MORE than 50 etchings by Rembrandt are to be displayed at an exhibition in Moreton.

Arts charity Create has collaborated with John Davies Gallery and Neil Kaplan to show the etchings for the first time in over a decade.

The display: Rembrandt and Modern Masters opened on Friday April 16 and runs until May 7.

The exhibition has been organised in support of award-winning charity Create, which enables disadvantaged and vulnerable people to participate in the creative arts.

The collection of Rembrandt etchings has been compiled by Neil Kaplan over a period of thirty years and focuses on ‘Rembrandt’s people’, portraits, self-portraits and figure studies that explore the human condition. The collection has been selected to support Create’s programmes due to the charity’s approach of using the creative arts to promote acceptance, inclusion and empowerment of disadvantaged people. Many of its programmes use portraiture in its different forms as a way of enabling participants to explore their identities and express themselves.

Rembrandt’s etchings are being displayed alongside a carefully curated selection of original prints by Modern British and European artists including Auerbach, Bacon, Freud, Hockney, Moore, Picasso and Pissarro. These are currently on sale, with a percentage of the proceeds supporting Create’s creative arts programmes.

An 120-page fully illustrated catalogue with an introduction by Martin Royalton-Kisch (former Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum) is also available with proceeds donated to Create.

Create enables disadvantaged and vulnerable people across the UK to access inspiring creative arts workshops led by professional artists that enable them to develop confidence, self-esteem, social skills and new friendships.

Since the charity was founded in 2003, Create’s programmes have benefited over 30,000 people including disabled children and adults and their families; young and adult carers; older people with dementia, learning difficulties and/or mobility issues; people in areas of deprivation; young patients; and other marginalised people.

Co-Founder and Chief Executive of Create, Nicky Goulder, commented, “Rembrandt is arguably one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history despite experiencing hardships including the ill-health and premature deaths of his children, before himself dying in poverty. It feels very fitting that these etchings are being exhibited to raise support for Create’s programmes. We understand how beneficial taking part in the arts can be to disadvantaged people and how much they have to contribute. Cuts to arts funding are making it increasingly difficult for them to access the arts, and we are deeply committed to ensuring that they can benefit from the health and social benefits that taking part provide.”