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Northern European Art from the Lyman Allyn Art Museum Permanent Collection

January 30 – December 31, 2005

Note from the Curator (Nancy Stula): The Chapel Gallery is installed with European Art from the permanent collection: it turns out there is such a wealth of works that I have decided to concentrate on Northern European Art—specifically Dutch, Flemish and German Art from the 15th through the 18th, poss 19th centuries. We have paintings by Lucas Cranach the Younger, still lifes by Claesz and de Heem, a landscape by Jan Van Goyen, along with two etched portraits by Rembrandt.

This exhibition features Flemish, Dutch, and German paintings, sculpture, and works on paper from the permanent collection of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum . The installation is arranged thematically with attention given to history painting (scenes from the Bible, mythology and literature), portraiture, genre, still life, and landscape and features works ranging in date from the late 15th century to the early 20th century. Some of these works have not been on display in many years.

Northern European Art from the Lyman Allyn Art Museum was funded in part by generous grants from the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee and Pfizer, Inc.

The Protestant Reformation rejected the authority of Roman Catholic clergy and instead asserted the authority of the scriptures. Protestants considered religious images idolatrous and the iconoclastic movement that accompanied the Reformation from 1520s until the end of the 16th century resulted in the destruction of thousands of works of art. As a result, secular subject matter rose in popularity and the new genres of landscape, still life, and genre painting developed. This installation is arranged thematically, highlighting these genres.
Still life painting first flourished in the Low Countries during the early 17th century. Highly refined and carefully detailed floral still lifes were especially popular. Very often individual flowers were encoded with symbolic meanings recognizable by that society. Many artists created memento mori or vanitas compositions which feature objects, such as clocks, skulls, wilting flowers, and decaying fruit, that cause the viewer to meditate on the transience of time and the uncertainty of life. Some of these moralizing still lifes included luxury items in order to warn against the desire for worldly goods.The rise of still life painting corresponds to the increasing urbanization of Northern European society, which brought with it a focus on personal possessions and the objects of commerce.

Genre: With the spread of Calvinism, the Church was no longer a source of patronage for artists and as a result, artists had to look elsewhere for patrons. They found a strong market in the middle class who commissioned and purchased works to decorate their homes. Large-scale heroic religious works were supplanted by modest paintings of still life, landscape, portraits, and, most notably, genre scenes which appealed to this new market.

Genre scenes, or scenes of everyday life, gained their greatest popularity in the Netherlands in the 17th century. Artists found inspiration in the ordinary, and on a certain level their images of daily life supplanted religious scenes: they depicted the sacred and the holy in everyday life. Their compositions were often set indoors; some featured solitary women involved in housework while others depicted large gatherings, game playing, merry-making, and even brawling. Genre scenes frequently carried a moralizing tone, but just as often they emphasized humor.

Landscape painting developed as a genre in Northern Europe . During the 16th century landscapes were idealized compositions which, although prominent, largely served as backdrops for history painting narratives. During the 17thcentury, landscape painting evolved into a genre of its own where the landscape itself became the primary subject. In Holland, where the political situation had changed so dramatically with the Dutch Republic emerging as an independent state in 1648, there was an audience for factual, visual records of the land they had so recently won. Patriotic citizens purchased these images representing and celebrating their new nation. In addition, the Low Countries were more urbanized than the rest of Europe and perhaps the craze for landscape painting may have been fueled by the nostalgia felt by city dwellers for the open countryside.

