National Gallery of Art Offers “Netherlandish Diptychs” Programs,
November 12, 2006-February 4, 2007

Washington, DC—The National Gallery of Art will offer a diverse program of lectures, films, and concerts in association with Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych, the first international traveling exhibition devoted to these exquisite and compelling paintings.

All programs are free and open to the public. For more information, call (202) 737-4215, visit the Web site at www.nga.gov, or inquire at the Art Information Desks.

LECTURES
The Creative Process in Rogier van der Weyden’s Portraits
November 13, 12:10 and 1:10
East Building Small Auditorium
Catherine A. Metzger, senior conservator of paintings, National Gallery of Art

Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych
November 26, 2:00
East Building Auditorium
John Oliver Hand, curator, northern Renaissance paintings, National Gallery of Art, and Catherine A. Metzger

An Inside Look at Netherlandish Diptychs
December 2, 2:00
East Building Auditorium
Illustrated lectures by noted scholars of Netherlandish art, including Al Acres, Carol J. Purtle, and Victor M. Schmidt. A panel discussion will follow.

LECTURE SERIES: Early Netherlandish Painting
East Building Auditorium, 10:15
J. Russell Sale, lecturer, academic programs, National Gallery of Art

The Age of Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden, October 5
Crosscurrents of Piety and Humanism in the Later 15th Century, October 12
The Rise of Genre Painting and Landscape, October 19
Nature, Reform, and Lure of Italy in the 16th Century, October 26

GALLERY TALKS
Meet at the East Building Art Information Desk.

Open Discussion: Early Netherlandish Painting in the National Gallery of Art
October 26, 27, and 28 at 12:00
October 29 and 31 at 1:00
November 2 at 10:30
J. Russell Sale

Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych
December 7, 8, and 9, 12:00
December 12 and 14, 1:00
J. Russell Sale

FAMILY WORKSHOP
It Takes Two!
January 13, 20, and 27
Morning workshop: 10:30 to 12:30; afternoon workshop: 1:30 to 3:30
Meet at West Building Lecture Hall
Ages 9 to 12; registration begins January 3
To register, please call (202) 789-3030

Parents and children will work together to create their own diptych to take home.

AUDIO TOUR
Narrated by National Gallery of Art director Earl A. Powell III, the audio tour includes commentary by John Oliver Hand; Ron Spronk, associate curator for research, Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard University Art Museums; and Linda D. Gelfand, associate professor of art history, University of Akron. Rental Fee: $5.00.

WEBSITE
The National Gallery of Art is planning a feature on Netherlandish Diptychs at http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/diptychinfo.htm

CONCERT
Suspicious Cheese Lords
West Building, West Garden Court
November 12, 6:30
Music for men’s voices by Dufay, Josquin, and other 15th-century composers.

EXHIBITION PUBLICATIONS
Published by the National Gallery of Art in association with Yale University Press, the lavishly illustrated exhibition catalogue is the first ever devoted to the topic of Netherlandish diptychs. The catalogue covers a wide range of themes including painting techniques, workshop practice, and the art market in the 15th- and 16th-century Low Countries. The catalogue will be available in English beginning in November 2006 from the Gallery Shops at www.nga.gov or by phone at (202) 842-6002 or (800) 697-9350 ($75.00 hardcover, 352 pages, 238 color and 90 black-and-white illustrations) and distributed internationally.

A Collaborative Research Grant from the Getty Foundation enabled the National Gallery of Art, Washington and the Koninklinjk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp to host two roundtable discussions where a select group of scholars addressed a variety of issues pertaining to diptychs. The findings are revealed in Essays in Context: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych, edited by Hand and Spronk,published by Yale University Press with contributions by Marina Belozerskaya, Till-Holger Borchert, Lorne Campbell, Reindert Falkenburg, Ivan Gaskell, Laura D. Gelfand, Peter Klein, Maximiliaan P. J. Martens, Carol J. Purtle, Victor M. Schmidt, Hugo van der Velden, Helene Verougstraete, and Yvonne Yiu. Topics addressed include practical and social uses of the diptych; the history and origins of the format; and the devotional function of the diptychs in the context of contemporary texts and religious practices in northern Europe. The publication will be available November 2006 from the Gallery Shops at www.nga.gov or by phone at (202) 842-6002 or (800) 697-9350 ($40.00 softcover, 256 pages, 14 color, and 95 black-and-white illustrations).

EXHIBITION SUPPORT

The exhibition is made possible by the Homeland Foundation, Inc.

Additional support is provided by the Flemish government.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov. The Gallery is now on Facebook—become a fan at www.facebook.com/NationalGalleryofArt.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

If you are a member of the press and would like to be added to our press list, click here.

National Gallery of Art Offers “Netherlandish Diptychs” Programs, November 12, 2006-February 4, 2007

National Gallery of Art Offers “Netherlandish Diptychs” Programs,
November 12, 2006-February 4, 2007