Joachim Wtewael, Self-Portrait, 1601, oil on panel, Collection Centraal Museum Utrecht, Purchase 1918. © Centraal Museum Utrecht / Adriaan van Dam

Washington, DC—The brilliantly colored and highly sensual works by Utrecht master Joachim Wtewael will be showcased in the artist's first monographic exhibition, from June 28 through October 4, 2015, at the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Pleasure and Piety: The Art of Joachim Wtewael (1566–1638) includes nearly 50 of his finest paintings on canvas, copper, and panel, as well as selected drawings.  Ranging from portraits and moralizing biblical scenes to witty mythological compositions, these works underscore the artist's reputation as a remarkable storyteller.

Joachim Wtewael, The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1598, oil on canvas, Collection Centraal Museum Utrecht, Purchase with support from the Vereniging Rembrandt, 1935. © Centraal Museum Utrecht / Ernst Moritz

"Wtewael was one of the most important Dutch artists at the turn of the 17th century, but unlike some of his contemporaries—Hendrick Goltzius, Abraham Bloemaert, and Cornelis van Haarlem—Wtewael has not been the subject of a solo exhibition," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "This exhibition sheds light on Wtewael's artistic excellence, allowing him to reclaim his rightful place among the great masters of the Dutch Golden Age."

Joachim Wtewael, The Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, 1600, oil on canvas, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri, Purchase, Nelson Gallery Foundation, F84-71 / Jamison Miller.

Organization and Support
The exhibition is organized by the Centraal Museum Utrecht; the National Gallery of Art, Washington; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation. The exhibition was on view at the Centraal Museum from February 21 through May 25, and will be on view in Houston from November 1, 2015, through January 31, 2016.

The exhibition in Washington is made possible by The Exhibition Circle of the National Gallery of Art.

It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. 

Joachim Wtewael, The Apulian Shepherd, c. 1600–1605, oil on copper, Rose-Marie and Eijk van Otterloo Collection.

Exhibition Highlights
The exhibition presents the artist's finest works, selected by the curatorial team from the 100 or so known paintings and drawings in private and public collections in Europe and the United States. "Pleasure" and "piety" are constant motifs in these works, which were rendered from the imagination and from life—two approaches to Dutch painting at the time. The exhibition covers three galleries and is organized thematically.

Joachim Wtewael, Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan, 1604–1608, oil on copper, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program

Wtewael painted compelling portraits of family members and close associates, and his ability to capture the likeness and character of a sitter is exceptional. The exhibition opens with pendant portraits (both 1601) of Wtewael and his wife, Christina, on loan from the Centraal Museum Utrecht. In his Self-Portrait, Wtewael holds his paintbrushes, while a Latin motto on a wall plaque declares that he seeks "Not Glory, but Remembrance." In her portrait, Christina points to her husband with one hand and holds a prayer book or Bible with the other; a coin scale on the nearby table alludes to her thrifty management of the household. Several other portraits are also on view in the first gallery, along with large-scale biblical and mythological scenes, including The Death of Procris (c. 1595–1600) from the Saint Louis Art Museum and Lot and His Daughters (c. 1597–1600) from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Joachim Wtewael, The Golden Age, 1605, oil on copper, Lent by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, The Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection, Edward J. Gallagher Jr. Bequest; Lila Acheson Wallace Gift; special funds; and Gift of George Blumenthal, Bequest of Lillian S. Timken, The Collection of Giovanni P. Morosini, presented by his daughter Giulia, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Spear Jr., Gift of Mrs. William M. Haupt, from the collection of Mrs. James B. Haggin, special funds, gifts, and bequests, by exchange, 1993. Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Nearly one-third of Wtewael's extant paintings are on copper, a smooth shiny support that yields intense luminosity. Popular in the late 16th and early 17th century, paintings on copper appealed to an elite clientele that valued their exquisite delicacy. Wtewael's talent for executing these meticulous, miniature scenes was celebrated by both critics and patrons, including Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, who owned one work by Wtewael, most likely The Golden Age (1605) from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Joachim Wtewael, Kitchen Scene with the Parable of the Great Supper, 1605, oil on canvas, Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Bpk, Berlin / Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen / Jörg P. Anders / Art Resource, NY

Among Wtewael's wittiest mythologies are his depictions of Vulcan, god of fire, catching his wife Venus, goddess of love, and Mars, god of war, in bed and exposing their adulterous affair. Though a pious Calvinist, Wtewael depicted the lovers' predicament on several copper sheets. In each of the three versions on view, Vulcan stands next to a lavish bed having just ensnared the couple in a bronze net, while several other gods look on. Small enough to be tucked away, these jewel-like works were kept private and brought out only for those who would appreciate the erotic subject. 

