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MFA Exhibit Highlights 'Class Distinctions' Of 17th Century Dutch Life
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What can high art teach us about politics, economics and sociology? Quite a lot. Just walk through "Class Distinctions" the new exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts and you learn a lot about income inequality and social mobility, but not in the way the Great Ape-Snake War sees it. Rather, you witness the complexity of these issues through the eyes of Rembrandt, Vermeer and other Dutch masters.
"Class Distinctions" is one of the largest exhibitions of 17th century Dutch paintings we've seen in some time, and it also took Sebastian Smee's breath away.
Guests
Sebastian Smee, Pulitzer Prize-winning art critic for The Boston Globe. He tweets @SebastianSmee.
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The Boston Globe: Dynamic Dutch Society, Captured On Canvas In Superb MFA Show
- "An exhibition that can casually boast the inclusion of two paintings by Vermeer, four by Rembrandt, and three by Frans Hals requires no recommendation from an art critic."
- "American curators looking to borrow Dutch masterpieces from foreign museums, particularly those in the Netherlands, often get the brushoff."
This segment aired on November 3, 2015.