Baroque Brilliance: Rubens and Rembrandt

Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton

Two of history’s most well-known artists came to their pinnacle during the 17th century’s Baroque period, Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp and Rembrandt van Rijn in Amsterdam.

Along with contrasting artistic styles, they took very different paths with Rubens amassing great wealth, property and a large family, and Rembrandt dying alone in poverty. Distinguished Professor Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton’s richly illustrated presentation offers an in-depth look at the artworks, lives, and homes of these artists and why both are universally recognized as geniuses.

Peter Paul Rubens

Trace the life and career of Baroque master artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) as he moves from success to success — including diplomatic missions, honorary degrees, prized commissions and a picture factory producing a small fortune. Art historian Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton leads participants through the signature work of Rubens — his style of drama, theatricality, emotion, dashing brushwork, and the fleshy figures that coincided perfectly with the tastes of his time.

Rembrandt van Rijn

Follow the life of the master artist of light and shadow Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-69) by examining his stunning paintings and prints with art historian Dr. Janetta Rebold Benton. Dr. Benton introduces participants to the stories and circumstances behind paintings at crucial turning points in his life, like the monumental “The Night Watch,” dated 1642, the year in which his beloved wife Saskia died.

This program will take place on Friday, November 12 and 19 from 12-1 pm ET. Sessions will be recorded and available for later viewing by those who register.

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

Online programs:
An access link will be emailed to you after purchase

In-person programs:
Adults and children ages 5+ must show proof of COVID-19 vaccination in order to attend our in-person programs. Learn more.

Masks must be worn at all times by everyone over the age of 2.

Thank you for doing your part in helping to keep everyone in our community safe.

Instructor

Janetta Rebold Benton

Janetta Rebold Benton is the Distinguished Professor of Art History at Pace University, NY. She is the recipient of two Fulbright Scholar Awards: In 2018 she was visiting professor in the graduate school of Art History, China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, China; in 2012 she was visiting professor in the graduate school of Art History, European University, St. Petersburg, Russia. Dr. Benton regularly presents subscription seminars at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, since 1988. She also presented subscription lecture series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, every season 1988-2011, and has lectured at The Cloisters, NYC; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach; the Schimmel Center for the Arts, NYC; 92nd Street Y, NYC, and elsewhere in America and abroad, including the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia and the Louvre, Paris, France. She serves as the Expert Lecturer on many Smithsonian Journeys and Metropolitan Museum of Art trips throughout the world. A former resident of Paris, she taught courses in art history there as the Art Historian at the American Embassy.

Dr. Benton’s newest book is How to Understand Art, Thames & Hudson, London, forthcoming 2021 in the Art Essentials series. The fifth edition of Arts and Culture: An Introduction to the Humanities is in preparation (Robert DiYanni co-author, Pearson/Prentice Hall, NJ, two volumes and combined volume, fourth edition, 2012; Chinese translation of the fourth edition forthcoming from Tsinghua University Press, Beijing, 2020; Chinese translation of the second edition, 2011. Handbook for the Humanities (Robert DiYanni co-author, Pearson/Prentice Hall, NJ, 2014, is published in paperback, as an E-book, and in Chinese translation, 2016. Her other books include Materials, Methods, and Masterpieces of Medieval Art, Praeger Series on the Middle Ages, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA, 2009, available in hardcover and as an E-book. Medieval Mischief: Wit and Humour in the Art of the Middle Ages (The History Press, Sutton Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2004, examines an engaging aspect of medieval culture. Art of the Middle Ages, Thames & Hudson, London, 2002, is published in the World of Art series. Holy Terrors: Gargoyles on Medieval Buildings, Abbeville Press, NY, 1997, is also published in French as Saintes Terreurs: Les Gargouilles dans l’Architecture Médiévale, 2000. Her book, The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages, Abbeville Press, NY, 1992, a Book of the Month Club selection, is also published in French as Bestiaire Médiéval: Les Animaux dans l’Art du Moyen Age, 1992. Dr. Benton was the guest curator and catalog author for the 1995 exhibition Medieval Monsters: Dragons and Fantastic Creatures at the Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY.

Articles and reviews written by Dr. Benton appear in IKON, Center for Iconographic Studies, University of Rijeka, Croatia, 2017; Proceedings of the International Conference, State Hermitage Museum Publishers, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 2017 and 2015; Encyclopedia of Humor Studies, Sage Reference, Los Angeles, CA, 2014; Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalog, Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture, 2007; as well as in scholarly journals including Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale, Poitiers, 1998; Arte Medievale, Rome, 1993; Artibus et Historiae, Vienna, 1989; and Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, Munich, 1985.

Dr. Benton was educated at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, MDP diploma; earned her Ph.D. in Art History at Brown University; Master's degree in Art History at George Washington University; and Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at Cornell University.