Fine Arts Gallery Exhibition Explores Inspiration of Rembrandt and Dürer

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – “The Inspired Line: Selected Prints of Albrecht Dürer and Rembrandt Van Rijn” opens Feb. 4 and runs through March 13 at the Fine Arts Gallery at the University of Arkansas. The Inspired Line explores the respective and shared religious, technical and cultural inspiration of Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669) and German artist Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528).

Although their prints bear many differences, the works of these two master printmakers also stand as examples of shared inspiration in different times. Works such as Dürer’s St. Christopher Facing to the Left and Announcement to the Virgin, and Rembrandt’s David in Prayer and The Holy Family will be on display from the Thrivent Financial Collection of Religious Art.

Jeffrey Chipps Smith from the University of Texas at Austin will offer an illustrated talk on Dürer at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, in the gallery, followed by a 5 p.m. lecture that evening on “Durer and the Art of the Print” in Room 213 of the Fine Arts Building. A reception to celebrate the opening of the exhibit will follow.

Paul Crenshaw of Washington University in St. Louis will offer a gallery talk on Rembrandt at 2:30 p.m. Monday, March 9, followed by an illustrated lecture on “Rembrandt as Printmaker” that evening at 5 p.m. in Room 213 of the Fine Arts Center.

Hours are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. for this special exhibition, which is free and open to the public.

Despite cultural and stylistic differences, Dürer and Rembrandt share sources of significant religious and individual inspiration. Rembrandt thrust his own intimate insights into humanity into his prints, but many of his ideas can be viewed as a religious journey that originated with Dürer. While Dürer’s world was mainly Catholic, by the time of Rembrandt, emerging controversial Protestantism and Renaissance philosophies such as humanism encouraged new ideas about individual identity.