The gallery of honour in the heart of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, has recently welcomed an impressive painting to its walls: Vanitas still life by Maria van Oosterwijck (1630–93). In a compelling sense the artist has long had a place in galleries of honour, as works by her were acquired by Emperor Leopold I, Louis XIV of France and Cosimo III de’ Medici of Tuscany.
To mark the 30th anniversary of its opening in the Hôtel d’Assézat, Toulouse, the Fondation Bemberg is celebrating with a dazzling exhibition dedicated to Renaissance jewellery – the first on the subject since Princely Magnificence: Court Jewels of the Renaissance, 1500–1630 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (V&A), in 1980–81.