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Press Release - Tuesday, June 19, 2007

 

Old Masters, New Eyes
Fine Art gallery, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
11 July 2007 to 10 February 2008

Old Masters, New Eyes offers a fresh look at Dutch and Flemish Old Master oil paintings from the collections of Brighton & Hove Museums, some of which have not been on public display for more than 40 years.

The exhibition brings together about 30 oil paintings, dating from the 15th century to the mid 19th century. They feature an array of subjects including religious icons, landscapes, mythological legends, still lifes, seascapes and epic battle scenes. The paintings include panels by - or attributed to - significant painters such as Jan Molenaer, Jan Mostaert, Justus Juncker, Abraham Stork and Joachim Patinir.

Old Masters, New Eyes has resulted from new research which unearthed some fascinating facts about the importance of the paintings to their creators, their content, and their past lives before they came into the collections at Brighton Museum. For example, an early Flemish portrait has been newly identified, having hung in Preston Manor for over 70 years and thought to be anonymous. The subject is now known to be Floris van Egmond, Count of Buren, and the work attributed to Jan Gossaert, who was painting about 500 years ago. In addition, research revealing that the 18th century English artist Henry Fuseli was an admirer of Jan Lievens’s Raising of Lazarus further enhances the reputation of Brighton Museum’s most celebrated painting, as well as shedding light on Fuseli’s own work and influences.

Much of the new information has been unearthed by Timothy Williams. Having recently graduated from the University of Sussex with a Masters Degree in Art History, Tim was awarded a MacGregor Scholarship to work with curators and conservators at Brighton Museum to study this part of the art collection.  The results of his research enabled this new display to be assembled and the information about the paintings and their makers to be made public.

The exhibition coincides with the launch in November 2007 of a national online database of such paintings in many collections around Britain.  Old Masters, New Eyes is a chance for members of the public to see the real thing.

Old Masters, New Eyes continues until February 2008.  Admission is free.

 

Ends

Issued 19 June 2007

Information for editors

Image captions:

De Ruyter's Raid on the English Ships off Chatham (detail)

Building the Tower of Babel (detail) painted circa 1520 Attributed to Joachim Patinir

Timothy Williams examining a small Dutch painting on copper

MacGregor Scholarship

The Neil MacGregor Scholarship scheme was set up by the National Gallery, taking its name from a former director, whose dedication and passion ensured a positive future for this area of research. The scheme, a collaboration between the National Gallery, The National Inventory Research Project (NIRP), Glasgow University, Birkbeck University and leading regional museums (such as Brighton Museum & Art Gallery), enables promising students to undertake a short period of intensive research in order to update and supplement existing information and documentation on museum collections. Timothy Williams’s discoveries shed new light on Brighton & Hove Museums’ Dutch and Flemish paintings and the artists who created them.

Online database

The National Inventory Research Project (NIRP) - the first of its kind in the UK - aims to establish a high-quality online inventory of all post-1300 and pre-1900 non-British oil paintings in UK public collections.

NIRP was initiated by the National Gallery, London, the University of Glasgow and Birkbeck, University of London, in liaison with colleagues in other national and regional institutions. It has two aims: to improve collection research in UK museums, and enhance publicly accessible information about collections.

It is estimated that there are around 22,000 non-British oil paintings (1300-1900) in UK public collections. Of these, 11,000 are already in well-researched collections, and it is proposed that this inventory data should in due course be incorporated into the website. The first phase of the project focuses on the other 11,000 under-researched paintings. From 2007, a web database will be made publicly accessible through the Arts and Humanities Data Service for the benefit of art lovers, art historians and researchers, students, curators, exhibition organisers, publishers, picture researchers, the wider educational sector and the general public. Data will also inform the printed catalogues of the Public Catalogue Foundation and its eventual website of all oil paintings in UK public ownership.

Brighton Museum & Art Gallery

Entrance in Royal Pavilion Gardens, Brighton BN1 1EE
01273 290900
www.virtualmuseum.info
Open Tuesday 10am-7pm, Wednesday-Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 2-5pm
Closed Monday (except public holidays 10am-5pm); 24, 25 & 26 December
Free admission
Wheelchair accessible, wheelchairs available, accessible toilet, baby changing facilities, passenger lift
Gift shop, cafe

Press enquiries:
Martin Ellis, Marketing and Audience Development 01273 292817 museums.marketing@brighton-hove.gov.uk

Telephone (01273) 290900     Fax (01273) 292871
Royal Pavilion, Libraries and Museums, Brighton & Hove City Council BN1 1EE

 

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