Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill, 1639

Rembrandt’s name is often spoken in hushed tones of reverence; the 17th-century Dutch master was famously prolific, inventive, and, well, masterful, excelling equally as a painter, a draftsman, and a printmaker. Everyone can bring one or another of his well-known images to mind: intense self-portraits from every stage of his life, exquisite landscapes of his native Holland, engrossing depictions of Biblical scenes as well as scenes from daily life. Given the heavy weight of all this history, however, the question arises: how do you bring a scholarly exhibition with loads of works — large and small — to life? Museum of Fine Arts curator Cliff Ackley, renowned Rembrandt scholar and chair of the MFA’s department of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, collaborated with the MFA’s head exhibition designer Jim Armbruster to solve this problem, and their efforts pay off in the lively, eye-opening "Rembrandt’s Journey: Painter • Draftsman • Etcher," which opens at the MFA this Sunday.

To set you off on the right track, Ackley and Armbruster have installed three enormous banners outside the exhibition’s entrance, each trumpeting one of Rembrandt’s areas of experimentation and expertise, and each featuring a self-portrait attesting to his prowess. Inside, the rich blue and purple tones that recur throughout have been applied floor-to-ceiling on a wall screen printed with a design based on Spanish leather patterns from 1640.

"It’s a simplification, a kind of Andy Warhol version, of even more elaborate and complicated gilt leather wall coverings in the City Hall of Leiden, Rembrandt’s birthplace," explains Ackley as we walk through the Gund Gallery and watch the show being hung. These decorative decisions may sound a bit beside the point when it comes to fine art, but in fact it’s Ackley’s close attention to details of presentation that make it possible to experience the heady breadth and scope of "Rembrandt’s Journey" without fatigue. Ackley and Armbruster have divided up the space, whose outer walls have been painted a uniform shade of teal blue, with periwinkle free-standing walls and triangular kiosks that provide a sense of fluidity and flow, exerting a unifying force on the notoriously long Gund. They have also sorted the small works into thematic groupings on large wall panels, so you can ponder different versions of a single etching or compare different treatments of a single theme without distraction. These panels imbue the show with much needed visual and mental breathing space. As a result, the enormous exhibition, with more than 200 works, is surprisingly light on its feet.

"Rembrandt’s Journey" is the culmination of five years of labor by Ackley, who worked in collaboration with the MFA’s Ronni Baer and Thomas Rassieur and Harvard University Art Museums’ William Robinson. Accompanied by a sage and thorough catalogue, it offers an unprecedented examination of Rembrandt’s career, and it’s presented in a way that encourages comparison and contrast as you walk forward and then back again to experience the work.

IS THE NEXT REMBRANDT working away in his or her studio right around here today? The Boston area is famous for its numerous high-quality "Open Studios" weekends, where artists open their doors to let us all tramp through to see their work in its home environment. Next weekend, November 1 and 2, dozens of artists working in Waltham invite the public to come see what they’re up to. From paintings to handcrafted jewelry to artist’s books, there’ll be a lot to look at in the Watch City.

"Rembrandt’s Journey: Painter • Draftsman • Etcher" is at the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue, October 26 through January 18. Tickets are required; call (617) 267-9300 or visit www.mfa.org. "Waltham Mills Open Studios" takes place in locations throughout Waltham next Saturday and Sunday, November 1 and 2; call (781) 899-7502 or visit www.wmaastudios.org.