Press View: 12 noon, Monday 21 January 2013
Threadneedle Space at Mall Galleries, London SW1
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A selection of some of the finest 17th century Dutch ‘Italianate’ landscapes held in any UK
public art collection goes on display for six weeks at the Mall Galleries in central London in
January 2013. In a fascinating collaboration with Dulwich Picture Gallery, Memory and
Press Release
For immediate release
MEMORY & IMAGINATION:
Dutch Italianate and Contemporary Landscapes
Open to public: 23 January to 1 March 2013
Imagination: Dutch Italianate and Contemporary Landscapes will be the first exhibition in
central London for ten years to focus attention on this magical genre of landscape painting.
To highlight the modern legacy of Holland’s ‘Golden Age’, the Mall Galleries, well known for
its exhibitions of works by living artists, will hang a smaller number of contemporary
landscape works in oil paint, photography and video alongside these paintings, providing an
extraordinary sense of continuity and debt by landscape artists of the present to landscape
artists of the past.
Many of the Dutch artists in the 17th century who journeyed to Italy, the traditional ‘home of
art’, were fascinated and seduced by the magical light and luminous qualities of the Italian
countryside. On their return to Holland, their sketchbooks and memory fuelled their artistic
imagination, leading to virtuoso landscapes that recall the warm colours, tonal variations and
classical features they discovered in the Roman campagna. These works were even more
highly valued in 17th century Holland than the ‘domestic’ school of Dutch landscape artists so
admired by gallery visitors today.
Fifteen of these Dutch ‘Italianate’ paintings, including major works by Jan Both, Aelbert
1640 and 1670, will be displayed in the Mall Galleries exhibition. Characterised by a visual
richness in observation, as well as by a fine sense of humour, surprise and purity of
landscape vision, this genre became highly influential to many artists in the 18th century,
before falling out of favour during the 19th century. A major re-evaluation of this genre,
reinforced by the amazing quality of ‘Italianates’ in the Dulwich collection, prompted this
opportunity for collaboration between Dulwich Picture Gallery and Mall Galleries. The
exhibition organisers aim to introduce many new visitors to the poetic qualities of the Dutch
‘Italianates’, as well as to their continuing influence on contemporary landscape art.
The selection of contemporary works that will hang alongside the Dutch ‘Italianates’ includes
fascinating works executed in oil paint, video and photography by artists Emily Allchurch,
Cuyp, Adam Pynacker, Nicolaes Berchem and Philps Wouwermans, all executed between
Jeffrey Blondes, Martin Greenland, Tom Hunter and John Stark.
Memory & Imagination is sponsored by Buzzacott LLP. Buzzacott is a Top 25 UK accounting
firm based in the heart of London, providing financial and business advisory services to
corporate and charitable organisations, and individuals.
collection in Dulwich. The £4.00 admission price to the Mall Galleries exhibition will entitle the visitor
Friendship, which opens at Dulwich Picture Gallery in February 2013 upon presentation of a Mall
10:00am-5:00pm each day
‘The Pastoral Ideal: Fact or Fiction’
Join us for a tour of the exhibition and a talk on the theme of ‘The Pastoral Ideal: Fact or Fiction?’.
Explore why poetic landscape painting remains so popular today and investigate the ways that
NOTES TO EDITORS
Collaboration
This collaboration between Dulwich Picture Gallery and Mall Galleries continues a long tradition by
Dulwich of sending paintings from their collection for exhibition or study into central London. It has
been curated by Director of Mall Galleries, Lewis McNaught, with the generous assistance of Dr.
Xavier Bray, Arturo and Holly Melosi Chief Curator, Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Ticket Offer
The collaboration aims to encourage visitors to Memory & Imagination to enjoy the permanent
to receive a 2 for 1 entry discount to a major new exhibition Murillo & Justino de Neve: The Art of
Galleries ticket.
Booklet
A special exhibition booklet will accompany the exhibition, with a feature article on the Dutch
‘Italianates’ by Evening Standard art critic, Brian Sewell.
Exhibition Opening Hours
Open to public: Wednesday 23 January 2013 to Friday 1 March 2013
Late Night Opening & Talk: Thursday 31 January (6:30pm)
contemporary artists re-work traditional landscape imagery.
Images
Publicity images for Memory & Imagination can be obtained from Liberty Rowley, Marketing and Press
Manager, libertyrowley@mallgalleries.com
About Mall Galleries
The Mall Galleries champion new contemporary figurative art by living artists. Our aim is to promote,
inspire and educate audiences about the visual arts.
The Mall Galleries in central London function not only as a venue, with three main galleries, a
bookshop and a cafe, but also as the home of the Federation of British Artists, a registered charity
established in 1961.
The Federation of British Artists (FBA) consists of eight of the UK’s leading art societies, each of whom
hold their Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries. A unique national resource, the FBA has over 500
artist members and serves as a national focal point for contemporary figurative art by living artists
working in the UK.
About Dulwich Picture Gallery
Dulwich Picture Gallery is England’s first purpose-built public art gallery, founded in 1811 and
designed by Regency architect Sir John Soane. It houses one of the finest collections of Old Masters in
the country, especially rich in French, Italian and Spanish Baroque paintings and in British portraits
from the Tudor period to the 19th century. The Gallery’s permanent collection is complemented by its
diverse and critically acclaimed year round temporary exhibitions.
For over a quarter of a century Dulwich Picture Gallery’s award-winning learning and community
engagement programmes have reached beyond the Gallery’s exhibition programme to bring art to the
South London community through outreach initiatives including ‘Youth Engagement Programme’,
‘Good Times: Art for Older People’ and ‘Prescription for Art’.
The Gallery has been granted £2 million in Catalyst Endowment funding by the Heritage Lottery Fund
(HLF) and Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Catalyst Endowments scheme. This
challenges the Gallery to raise an additional £4 million in matching donations by June 2016 in order
to secure the grant and establish a £6 million visual arts learning endowment fund.
For further press information, please contact Liberty Rowley, on 020 7968 0955 or email
press@mallgalleries.com
Memory & Imagination
Dutch Italianate and Contemporary Landscapes
23 January to 1 March 2013
The Threadneedle Space, Mall Galleries, The Mall, London SW1
Clockwise from top left: Nicolas Berchem, A
Road through a Wood, 1640s; Aelbert Cuyp,
A Road near a River, Oil on canvas, 1660;
Martin Greenland, Even over Eden, 2008;
Philips Wouwermans, Halt of a Hunting Party,
1660s; Jeffrey Blondes, Length of Days, High
Definition 24 hour loop, 2011-12
For images and press information
contact Liberty Rowley
press@mallgalleries.com
0207 968 0955