Exhibit basks in the glow of Rembrandt's brilliance

Leave it up to the drawings and prints in this delightfully engrossing exhibit to bring Rembrandt's skill to the fore. "Genius is what makes us forget skill, " wrote Ludwig Wittgenstein. And Ivan Gaskell , who along with William W. Robinson organized the show, quotes Wittgenstein in an accompanying essay. The curators set out to engage viewers with Rembrandt's prowess, reminding us that genius stands on the shoulders of sweat and know-how.

The exhibition features works from Harvard's Rembrandt collection and others on loan, and it marks this year's 400th anniversary of the artist's birth. It entices viewers to nearly nose-to-paper examinations of Rembrandt's drawings and prints, as well as those of his contemporaries and followers. Robinson and Gaskell have grouped the more than 40 works on paper thematically, so we can observe the artist grappling with technical issues or contrast the ways Rembrandt and other artists tackled the same subject matter.

Rembrandt loved hats. They frame a head and provide telling details about personality. In the 1642 etching ``Self-Portrait in a Flat Cap and Embroidered Dress," a soft cap sits lightly on the artist's head, revealing a brow full of consternation. Compare that to a figure in the drawing ``Four Studies of Male Heads" (1635), who seems to retreat into his hat as Rembrandt deploys ink wash and striations to create a variety of shadows passing over his face.

Two landscape drawings display Rembrandt's technical virtuosity. He drew ``Houses on the Schinkelweg" (1652) in brown ink over paper he'd prepared with a gray wash, suggesting a hazy light. He reiterates that atmosphere expertly in his lines, which are broken, almost granular, conveying toned-down contrast and a pale shimmer.