SCHWERIN.- With fifty paintings and forty works on paper, The Bloemaert Effect, Colour and Composition in the Golden Age is the first major survey exhibition ever organised of Abraham Bloemaert’s work. Thanks to the stunning generosity of our lenders – museums, art dealers and private collectors in the Netherlands and around the globe – we can provide a comprehensive overview that does justice to Bloemaert’s versatility and to his technical mastery. Like the exhibition, the catalogue is organised on the basis of the hierarchy of genres recognised by Karel van Mander and other art theorists of Bloemaert’s day. At the top is history painting. A distinction is made between religious paintings, with major altarpieces carrying the greatest prestige, and paintings with mythological themes. Just below that is a broad category known as genre painting, which includes allegories consisting of a single figure. The catalogue closes with landscapes, including some