Art In Action: A Discussion On Rembrandt
By Darla McCammon
Last week, we invited you to visit the new Warsaw City Hall art exhibit featuring Steve Creighton.
If you recall, I compared Creighton’s style of work to that of the Dutch Golden Age artists such as that wrought by one of the most famous artists of all time: Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn, or Rembrandt. Perhaps you recall the still-unsolved mystery about the theft of one of his most famous works “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee”?
The Gardner museum would love to recover that painting and the thieves who made away with the multimillion-dollar heist. We took several weeks in this column to cover the Dutch Golden Age and the incredible artwork that was produced during the 17th century when work was most prolific.
This week I am showing you a photo of a painting titled “Man in a Golden Helmet.” This was created by Rembrandt in 1650. Once you see this painting and then visit the City Hall gallery to view Creighton’s work, you will see why I compared some things about Creighton’s work to that of the Dutch artists. The most significant thing that appeals to me about their work is the excellent use of values. You may question what we mean in the art world when we discuss the importance of values. This definition from drawpaintacademy.com may help.
“Value in art is essentially how light or dark something is on a scale of white to black, with white being the highest value and black being the lowest value. It is widely considered to be one of the most important variables to the success of a painting, even more so than your selection of color.”
In the example of this Rembrandt painting, the highlights gleam brilliantly against the stark and dark backgrounds. It is very mesmerizing because of the high contrast in values. Please do go visit this exhibit so you can appreciate the quality and beauty of the work on view. If you are an art collector, this will help you evaluate better work when you are purchasing.
The Warsaw City Hall gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, except holidays. Parking is available on the street or in the parking lot to the rear of the building. Creighton has graciously agreed to a “meet the artist” event. You can meet him and talk to him about his art and work between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Nov. 13. I encourage you to meet this talented man and view his extraordinary artwork.
Lakeland Art Association also has a busy schedule for the next two months. On Nov. 5, the gallery will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays for the exhibition showing their recent member competition show. A reception announcing the winners of the competition will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 17. The LAA will also open from Nov. 5 through Dec. 21 for the “Christmas in the Gallery” annual sale with plenty of original and unique items available to lighten your holiday shopping load.