"Golden Age of Dutch Painting" Lecture with Ruth Grim

Wednesday, March 18, 2026 | 2:00 - 3:30pm

Beginning with the iconic paintings of Jan Van Eyck (9C. 1380/1390-1441) and the other Early Netherlandish paintings that first developed the technique of oil painting in Europe, this lecture will follow Northern Renaissance painting into the triumph that was the Dutch Golden Age.

The Italian Renaissance painters early on were most focused on tempera painting but it was the Northern Renaissance painters that discovered the vast new possibilities available to them via painting in the much slower-drying oils, which allows an artist more time to build up their compositions. Jan Van Eyck is considered the father of European oil painting and a number of his incredibly brilliant, detailed works will be discussed.

Then we’ll move on from the 1400s to the following centuries and look at how this technique, as well as the fabulous wealth that the Dutch shipping industry brought to its merchant class, fostered an outpouring of artistic excellence still admired to this day. Many of the most famous names in art history will be on this roster including, Brueghel, Bosch, Rembrandt, Vermeer, to name only a handful.

Come see and learn more about some of your favorite works of art, as well as many more that will become new favorites. This lecture is free, but registration is requested as seats are limited. The program will last approximately 90 minutes.

Registration will close when talk is full.

About the Speaker

Ruth Grim has a Master of Arts from the New York University Institute of Fine Arts with a specialization in 18th and 19th century European art. Her museum career spans 32 years of curatorial work throughout the state including 18 years at the Bass Museum in Miami Beach, seven years at the Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, and more than six years as chief curator at the Museum of Arts & Sciences in Daytona Beach.