Joachim Wtewael, Mars, Venus, and Cupid, c. 1610, oil on copper, P. & N. de Boer Foundation, Amsterdam.

Wtewael also made large narrative paintings that focus on a single figure, including the sensuous and evocative Perseus and Andromeda (1611) from the Louvre in Paris, and the remarkable Martyrdom of Saint Sebastian (1600) from the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City.

Wtewael made many sophisticated variations of his own compositions, raising questions about his workshop practice. He may have made these versions for his own satisfaction rather than for the market, since a number of his paintings remained in his possession until his death.

Joachim Wtewael, Perseus and Andromeda, 1611, oil on canvas, Musée du Louvre, Paris, Département des Peintures, Gift of the Société des Amis du Louvre, 1982. © RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY

Two versions of The Annunciation to the Shepherds (made in or about 1606), from the Rijksmuseum and Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, illustrate the passage from the gospel of Luke (2:8–14) in which shepherds, watching their flock by night, are visited by an angel who bears tidings of the birth of Christ. Subtle differences between the two compositions exist, but infrared reflectography made during the recent restoration of the Rijksmuseum picture reveal that the two paintings were initially nearly identical.

Joachim Wtewael, The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis, 1612, oil on copper, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts. Image © Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts, USA / Michael Agee.

The exhibition concludes with a selection of Wtewael's exquisite drawings. Among them is a series of four drawings related to a commission he received to paint 12 glass panels for the town hall of Woerden, west of Utrecht. The series depicts the early stages of the Dutch Revolt, a struggle for independence from Spain dating from 1568 to1648. The designs on view chronicle the events through the tribulations and triumphs of the Dutch Maiden, the allegorical personification of the Netherlands. 

Joachim Wtewael, The Judgment of Paris, 1615, oil on panel, The National Gallery, London, Bequeathed by Claude Dickason Rotch, 1962. © National Gallery, London / Art Resource, NY 

About the Artist
Wtewael's career began in his native Utrecht, where he studied with his father, a glass painter. During an extended period of travel to Italy and France he became inspired by the school of Fontainebleau; Wtewael returned to Utrecht in about 1592 and quickly embraced the international mannerist style—one characterized by extreme refinement, artifice, and elegant distortion. Aside from his artistic career, Wtewael was a successful businessman who amassed great wealth from his flax business, as well as real estate and stock equities. An orthodox Calvinist, Wtewael was a loyal supporter of the House of Orange. He was active in local politics, serving on Utrecht's city council, and was a founding member of the Utrecht artists' guild in 1611. 

Joachim Wtewael, The Kitchen Maid, c. 1620–1625, oil on canvas, Collection Centraal Museum Utrecht, Purchase with support from the Vereniging Rembrandt, 1999. © Centraal Museum Utrecht / Ernst Moritz

Throughout his career, Wtewael remained one of the leading proponents of the international mannerist style. His inventive compositions, teeming with choreographed figures and saturated with pastels and acidic colors, retained their appeal even when most other early 17th-century Dutch artists shifted to a more naturalistic manner of painting. Nevertheless, Wtewael's paintings were highly regarded during the Dutch Golden Age, but were largely neglected during later centuries. This exhibition reveals the full scope of Joachim Wtewael's remarkable and fascinating artistic output. 

Joachim Wtewael, Moses Striking the Rock, 1624, oil on panel, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund.

Joachim Wtewael, Venus and Amor, c. 1610s?, pen and brown ink, brush and gray ink, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam. Studio Buitenhof, The Hague.

Joachim Wtewael, Allegory of the Dutch Revolt, The Dutch Maiden Assisted by Prince Maurits of Orange, c. 1612, pen and black ink and gray wash, white gouache, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Digital image courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.

Joachim Wtewael, The Wedding of Peleus and Thetis, 1622, pen and brown and black inks, brush and gray ink, white gouache, Teylers Museum, Haarlem.