The National Gallery of Ireland today announced details of its autumn exhibition devoted to 17th century Dutch painter, Gabriel Metsu.
The exhibition titled Gabriel Metsu: Rediscovered Master of the Dutch Golden Age will bring together 40 of the artist's most celebrated paintings and drawings from both private and public collections around the world.
Metsu, born in Leiden, Holland in 1629 was during his lifetime more celebrated than Johannes Vermeer. Fionnuala Croke, keeper and head of collections at the National Gallery says "at the time, Vermeer would have been described as an ‘artist in the manner of Metsu’."
“While Vermeer is interested in light and the magic of the interior, in Metsu, there is more domestic detail giving us a unique window into daily life at the time.”
Dr. Adriaan Waiboer, curator of the exhibition said "the seed for this exhibition was the gallery's own Metsu works, Man Writing a Letter and Woman Reading a Letter."
These companion pieces, gifted to the gallery in 1987 by Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, having previously been stolen from Russborugh House are generally considered to be Metsu’s best known works.
Dr. Waiboer said: "the two pieces are among the gallery’s favourites. It has taken two years to bring the others to Dublin and this exhibition will be an opportunity for Irish audiences to discover a lesser-known but highly talented artist".
The exhibition which is organised by the National Gallery in association with the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam and the National Gallery of Art in Washington also features Metsu works on loan from the Louvre in Paris, the Met in New York and the Prado in Madrid. It also includes a number of works from private collections rarely seen in public.
The exhibition, running from September 4th to December 5th in the Beit Wing of the National Gallery will be accompanied by a series of lectures.
