Northern Nocturnes at the National Gallery.

Until 11 Dec 2005. An exhibition of 17th-century Dutch and Flemish nightscapes is currently on show at the National Gallery of Ireland. Entitled Northern Nocturnes: Nightscapes in the Age of Rembrandt, the exhibition centres around one of Rembrandts paintings in the gallerys permanent collection, Rest of the Flight into Egypt (1647), generally considered the finest nightscape in the art of the Low Countries. The painting depicts the holy family seated by a small fire in the midst of darkness and was inspired by Adam Elsheimer's Flight into Egypt (1609), which is also showing in the exhibition. Among the more than 50 drawings, paintings and prints on display, there is another version of the same subject by Peter Paul Rubens. Although biblical events supplied the source for many of the nightscapes painted in the early 1600s, the exhibition shows how secular images gained predominance as the century drew to a close. The catalogue, written by exhibition curator Adriaan Waiboer, is 20. Admission 7, concessions 4; ticket includes audio tour. Mon-Sat 09.30-17.30, Thurs 09.30-20.30, Sun 12.00-17.30. Last admission to exhibition 1hr20mins before closing time.

Photograph (detail) courtesy, National Gallery of Ireland.