Exhibition | Mastering the Market: Dutch and Flemish Paintings from Woburn Abbey

About

Masterpieces by Rembrandt van Rijn, Anthony van Dyck and Frans Hals are among the dazzling selection of paintings from Woburn Abbey that take centre stage in the Barber's lead exhibition this summer.

The show features one of the largest and most significant groups of Old Master paintings from the important collection of the Dukes of Bedford to be exhibited in a public gallery since the 1950s.

Mastering the Market focuses on themes of patronage and collecting in the innovative 17th-century Dutch art market – from the unique character of artistic culture in the newly independent Dutch Republic, through art dealership and attribution, to the demand for, and development of, new genres.

Complementing the Woburn masterpieces is a small selection of the outstanding Dutch and Flemish paintings in the Barber's own permanent collection by Steen, Van Dyck and Hals, which will connect with the respective works by the same artists from Woburn.

The exhibition is curated by MA students from the University's Department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies, with guidance for experts at the Barber and Woburn Abbey.