For the first time, a selection of etchings from the Rembrandthuis in Amsterdam, the only museum in the world entirely dedicated to Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, is coming to the United States. From October 24, 2025 to January 11, 2026, in fact, the exhibition Rembrandt: Masterpieces in Black and White - Prints from the Rembrandthuis will be on view at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston. Organized jointly by the American Federation of Arts (AFA) and the Rembrandthuis, the exhibition occupies the entire third floor of the Gibbes Museum and brings together 58 works: 44 etchings by Rembrandt and 14 works by 19th- and 20th-century artists who have taken up his legacy, including Pablo Picasso and James McNeill Whistler. It is curated by Epco Runia, Head of Collections at the Rembrandthuis.
The exhibition, divided into thirteen sections, takes visitors on a tour of the Dutch master’s artistic and technical evolution, highlighting his ability to narrate through light and shadow, to experiment with new graphic solutions and to use self-portraiture as a tool for introspection and reflection on identity and aging. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Rembrandt transformed etching into an autonomous and innovative language, producing more than three hundred etchings ranging from biblical themes to portraits, from scenes of everyday life to landscapes, and even nude studies and spontaneous sketches.
Among the most significant pieces in the exhibition are two original copper plates engraved by Rembrandt, displayed alongside the related prints, which offer a unique opportunity to understand the artist’s creative process up close.
Completing the exhibition are works by his masters and pupils-including Pieter Lastman, Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck-that contextualize Rembrandt’s work and highlight his technical and stylistic innovations, such as his dramatic use of tonal contrasts and the dynamic construction of compositions.
After the inaugural stop in Charleston, the tour will continue to other U.S. museums. The Gibbes Museum will accompany the exhibition with a full program of collateral events and activities.
“The city of Charleston and the Gibbes Museum of Art are honored to launch the Rembrandt tour in the United States,” says H. Alexander Rich, president and CEO of the Gibbes Museum of Art. “Rembrandt remains one of the stars of art history, an icon who is renewed and celebrated today-as in his day-as a genius. Rembrandt was also a resident of Amsterdam, the most famous city in the Netherlands, so it is fitting to welcome him to Charleston, our famous city in the heart of the American Lowcountry. As the Gibbes continues to double down on its promise of providing exceptional art experiences, we are thrilled to host Rembrandt’s etchings for our community of art lovers and visitors from around the world.”
“We at the Rembrandthuis are delighted to present Rembrandt’s fascinating prints to audiences outside the Netherlands,” said exhibition curator Epco Runia. “With this exhibition we hope to demonstrate that each of Rembrandt’s prints is a work of art in its own right. If you take the time to look at them closely, a whole world will open up to you: a world in black and white, but with enormous visual richness.”
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| For the first time in the U.S., a selection of Rembrandt engravings from the Rembrandthuis in Amsterdam |
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