Painting Techniques: From Rembrandt to Vermeer

Jørgen Wadum, Keeper of Conservation at the National Gallery of Denmark and Director of the Centre for Art Technological Studies and Conservation (CATS) in Copenhagen, specializes in 17th-century Dutch and Flemish painting techniques. In this lecture, Wadum examines Rembrandt van Rijn’s paint handling from his early years in Leiden, the Netherlands, to his mature Amsterdam period. Wadum then discusses works by Rembrandt’s students before analyzing the illusionistic painting techniques of Johannes Vermeer. Wadum was previoulsy the Head of Conservation at the Maurithuis, The Hague, where he directed the conservation of Vermeer’s “View of Delft” (ca. 1660-61) and “Girl with a Pearl Earring” (ca. 1665). Presented in conjunction with the Summer Teachers Institute in Technical Art History, generously funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.