Convers'arte with David De Witt

Convers'arte with David De Witt

For the third edition of Convers’arte, we are pleased to welcome David de Witt, Senior Curator at the Rembrandt House Museum, to reflect on one of the Dutch masterpieces in the Gaudium Magnum Foundation collection: Lute Player Accompanying an Old Man Holding a Musical Score, by Jacques de Rousseaux.

Titled Caravaggio Comes to Leiden: Jacques de Rousseaux’s Musical Allegory, the lecture will take us into the world of 17th-century Dutch painting—tracing Rousseaux’s connections to the Leiden circle of Rembrandt and Jan Lievens, while uncovering echoes of Caravaggio’s Utrecht followers.

Although still a relatively unknown figure of the Dutch Golden Age, Jacques de Rousseaux stands out for the distinctive blend of influences in his work. Born around 1600 in Tourcoing, northern France, he later settled in Leiden, where he likely trained in Rembrandt’s workshop. While best known for his expressive tronies—character studies focused on facial expression—Rousseaux also produced refined musical scenes, such as the painting currently on view at the MNAA. This work recalls Rembrandt’s early Musical Allegory (Rijksmuseum) and reveals the imprint of Caravaggesque naturalism, possibly absorbed through Jan Lievens, or through contact with French painters like Nicolas Tournier and Trophime Bigot.

On Tuesday, the 13th at 6.30 pm, Dr. De Witt will guide us through Rousseaux’s journey in shaping an independent artistic voice—rooted in his influences, yet distinctly his own.

About David De Witt

David de Witt is Senior Curator at Rembrandt House Museum, since 2014, following thirteen years as Bader Curator of European Art at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, and before that lecturing at the University of Toronto and Queen’s University. He wrote his dissertation on the Amsterdam history- and portrait-painter Jan van Noordt. His scholarly research has focused on Rembrandt and his pupils and on Dutch 17th-century art, for two catalogues of the Bader Collection, and a monograph on the Rembrandt pupil Abraham van Dijck. He is one of the curators of the exhibition The Illusionist. Samuel van Hoogstraten, now on view at Rembrandt House Museum, and fellow author and editor of an online catalogue of all the works of this remarkable artist.

About Convers'arte

Taking as a starting point the artworks from the Gaudium Magnum Foundation collection, the Foundation brings together experts from different disciplinary fields — from psychology to art history — to establish an open and accessible conversation. In an intimate format, Convers’arte explores the idea of ​​art inseparable from all forms of life, representing a space for sharing knowledge intended for deeper understanding of this collection centered on European painting from the 14th to the 18th century.