Virtual Tour - Love Letters: 17th Century Dutch Genre Painting
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Join Timken Museum of Art for a Virtual Tour!
Just as e-mail now dominates written communication, in the 17th century the writing of personal letters became widespread and fashionable. Although letters had long existed, the notion that they could convey private feelings and emotions suddenly captured the popular imagination and transformed personal communication.
During this period, not only was Holland the most literate country in Europe and a leading publishing center, but it was also the focus of an explosion of epistolary activity.
17th-century Dutch genre painters became the first to depict anonymous people writing, reading, dispatching and receiving letters.
Leading painters like Gerard ter Borch, Gabriel Metsu, Frans van Mieris, Pieter de Hooch and the renowned Johannes Vermeer made the letter a central feature of theirscenes of everyday life, defining the subject and creating images that would influence generations of painters to come.
Date: Jan. 20, 2022
Time: 11 a.m. - Noon
Location: Timken Museum of Art (Virtual)
Cost: Free
For more information on this event and zoom link registration please visit HERE!
Timken Museum of Art
Located in San Diego's beautiful Balboa Park, the Timken Museum of Art houses the world-class Putnam Foundation Collection of European old masters American art, and Russian icons. Artworks in the collection range from 13th-century altarpieces through 18th-century portraits to 19th-century still lifes. Represented are the works of Dutch & Flemish, French, and Italian painters, including Rembrandt, Rubens, Petrus Christus, Fragonard, Jacques-Louis David, and Veronese, as well as American artists such as John Singleton Copley and Eastman Johnson. Admission to the Timken Museum of Art is always free.