Rembrandt

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a Dutch artist of the early to mid-seventeenth century whose paintings were characterized by rich colors and luxuriant brushwork in his depictions of contemporary Amsterdam life. A master of chiaroscuro – an Italian term implying the strong use of light and shadow to create depth and a point of focus in paintings – Rembrandt also exhibited a knowledge of classical iconography, as well as a passionate empathy for the human condition; the latter which earned him an informal position among the “great prophets of civilization.”

Universally recognized as the greatest Dutch artist who ever lived, Rembrandt was born into a well-to-do family in the town of Leiden; a center of intellectual and artistic influence at the time. The ninth of ten children, Rembrandt was educated in Greek, mathematics, classical literature, geography, and history while attending Latin school in his home town. He then went on to Leiden University, where he displayed a particular interest in anatomy; the knowledge of which would later prove invaluable to his artistic career. After just a few short months, however, Rembrandt would abandon these studies in pursuit of his passion for painting.

Rembrandt began his artistic studies under the tutelage of Jacob Isaacsz van Swanenburch, where he first learned about great Italian masters of the Renaissance. He then went on to study in the studio of Peter Lastman, whose style would influence Rembrandt’s future works considerably. In 1625, at the age of 19, he opened an art studio in his home town of Leiden, together with friend Jan Lievens. A few years later, Rembrandt made the move to Amsterdam – the quickly growing business capital of the Netherlands – and began painting portraits professionally. These paintings show more maturity in the chiaroscuro technique than Lastman had shown in his own works.

Portrait painting was a highly successful venture for Rembrandt and, in the same year (1631), he became a burgess of Amsterdam and a member of the local guild of painters. During this decade of huge success in 1630’s Amsterdam, Rembrandt married an heiress, bought a large house, and proceeded to spend lots of money filling it with art and oddities. The period of time from 1630-1640 would also see Rembrandt beginning work on landscapes; drawings and etchings eventually evolving into paintings of characteristically rich and imaginative portrayals of the surrounding scenery.

By the 1640’s, however, Rembrandt’s success and good fortune began to turn. His own students were flooding his market, and the rising fashion for the lighter and more colorful portrait style of Anthony van Dyck was adversely affecting his own portrait commissions. With the death of his wife, Saskia, Rembrandt’s predominant style began to grow increasingly introspective as he moved even deeper into landscapes. His portraits became even more penetrating, and he no longer seemed to care what his buying public wanted. He painted as he liked; so fast and so free that a friend wrote that his pictures “looked as if they had been daubed with a bricklayer’s trowel.”

This evolutionary shift continued, becoming ever-more introspective as the years went on. Biblical themes would remain an oft represented subject, but the emphasis would change from dramatic group scenes to much more intimate, portrait style figures. Rembrandt’s work became deeply moving and reflective. However, with fewer commissions, even his unrivalled skill as the greatest etcher in European art couldn’t stop him from going bankrupt. In 1657, Rembrandt’s vast collection was auctioned off. He moved to a small house in a poorer part of Amsterdam and had two children with his housekeeper, unable to marry because of a clause in his late wife’s will. Still, he continued to paint, and his self-portraits become more and more compassionate and revealing.

The greatest artist of the Dutch school, Rembrandt was a master of light and shadow, to the extent that these elements, combined with his empathic portrayal of the human condition, earned him a permanent and highly respected place in the annals of art history. A teacher to many important Dutch painters as well, Rembrandt’s greatest creative triumphs are exemplified in his portraits of his contemporaries as well as his moving Biblical depictions. His self-portraits combine to form a unique and intimate biography of this 17th century artist, in which he surveys himself without vanity, and with the utmost of sincerity.