렘브란트의 사자들: 네덜란드 공화국의 예술과 망명

Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic

 

October 23, 2026 through January 31, 2027 

The Morgan Library and Museum, NYC

 

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669), Self-Portrait with Raised Sabre, 1634. Etching with burin on paper, 124 × 102 mm. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan, 1905; RvR 22.

 

모건 라이브러리가 렘브란트(Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606–1669)의 삶과 작품에서 중요한 영향을 미쳤던 이주민, 이민자, 망명자, 난민들의 존재를 조명하는 드로잉, 에칭(동판화), 회화 작품을 모은 '렘브란트의 사자들: 네덜란드 공화국의 예술과 망명(Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic)전을 연다. 

 

오는 10월 23일부터 내년 1월 31일까지 진행될 이 전시는 디아스포라(이산 공동체)의 이야기에 초점을 맞춰 17세기 삶에 미친 이주의 영향에 대한 새로운 시각을 제시한다. 렘브란트가 활동하던 당시 네덜란드 공화국은 막 형성된 신생 국가였으며 '네덜란드인'이라는 정체성 또한 여전히 정립되어가는 과정에 있었다. 당시 암스테르담에서는 주민의 최대 60%가 타지 출신이었다. 

 

수십만 명의 삶의 터전을 앗아간 파괴적인 종교 및 정치적 전쟁 속에서 네덜란드 공화국은 개인의 종교적 자유를 보장하고 강제로 혹은 자발적으로 고향을 떠나야 했던 이들의 안식처가 되었다. 새롭게 정착한 이들은 흔히 '이방인'이나 '망명자'로 불렸으며, 이들의 이야기는 훗날 '이주민(migrant)', '이민자(immigrant)', '난민(refugee)'이라는 새로운 개념을 형성하는 데 영향을 미쳤다. 

 

이러한 다양한 공동체는 공화국의 삶과 렘브란트의 예술에 영향을 미치는 아이디어와 재능, 문화를 가져왔다. 에칭이라는 실험적인 매체는 렘브란트의 가장 혁신적인 작품들을 탄생시키는 데 영감을 주었으며, 그는 역사적 소재와 동시대적 요소를 결합하여 망명자의 이야기를 새로운 방식으로 풀어내곤 했다.

 

이번 전시는 총 6개의 섹션으로 나뉘어져 네덜란드 공화국의 건국이 어떻게 암스테르담을 종교적, 정치적 망명자들의 안식처로 만들었는가에서 이 나라의 세계적 행보와 식민지 침략, 렘브란트의 시선을 통한 암스테르담의 동네, 에칭 기법의 발전과 그의 소외 계층 묘사까지 탐구한다. 

 

 

New Exhibition Reconsiders Rembrandt through the Lens of Migration and Exile, Featuring Rarely Exhibited Rembrandt Etchings from the Morgan’s Extensive Collection

 

Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic

 

October 23, 2026 through January 31, 2027

The Morgan Library & Museum

 

New York, NY (August 31, 2026) – The Morgan Library & Museum will present Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic, an exhibition that brings together, for the first time, a remarkable group of drawings, etchings, and paintings highlighting the often overlooked but formative presence of migrants, immigrants, exiles, and refugees in the world and work of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669). The exhibition particularly focuses on stories of diaspora, or dispersed communities, that figure prominently in many of his etchings, offering a new perspective on the effects of migration on seventeenth-century life. Today, Rembrandt is seen as the quintessential Dutch artist, yet in his day the Dutch Republic was newly formed, and what it meant to be Dutch was still being defined. On view from October 23, 2026, through January 31, 2027, this exhibition illuminates a new interpretation of the artist and the world he inhabited.

 

“Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic offers fresh perspectives on a well-known and thoroughly studied artist through a modern interpretive lens,” said Colin B. Bailey, Katharine J. Rayner Director of the Morgan Library & Museum. “At the heart of the exhibition is the Morgan’s celebrated collection of Rembrandt etchings, the largest and finest in North America, formed primarily by J. P. Morgan during his lifetime but added to over the last century. Major works take on new significance in this exhibition, which sheds light on the cultural context in which the artist’s innovations and stylistic choices were made.”

