ATHENS, GA.- During the 2019 fall semester, University of Georgia students in two classes at the Lamar Dodd School of Art spent hours at the Georgia Museum of Art, looking through prints in the museum’s collection. Now, the product of their work, the exhibition “Reflecting on Rembrandt: 500 Years of Etching,” is on view from January 18 to April 19, 2020, celebrating the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death. The exhibition includes prints selected from the museum’s collection as well as some created by the students, both commemorating the artist’s profound impact as a printmaker.

UGA students in ARHI 4310/6310 Northern Baroque Art (taught by Dr. Shelley Zuraw) and ARST 3315 Printmaking: Etching (taught by Mark Callahan) first repeatedly visited the museum’s collections, looking at prints in its rich collection of works on paper. The printmaking students then created prints using the same techniques Rembrandt employed in the 17th century. For most students in ARST 3315, the works in this exhibition represent some of their first efforts with this demanding medium and a response to the tradition of viewing Rembrandt as a guide and standard of achievement.

Students in ARHI 4310/6310 then combined these contemporary works with prints by Rembrandt, his peers and his followers. Their choices reveal both Rembrandt’s own interests in technique and composition as well as the impact he had on other artists.

Dr. Zuraw remembers being excited about art history when she was a student, which contributes in part to why she loves teaching the subject. “I can remember the first art history class I took and my eyes just exploding when I saw these wonderful things, and I want [students] to have that same experience,” says Zuraw.

Nelda Damiano, the museum’s Pierre Daura Curator of European Art, says “We always welcome the opportunity to offer UGA student in-person experiences with works of art. This project, led by Professor Zuraw and Professor Callahan, perfectly integrated the museum’s collection with their syllabus, prompted many visits by the students to our study room, stimulating conversations and research, and gave them a sense of how an exhibition is put together.”