Filed Under: Exhibitions, Past Exhibitions Tagged With: PermanentCollection

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6:30 PM - Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - February
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11:00 AM - Free First Saturday
1:00 PM - Harriet Tubman: A Woman with a Railroad
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5:00 PM - Opening Reception • Where Children Sleep: Photographs by James Mollison
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6:00 PM - Thames River Heritage Park Lecture- For Adam’s Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England
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10:00 AM - Open Collections Day
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5:00 PM - Opening Reception • The Masters Series by Julia Pavone
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6:30 PM - Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - March
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11:00 AM - Free First Saturday
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Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - February
Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - February
Thursday, February 2, 2023    
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
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Grab your friends and join us for drinks and art-making on the first Thursday of every month! Tickets include two drinks, light bites, and creative [...]
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Free First Saturday
Free First Saturday
Saturday, February 4, 2023    
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Museum
  • Children's Programs
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Join us in the art studio from 11 am - 1 pm and create your own portrait of our "Heroes in History"! Celebrate Black History [...]
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Harriet Tubman: A Woman with a Railroad
Harriet Tubman: A Woman with a Railroad
Saturday, February 4, 2023    
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Museum
  • Children's Programs
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Presented by Adwoa Bandele-Asante Join us for an interesting and interactive afternoon of learning with a live performance of Harriet Tubman: A Woman with a Railroad [...]
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Opening Reception • Where Children Sleep: Photographs by James Mollison
Opening Reception • Where Children Sleep: Photographs by James Mollison
Friday, February 10, 2023    
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
  • Exhibition Opening
  • Special Event
Celebrate the opening of Where Children Sleep: Photographs by James Mollison with an evening reception at the Museum. In this series of beautiful and thought-provoking [...]
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Living with Color and Beauty
Living with Color and Beauty
Sunday, February 12, 2023    
2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
  • Lecture
Alexandra Stoddard in conversation with Tanya Pohrt In conversation, Alexandra Stoddard will discuss the art and objects on view, sharing stories from her life and [...]
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Thames River Heritage Park Lecture- For Adam’s Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England
Thames River Heritage Park Lecture- For Adam’s Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England
Wednesday, February 15, 2023    
6:00 PM - 8:30 PM
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
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Registration after 2/9: $15 Members / $20 Non-members The Lyman Allyn Art Museum will host Thames River Heritage Park’s winter lecture series, “Stories from the [...]
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Open Collections Day
Open Collections Day
Thursday, February 16, 2023    
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
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Open Collections Days provide visitors with an opportunity to see staff at work in the Museum’s Hendel Library. Collections staff engage with visitors while working [...]
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Science Saturday with Porfirio Gutierrez
Science Saturday with Porfirio Gutierrez
Saturday, February 18, 2023    
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Museum
  • Children's Programs
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This fun drop-in program, designed for children ages 7-11, encourages participants to explore the intersections between art and science. February 18: Natural Pigments Come learn how [...]
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Traditional Art in a Modern World: A Conversation with Porfirio Gutiérrez
Traditional Art in a Modern World: A Conversation with Porfirio Gutiérrez
Saturday, February 18, 2023    
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
  • Lecture
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Registration recommended. Register here.  Join us for an afternoon panel conversation with Porfirio Gutierrez, a contemporary indigenous Oaxacan artist using traditional textile methods, who is [...]
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Opening Reception • The Masters Series by Julia Pavone
Opening Reception • The Masters Series by Julia Pavone
Friday, February 24, 2023    
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
  • Exhibition Opening
  • Special Event
Celebrate the opening of The Masters Series by Julia Pavone with an evening reception at the Museum. RSVP to 860.443.2545 ext. 2129 or email us. Wine and hors [...]
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Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - March
Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - March
Thursday, March 2, 2023    
6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Lyman Allyn Art Museum
  • Special Event
Grab your friends and join us for drinks and art-making on the first Thursday of every month! Tickets include two drinks, light bites, and creative [...]
More Info
Free First Saturday
Free First Saturday
Saturday, March 4, 2023    
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Lyman Allyn Museum
  • Children's Programs
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Join us in the art studio from 11 am - 1 pm and create your own Proverb Painting! Join us for landscape painting connected to [...]
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Events on Thursday, February 2, 2023
Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - February
Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - February
2 Feb 23
New London
Events on Saturday, February 4, 2023
Free First Saturday
Free First Saturday
4 Feb 23
New London
Harriet Tubman: A Woman with a Railroad
Harriet Tubman: A Woman with a Railroad
4 Feb 23
New London
Events on Friday, February 10, 2023
Opening Reception • Where Children Sleep: Photographs by James Mollison
Opening Reception • Where Children Sleep: Photographs by James Mollison
10 Feb 23
Events on Sunday, February 12, 2023
Living with Color and Beauty
Living with Color and Beauty
12 Feb 23
Events on Wednesday, February 15, 2023
Thames River Heritage Park Lecture- For Adam’s Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England
Thames River Heritage Park Lecture- For Adam’s Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England
15 Feb 23
New London
Events on Thursday, February 16, 2023
Open Collections Day
Open Collections Day
16 Feb 23
New London
Events on Saturday, February 18, 2023
Science Saturday with Porfirio Gutierrez
Science Saturday with Porfirio Gutierrez
18 Feb 23
New London
Traditional Art in a Modern World: A Conversation with Porfirio Gutiérrez
Traditional Art in a Modern World: A Conversation with Porfirio Gutiérrez
18 Feb 23
Events on Friday, February 24, 2023
Opening Reception • The Masters Series by Julia Pavone
Opening Reception • The Masters Series by Julia Pavone
24 Feb 23
Events on Thursday, March 2, 2023
Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - March
Night at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum - March
2 Mar 23
New London
Events on Saturday, March 4, 2023
Free First Saturday
Free First Saturday
4 Mar 23
New London

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Lyman Allyn Art Museum
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