Exhibitions abroad: Youth self-portraits of Rembrandt and Degas displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art

23 February 2012 the famous Metropolitan Museum, New York, launches the “Rembrandt and Degas Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” exhibition devoted to two great artists: Dutch painter of the 17th century, Rembrandt van Rijn and French impressionist Edgar Degas.

The exposition features over 20 self portraits by the artists made in the beginning of their career. According to the exhibition’s curators, its objective is to reveal the impact of Rembrandt’s work on following generations of painters, in particular Degas, who studied and copied his works during 1850-s.

"The exhibition demonstrates the relationship between two brilliant artists. The displayed pictures date to the early period of the two painters," said the curator of European Paintings, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Susan Stein. According to her, despite the fact that Rembrandt (1606-1669) and Degas (1834-1917) belonged to different ages and had completely different nature, their works have much in common. In particular, the influence of Rembrandt can be traced in the technique of the young Degas, in the way he used light and shadow.

The existence of self-portraits by Degas became known only after his death, while Rembrandt was famous largely thanks to the works in this genre.

The exhibition "Rembrandt and Degas Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", organized in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, will run until May 20.