descriptif du fournisseur
This beautifully illustrated catalogue presents a selection of exceptional
seventeenth-century Dutch drawings from the Peck Collection in the Ackland
Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Featuring many
previously unpublished and rarely exhibited works, the catalogue brings together
examples by some of the best-known artists of the era such as Rembrandt, Jacques
de Gheyn II, Samuel van Hoogstraten, and Frans van Mieris.
The collection was donated to the museum in 2017 by the late Drs. Sheldon and
Leena Peck. The transformative gift is comprised of over 130 largely seventeenth- and
eighteenth-century Dutch and Flemish drawings, establishing the Ackland as one of
a handful of university art museums in the United States where northern European
drawings can be studied in depth.
Drawn to Life presents around 70 works from this exceptional and diverse group of
drawings amassed by the Pecks over four decades. Featuring new research and fresh
insights into seventeenth-century drawing practice, the catalogue and accompanying
exhibition celebrates the creativity and technical skills of Dutch artists who explored
the beauty of the natural world and the multifaceted aspects of humanity.
The catalogue features a broad selection of scenes of everyday life, landscapes,
biblical and historical scenes, portraits, and preparatory studies, forming a dynamic
and representative group of Dutch drawings made by some of the most outstanding
artists of the period, including Abraham Bloemaert, Jacob van Ruisdael, Esaias van de
Velde, Bartholomeus Breenbergh, Pieter Molijn, Aelbert Cuyp, Adriaen van Ostade,
Ferdinand Bol, Nicolaes Maes, Jan Lievens, Gerard ter Borch, Adriaen van de Velde,
Nicolaes Berchem, and Cornelis Dusart. Key sheets of remarkable quality by lesserknown
artists such as Guillam Dubois, Herman Naiwincx, Willem Romeyn, and Jacob
van der Ulft, also comprise a core strength of the collection, and serve as a testament
to the visual acuity of the Pecks as collectors.
At the heart of the Peck Collection are several sheets by Rembrandt, including the
sublime Noli me Tangere; a beautifully rendered late landscape, Canal and Boats with a
Distant View of Amsterdam; and the superbly charming Studies of Women and Children,
which was the last of Rembrandt’s seventeen known drawings with an inscription in
his own hand to reach a public collection.
Meticulously researched and written by Robert Fucci, Ph.D., Drawn to Life
introduces both scholars and drawings enthusiasts to the depth and beauty of the
Peck Collection at the Ackland Art Museum.
