Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (French, 1749 -1803), Portrait of Madame Adélaïde, about 1787. Oil on canvas, 107 3/4 x 73 3/4 in. Collection of Speed Art Museum, Louisville, KY.

MEMPHIS, TN.- The Dixon Gallery and Gardens is presenting an exhibition of more than 70 major works by master painters Rembrandt, Rubens, Tiepolo, Gainsborough, Hogarth and others from the renowned collection of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. On view through April 15, Rembrandt, Rubens, and the Golden Age of Painting illustrates how the tremendous changes in religion, science, and politics coupled with economic growth in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries gave way to a golden age of painting. The exhibition is comprised of brilliant portraits, religious paintings, landscapes, scenes of everyday life, still lifes, and interpretations of classical antiquity. 

“Rembrandt, Rubens and the Golden Age of Painting features outstanding works of art by seminal European masters. Some of these rare objects have never left Louisville since their acquisition by the Speed, which makes this opportunity a very special one for all of us in Memphis,” notes Kevin Sharp, Director of the Dixon. 

Remarkable cultural transformations swept Europe between 1600 and 1800, the years in which the art in this exhibition was produced. Religious upheavals changed the way people thought about and utilized art. Trade routes to China and India became more established, ensuring a steady stream of exotic goods for European consumers. Advances in the sciences transformed long held views on the way the universe worked and the place of humans within that universe. Technical aspects of art making were honed and codified, as art academies grew in number and power. As the fine arts reached an increasingly wider audience, the number of artists and the number of art collectors grew exponentially during this period, producing a golden age of European painting. 

Through a collections exchange, the Dixon’s own collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist treasures will be on view at the Speed in Louisville from February 3 through May 6. The Dixon is delighted to have built another important museum partnership with the Speed. The collection exchange unites two premier art museums in the South, fuses in purpose our creative and dedicated staffs, and creates opportunities for the people of Memphis and Louisville to see works of tremendous beauty and significance. 

Rembrandt, Rubens and the Golden Age of Painting in Europe from the Speed Art Museum has been organized by the Speed Art Museum, Louisville, Kentucky. 

Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, about 1692 -1765) The Wedding at Cana, about 1725 Oil on canvas 39 1/16 x 54 in. (99.2 x 137.2 cm.)Museum purchase, Preston Pope SatterwhiteReserve Fund

Jan Brueghel the Elder (Flemish, 1568 -1625) Hendrikvan BalenI (Flemish, 1575 -1632) A Bacchanal, about 1608-1616 Oil on panel. Museum purchase