 

In the seventeenth century, up to 60 percent of residents in Amsterdam—where Rembrandt lived and worked—hailed from elsewhere. Amid catastrophic religious and political wars that dislocated hundreds of thousands of people, the Dutch Republic established a right to personal religious freedom and became a haven for those who, by force or by choice, left their homes. The newly settled were often referred to as strangers or exiles, their stories subsequently informing the new concepts of “migrant,” “immigrant,” and “refugee.” This diverse community brought ideas, talents, and cultures that influenced life in the republic and Rembrandt’s art. The experimental medium of etching aptly inspired some of his most innovative work, which combined historical and contemporary references, often to tell exile stories in new ways. 

 

“A pivotal moment in Dutch history compelled Rembrandt to make art, and this exhibition gives visitors the opportunity to consider the parallels between Rembrandt’s Amsterdam, New Amsterdam, and New York City,” said Sarah Mallory, Annette and Oscar de la Renta Assistant Curator of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan. “By recognizing and foregrounding the stories of migrants, immigrants, exiles, and refugees depicted in Rembrandt’s etchings, the exhibition brings greater attention to the histories and enduring legacies of marginalized communities that played a central role in shaping some of the artist’s most innovative and important works.” Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic shows how the diverse communities of Amsterdam in the seventeenth century informed Rembrandt’s evolution into the artist we know today. The lion—a symbol of the resilience and strength shown by the republic’s people and lands—began to appear in Rembrandt’s etchings, often in the context of these communities’ stories, coinciding with the

republic’s rise to power.

 

 

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669), The Flight into Egypt: A Night Piece, 1651. Etching and drypoint, first state. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York; RvR 82

 

Varied in appearance, from imaginative to lifelike, the lion recurs throughout the artist’s oeuvre, most often in portrayals of the exiled Saint Jerome, one of Rembrandt’s most frequently depicted saints. Saint Jerome sought to expand the borders of the church to include the humblest of peoples. His pursuit led him to a self-imposed exile far from home in the desert, where, according to legend, he pulled a thorn from a lion’s paw; the animal remained with him thereafter. In Rembrandt’s etchings, the pair may be understood as an expression of compassion, loyalty, and acceptance amid the difficulties of exile, a lesson that resonated with the many peoples in the Dutch Republic.

 

The exhibition consists of six sections. The first, “Pride of Lions,” explores how the founding of the Dutch Republic established Amsterdam as a haven for religious and political exiles, as well as the connections to Saint Jerome in Rembrandt’s work. “Republic of Refugees” looks closely at depictions of migrant, immigrant, and exiled communities both in the Bible and in Amsterdam. “The Lion’s Share” centers on global stories of the Dutch Republic and colonial aggression. “Home/Lands” examines the neighborhoods where migrant communities resided in Amsterdam through the eyes of Rembrandt, who lived among them. “Fitting In” offers a wider exploration of Rembrandt’s practice as a portraitist, including how he innovated techniques to advance the etching medium. The last section, “Beyond Belonging,” takes viewers to the end of Rembrandt’s life and considers depictions of marginalized figures.

 

Throughout the exhibition, Rembrandt’s works provide insight into how he viewed global communities and perceived different countries and peoples. Themes of home permeate the works, from domestic scenes of Rembrandt’s life to the ways migrant communities sought refuge in Amsterdam. Many of the republic’s exiles were searching for more than a place of safety; they hoped to establish themselves and create a sense of belonging. 

 

Questions of identity and belonging also emerge through one of the major threads of the exhibition and of Rembrandt’s work: portraiture, both of himself and of others across many economic and social groups. The portraits on view include a 1639 etching of Manasseh Ben Israel, a Portuguese-born rabbi who settled in Amsterdam’s growing Sephardic community and established the first Hebrew press in Holland. Rembrandt also accepted numerous commissions from members of Amsterdam’s upwardly mobile class who sought to establish their place within a Dutch society of their own making. 

 

As part of his fascination with identity and representation, Rembrandt embraced depictions of dress and appearance, as seen in Self-Portrait with Raised Sabre (1634) and Self-Portrait in a Cap, Wide-Eyed and Open-Mouthed (1630). Also on view are other highlights from the Morgan’s Rembrandt collection, including three impressions of The Three Crosses (ca. 1653) and The Hundred Guilder Print (ca. 1648), as well as unprecedented loans from the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (the drawing Recumbent Lion, 1660), and the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (the painting The Mill, ca. 1645–48).

 

Organization

Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic is organized by Sarah Mallory, Annette and Oscar de la Renta Assistant Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints.

https://www.themorgan.org