Lucas van Leyden and the Renaissance
29 march - 26 june 2011
In 2011 Museum De Lakenhal in Leiden presented, in cooperation with Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, the major exhibition Lucas van Leyden and the Renaissance. For the first time ever, the main Renaissance artist of the Northern Netherlands were showcased against the background of his contemporaries. The 250 works of an exceptionally high quality belong to the collections of Dutch and international museums such as the Louvre, the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Most of them were on display in the Netherlands for the first time. This exhibition fitted well into De Lakenhal’s policy to offer high-quality exhibitions of national or international significance based on sources from Leiden.
Exhibition
Lucas van Leyden (Leiden, approx. 1494-1533) introduced the Renaissance in the Northern Netherlands. The exhibition featured prints, drawings and paintings and focuses on the important role he played in this movement. Works by internationally renowned artists such as painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer from Germany, court painter Jan Gossaert and landscape painter Joachim Patinir from the Southern Netherlands demonstrate the coherence with contemporary artists. This exhibition’s highlights were Lucas’ triptychs, which will be re-united on this special occasion. The Last Judgement from De Lakenhal has been a crowd-puller for many years and is Lucas' only work that has remained in Leiden throughout its history. It was showcased together with two other masterpieces: Dance around the Golden Calf from the Rijksmuseum and Christ Healing the Blind Man of Jericho from the Saint Petersburg Hermitage.
Child prodigy
At a very young age, Lucas van Leyden already produced exceptional prints, which is why he became known as a child prodigy. He was particularly renowned for his engravings which were sold all over Europe. In addition to prints, he also made paintings and drawings. He was regarded as an innovative artist because of his graphic work and the introduction of Italian Renaissance iconography in the Netherlands. His reputation reached as far as Italy and Germany. He was not only appreciated by contemporary art connoisseurs and artists, but also by artist biographers such as Giorgio Vasari and Karel van Mander who highly praised him in their writings.
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Lucas van Leyden and the Renaissance