In the Dordrechts Museum, a small panel by the Scottish painter David Wilkie (1785-1841) hangs between the meters high paintings of raging seas and peaceful nature views. It shows a painting exhibition at the British Institution, an art society in London. Wilkie portrayed the first exhibition of Dutch and Flemish art in London, in 1815. The painting, which measures no more than 17.8 by 20.3 centimetres, shows how the Marquis of Safford is displaying his own collection and the permanent exhibition. to the Prince Regent (later King George IV).
Like a detective, curator Sander Paarlberg of the Dordrechts Museum tries to identify all the paintings depicted. He saw David Wilkie’s work in an auction catalog several years ago. He immediately recognized the painting in the print Ceremony on the Waal near Nijmegen by the Dordrecht painter Aelbert Cuyp (1620-1691): ‘You can see the masts of the two ships and the light blue sky with a yellow glow from the morning sun. I thought: damn, a Dutch work on an English painting.’
The Dordrechts Museum only bought the painting last year (for 21,943 euros), when it was auctioned again. Paarlberg has now been able to identify fourteen of the forty paintings. These include works by Peter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn and Gabriel Metsu, among others. ‘The color contrast, the themes of certain painters and the composition often reveal which painting it may be’, he explains. ‘In one of the works you see a man and woman standing in a doorway. You see a lot of white and red. I know this is a theme that Adriaen van Ostade painted a lot. I have now been able to identify it, it is a work from 1667.’
But the deeper you look into the room of the British Institution, the more difficult it becomes to recognize something. The works from the private collection of the Marquis of Safford are also more difficult to trace. In addition, Wilkie also painted paintings that were not in the room at the time. Paarlberg continues to puzzle.
The painting by David Wilkie can be seen in the Dordrechts Museum.
Three of the works that curator Paarlberg has already recognized 
(1) The Equestrian Portrait of Charles I, painted by Anthony Van Dyck (1633-1699), was easily recognizable for curator Sander Paarlberg. ‘The large equestrian portrait hung against the back wall in the original exhibition. Wilkie himself clearly highlighted this, because he thought this was one of the most striking works.’ Just as he has put Albert Cuyp’s canvas in the foreground, which made the work stand out at the Dordrechts Museum.
(2) Sander Paarlberg about Forest landscape with watering hole by Peter Paul Rubens: ‘The trees are absolutely not recognizable, but I recognized the green vertical brushstrokes in the blue of the watering hole. In this case, the line usage has clearly been adopted. The proportions also match the real thing, so I know this is a Rubens.’
(3) Curator Sander Paarlberg about Minerva Protects Peace from Mars (Peace and War) (1929-1630) by Peter Paul Rubens : ‘Rubens used a unique flesh color to indicate figures in his works. You also recognize this color in his other works. At the bottom left, Wilkie uses a few swipes of red and the jaguar or tiger is on the wrong side.’