A recent review of Rembrandt’s Late Religious Portraits at the National Gallery in Washington says, “Go to this show. It will make you a better person; it will make the whole,
complicated, messy, human enterprise seem more tolerable.”
These portraits of apostles, saints and evangelists, are admired not only because they are Rembrandts, the work of the revered Dutch painter; nor because they showcase the artist at the peak of his career.
The fascinating feature of this show is that Rembrandt’s subjects, although holy in nature, are unquestionably, and imperfectly and brilliantly — human. And their humanity poses profound questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What is my worth? The curator of this exhibit, Arthur Wheelock says such great art inspires great questions about the meaning of life. So in looking at Rembrandt’s religious paintings we look within ourselves.
Guests:
Arthur Wheelock, Jr., curator of Northern Baroque painting at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and Professor at Art History at the University of Maryland.