015. By Mary Eloise H. Leake | Special to The Star Today, fast food servers routinely ask if customers want to "supersize" their orders with gigantic drinks, jumbo burgers and hefty packets of fries. The Birmingham Museum of Arts new exhibit, "Small Treasures," flips the scale 180 degrees. But that doesnt mean that artistic heavyweights are not present. Think Rembrandt, Vermeer and Hals three of the Dutch Golden Eras greatest masters. Though not classified as miniatures, the 40 small-format paintings in the exhibit are smaller than a sheet of notebook paper. Painted with oil on canvas, wood panel or copper, most are portraits. Others are genre paintings (slices of everyday life), history paintings (Biblical, mythological or allegorical scenes) or character studies known as "tronies" (after the 17th-century Dutch word for "face"). The exhibition begins by immersing museum-goers in the prosperous 17th-century history of the Netherlands. The Dutch East India Company, founded in 1602, morphed into the worlds largest enterprise, utilizing the countrys expertise in shipping and trade. With the influx of wealth, scientific breakthroughs and cultural changes, the arts flourished. Shipping magnates, merchants and entrepreneurs even the lower classes wanted pictures for their homes. Thus, artists painted works to fit everywhere even compact spaces. As a bonus to "Small Treasures," the BMA showcases relevant items from its permanent collection, including five handsome etchings by Rembrandt done at different times in his life, according to Robert Schindler, the BMAs curator of European art, who coordinated this exhibit stop. The exhibit began at the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh, and will be on view in Birmingham through April 26.

Gail Andrews, the director of the BMA, encourages viewers to move up close to study the details. Schindler agrees. "This is the first time light has been shed on many of these small paintings," he said. In private collections, they have had no public exposure. The compositions by Vermeer and Rembrandt two by each artist rank high on any museums A-list. All four paintings were at one time disputed as original works. Each has been authenticated with state-of-the-art equipment and technology. The excellent catalog reveals some of those details, making for interesting reading. Among Vermeers approximately three dozen accepted paintings, "Young Woman Seated at a Virginal (keyboard)" is the most recently certified. "The canvas is extremely close to and appears to have been cut from the same bolt of cloth as the Louvres Lacemaker [also by Vermeer]," said Schindler. They are nearly the same size. Vermeers "Girl with the Red Hat" a tronie is an audience favorite. It echoes the interaction of his iconic "Girl with a Pearl Earring." Both girls heads and eyes are turned to the viewer. Have they just been called? Have they just spoken and are awaiting a reply? Their allure moist lips, dark eyes, extraordinary headgear and vibrant colors plus Vermeers luminous light play are irresistible. In "Red Hat," notice that the white lace at the girls neck, her pearl earrings and her dynamic hat hint of Impressionism, which didnt arrive until around 200 years later. While Vermeer lived in relative obscurity and painted alone, Rembrandts fame drew a thriving workshop of students. Today, Rembrandts oeuvre ranges between 250-700 paintings. Why? He often let those students copy his works or finish what he began. In Rembrandts tronie "Bearded Old Man," a downcast old gentleman, with haggard, wrinkled face, arouses sympathy due to the juxtaposition of light and dark. Rembrandt evokes a different response with "A Portrait of a Rabbi." The affluent man, although also looking downward, is not sad but contemplative. This study in earthy brown tones is enriched by the "Rembrandt glow," his ability to light his subjects seemingly from within. Franz Hals "Portrait of Samuel Ampzing" is painted on copper, giving it a warm undertone. As Ampzings intelligent, piercing eyes stare at the viewer, his finger holds his place in a book. He wants to finish it. Soon. Music and children are among the eras favorite subjects. Hals delineates both in his charming "Singing Girl" and "Boy with a Violin." With one hand keeping time, the girl is earnestly singing. Wearing a funky fur hat, the boy playing the violin may also be singing. Judith Leyster, like Vermeer, did not rate among arts glitterati in her lifetime. Appreciation for her work came even later than his. Her round panel, "Young Boy in Profile," shows the boys flushed, fat cheeks and slightly tousled hair. Was he playing outside, grabbed and stuffed into Sunday clothes for a portrait? Or is he a tronie, painted to advertise the artists talent at depicting children? "Small Treasures" provides a fascinating peek into the eras culture via beautifully detailed paintings. For an hour or so on a gloomy day, the intimate exhibit provides a bright refuge for inquiring minds, sparking new thoughts about old subjects. Mary Eloise H. Leake is a freelance writer in Anniston. She writes frequently about art and travel. !