COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.- The 2007 autumn exhibition of master drawings from the Royal Collection of Prints and Drawings gives audiences a rare insight into the museum's rich store of Dutch 17th century drawings. Presenting a total of 89 drawings and graphic pieces by prominent artists such as Jan van Goyen, Rembrandt, and Esaias van de Velde, the exhibition offers an intimate encounter with the old masters and their working methods, presenting an overview of one of the most epoch-making chapters of Western landscape art. The exhibition represents the most comprehensive selection ever presented of the museum's Dutch master drawings.

Landscapes between perfection and reality - The starting point of the exhibition is the breakthrough, shortly after 1600, of naturalism within Dutch art. Whereas earlier depictions of nature were idealised or anecdotal, this era saw an emergence of convincing, life-like imitation. Plain, vernacular landscapes became highly esteemed subjects in their own right. The new ideal was art capable of transcending style, imitating nature with such verisimilitude and particularity that it was impossible to identify the creator of the piece.

Monochrome virtuosity - It was no coincidence that the art of drawing heralded the advent of naturalism in Dutch art. The medium is both rapid and accurate by nature, making it excellently suited to capturing the volatile phenomena of nature such as its weather, winds, and light. Even though they worked in monochrome, the Dutch masters succeeded in making maximum use of the black-and-white colour scheme, creating effects of colour and light that remain convincingly realistic even today. Black chalk in particular was well suited to grading the greys of drawings, creating a tonality which bears comparison with the colours of painting.

In the Netherlands, landscape was regarded as the most difficult genre of all within the pictorial arts. It became highly esteemed as subject matter which gave artists a chance to excel, conjuring up the greatest possible level of realism. With its treasure trove of excellent drawings and graphic pieces, the exhibition presents the artist's continuing fight to outdo one another in their choice of challenging subject matter, always striving to showcase new sides of their virtuosity.

The exhibition is presented in one of the museum's Focus Rooms (rooms 301-302) at the top level of the white museum building.