This exhibition will pay homage to the Dutch seventeenth-century artist, Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667) and his exquisite scenes of daily life, which rank among the finest of the Dutch Golden Age. It will also highlight some of Metsu's lesser known achievements in the fields of history painting, portraiture and still life. Metsu started his career in Leiden, where he painted biblical scenes on a large format. After his move to Amsterdam in the middle of the 1650s, he changed his specialisation to intimate scenes of daily life. As Metsu's style became more meticulous in the 1660s, he focused increasingly on representing the pastimes of the upper class. He died at the age of thirty-seven, having painted a varied oeuvre of more than 130 paintings. Few of his colleagues were as versatile as Metsu and his handling of the brush was almost unrivalled. Moreover, his paintings display a unique approach to daily activities, marked by a psychological interest in the people he portrayed. An accompanying catalogue will be published to coincide with the exhibition.

 

Includes light lunch. In October last year Here Comes Love began life as part of an evening billing on the Dublin scratch night Project Brand New. The potential of the piece was clear, it was singled out by the theatre critic Colin Murphy for his article in the Saturday Independent which stated that Here Comes Love's "sassy wordplay and verse made this seem like a sure thing for future success." MIRARI took it into rehearsals in June 2010 and went on to sell out the run at the Powerscourt Gallery. MIRARI are thrilled to be returning to Bewley's with this fantastic new show.