SU fine arts professor curates art exhibition exploring work of Dutch, Flemish masters at Everson Museum

SU fine arts professor curates art exhibition exploring work of Dutch, Flemish masters at Everson MuseumJanuary 31, 2008Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

Wayne Franits, chair and professor of fine arts in The College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University, has curated the exhibition “Paper Arts in the Low Countries, 1600-1800,” currently on view at the Everson Museum of Art, 401 Harrison St., Syracuse. The show, which runs through May 25, explores lesser-known works on paper by some of the foremost Dutch and Flemish masters.

In curating the exhibition, Franits received assistance from undergraduate students in the fine arts program and graduate students enrolled in the Department of Fine Arts’ master’s program in art history. He contacted private collectors; the SUArt Galleries, which houses the University’s extensive permanent art collection; and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University and asked them to lend works for the show. His intent in planning the exhibition was to showcase their holdings for the benefit of both the SU campus and the local Syracuse community. The exhibition features 35 noteworthy examples of drawings and prints by prominent masters of the Low Countries — a region comprising present-day Holland and Belgium — drawn from these collections.

“I strongly believe that scholarship, in this case taking the form of an exhibition, should serve both pedagogical and civic needs,” he says.

The Low Countries was a site of truly spectacular art production between 1600 and 1800. Artists Rembrandt van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens and Hendrik Goltzius, among others, practiced within the region. “Paper Arts in the Low Countries” includes rarely seen prints and drawings. These memorable and impressive artworks were crafted with ink and paper, as opposed to oil paint.

An opening night lecture and reception will be held Friday, Feb. 1, from 5:30-8 p.m. Admission is free for Everson Members and $10 for non-members. The evening includes a lecture by Franits on “Enchanting and Curious Things: Paper Arts in the Low Countries,” light refreshments, a cash bar and live entertainment.

Franits is a specialist in 17th-century Dutch art and the author of numerous publications, including recent books “The Paintings of Hendrick ter Brugghen (1588-1629)” (John Benjamins Publishing Co., 2007) and “Pieter de Hooch: A Woman Preparing Bread and Butter for a Boy (Getty Museum Studies on Art)” (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007).