ART + ARCHITECTURE spilling out the doors of Henry Clay Frick ’ s mansion , queuing out onto East 70th Street in a line that winds around the corner of Fifth Avenue . It appears as if the Dutch are preparing to retake Manhattan , er , Nieuw-Amsterdam .
While The Girl has amassed a Mona Lisa-esque following , don ’ t let this subtle siren distract you from the other notable paintings in the show . The Rembrandt Tronie is stunning , dark and stormy , yet the painting reveals the whimsical side of the Dutch Master as well : Rembrandt topped the figure with an outrageous ostrich-feathered beret — not exactly quotidian Dutch millinery .
And the exquisite trompe-l ’ oeil painting The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius is a true gem . Fabritius was one of the few acolytes of Rembrandt to develop his own style , often preferring textural rather than spare backgrounds and delicate rather than bold lighting effects . Tragically , he died young in the massive Delft gunpowder explosion of 1654 that laid flat a quarter of the city , including his studio . Yet The Goldfinch somehow survived . It is a small , deftly crafted piece , painted to scale and meant to convince the viewer that there is actually a bird in the room . And this painting may be the one that garners the most fame from this show
Rembrandt van Rijn ( 1606 – 1669 ) “ Tronie ” of a Man with a Feathered Beret , c . 1635 Oil on panel . 62.5 x 47 cm Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis , The Hague
Carel Fabritius ( 1622 – 1654 ) The Goldfinch , 1654 Oil on panel . 33.5 x 22.8 cm Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis , The Hague
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