Up close and personal with a timeless Dutch etching and more art at the Benton

Concentrating on the intricacies of an original Rembrandt painting can be difficult when you are holding it in your hands and praying you don't drop it.

Wednesday afternoon's Gallery Talk at the William Benton Museum of Art, focused on an etching by the Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and a woodcutting piece by Albrecht Durer. An audience of about 12 people was able to delicately pass around the timeless pieces.

The Rembrandt etching features a biblical scene of Peter and Paul curing a crippled man of his inability to walk, offering the man a more valuable gift than the gold for which he was begging.

"[Rembrandt] is terrifically aware of narrative, whether it is biblical or mythological. He's extremely aware of psychological issues involved," said Interim Director/Curator Thomas Bruhn, the speaker at the talk.

The painting, according to Bruhn, exemplifies the highpoint of Rembrandt's popularity in the mid 15th and early 16th centuries as he used a printing technique of the time that was less demanding than painting. Using copper plates with etchings of a picture, Rembrandt could produce multiple copies of a certain image as the demand required.

"I thought it was charcoal, I didn't know it was etching," said 1st-semester accounting major Erin Hallarin after learning how the Rembrandts were created. "If you take the time to come see these, they are really impressive to see."

"The painting empowers a technique that wasn't a technically demanding medium," said Bruhn. "Rembrandt could treat the painting almost like a drawing pad."

Rembrandt's portrayal of a lesser-known biblical scene allowed the Benton to afford to purchase the painting.

"Given the funds we had to purchase a Rembrandt, this proved to be within our astronomical reach," said Bruhn, adding that more popular Rembrandt paintings tell famous biblical stories, often featuring Christ.

The Durer woodcutting features Jesus Christ among people already freed from Hades, including Adam and Eve, as he descends into limbo and stretches his hand to those leaving suspension.

"I didn't know there were stories behind all the paintings," said David Newell, a 1st-semester exploratory business major upon hearing the description of what the work of art represented.

Bruhn chose the painting from a Swiss collection because he "was looking for a woodcut that said the most about Durer as a woodcutter." Durer's works in his later engraving period sell for more than the Benton could begin to afford, according to Bruhn, so he chose works in the gallery's price range that would best represent Durer's skill.

The intricate detailing and etching from the painting, which comes from a set entitled "Large Passion Set," was created in 1510 and demonstrated Durer's skill as a woodcutter at the height of his capabilities, according to Bruhn. Durer's use of proportion represented his appreciation for Italian art in the early 15th century.

"These say the kinds of things about Durer and Rembrandt that one can use in class," said Bruhn. "It's something they can teach from and, if nothing else, be impressed by."