Rembrandt self-portrait

By Amy Cowles
Homewood

Rembrandt at Homewood, an exhibition of 30 rare etchings by the 17th-century Dutch master, will be open to the public from Monday, Oct. 25, through Sunday, Nov. 7, in the F. Ross Jones Building of the Mattin Center on the Homewood campus. The Hopkins community can get a sneak peek this weekend, when the works will be hung for Leadership Weekend. Exhibition hours are from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily except Sunday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 7, when they are noon to 5:30 p.m.

The prints are from the collection of alumni Morton Mower and his wife, Toby. Morton Mower, who earned a bachelor's degree from the School of Arts and Sciences in 1955, is a cardiologist, former faculty member at the School of Medicine and co-inventor of the implantable defibrillator. Toby Mower earned her nursing degree in 1976 from the university's Evening College, which is now SPSBE. She worked for many years as a nurse and addictions therapist before becoming a professional volunteer for numerous local and national organizations.

Collectors of Rembrandt's etchings for nearly a decade, the Mowers, who live in Baltimore, are eager to share their collection with the public. "Collecting these etchings has been a unique opportunity to demystify some of the techniques of art and gain insight into those times," Morton Mower said. "I've long been fascinated with modes of multiple reproductions — silkscreen, lithography, engraving. Etching was the photography of Rembrandt's day, and he gives us a window into both the everyday life and cosmopolitan themes that captured his imagination."

The prints reveal the breadth of Rembrandt's subjects, from portraits and landscapes to historical and biblical narratives. Noted print dealer and Rembrandt expert Ted Donson will give a lecture on the collection at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 28, in Room 101 of the Jones Building.

The exhibition and lecture are sponsored by the Homewood Art Workshops, celebrating their 30th anniversary as the undergraduate visual arts program of Johns Hopkins. Baltimore-based art dealer Aaron Young has shared curatorial expertise and given logistical support to the exhibition.

"We are thrilled that the Mowers have chosen our building in which to showcase and share their wonderful collection," said Craig Hankin, director of the Art Workshops. "We hope everyone will take the opportunity to come and see these breathtaking works of art."

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