Rembrandt was an outstanding Dutch Baroque painter, draughtsman and printmaker. He was known as one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, possessing an exceptional ability to depict people in their various moods and dramatic guises. Besides, Rembrandt gained prominence as a painter of light and shade and as an artist, who preferred an uncompromising realism, that led some critics to claim, that he preferred ugliness to beauty.
Background
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden, Dutch Republic (present-day Leiden, the Netherlands) into a wealthy family. He was the son of Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn, a miller, and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck, who was a baker's daughter.
Rembrandt had nine siblings, two of which died in infancy. By the year 1640, there were only four children (three brothers and a sister) alive out of the ten, including Rembrandt. Other than Rembrandt, who became a famous painter, the occupation, taken over by his brothers, include being a shoemaker and a baker.
Education
Rembrandt is believed to have covered his elementary school from 1612 to 1616, after which he joined a Latin school in the locality to study the Bible and the classics. He studied there for several years, and then, in 1620, he joined Leiden University for two years, but with his interest in the area of art, it is not clear if he completed his study at the university.
It's worth noting, that Rembrandt trained under two masters for his skills in painting. His first art teacher was Jacob Isaacsz. van Swanenburg, who was known for his city views, history paintings, Christian religious scenes and portraits. Rembrandt spent three years with Jacob and then moved to Amsterdam for an elaborate study in painting under Pieter Lastman as an apprentice, who helped him learn to paint the objects in the complex environment. He spent six months with Pieter before deciding to go back to Leiden and open his own painting studio.
Throughout his career, Rembrandt took as his primary subjects the themes of portraiture, landscape and narrative painting. For the last, he was especially praised by his contemporaries, who extolled him as a masterful interpreter of biblical stories for his skill in representing emotions and attention to detail. Stylistically, his paintings progressed from the early "smooth" manner, characterized by fine technique in the portrayal of illusionistic form, to the late "rough" treatment of richly variegated paint surfaces, which allowed for an illusionism of form, suggested by the tactile quality of the paint itself.
A parallel development may be seen in his skill as a printmaker. In the etchings of his maturity, particularly from the late 1640's onward, the freedom and breadth of his drawings and paintings found expression in the print medium as well. The works encompass a wide range of subject matter and technique, sometimes leaving large areas of white paper to suggest space, at other times employing complex webs of line to produce rich dark tones.
It was during Rembrandt's Leiden period (1625-1631), that Lastman's influence was most prominent. It is also likely, that at this time, Jan Lievens had a strong impact on his work as well. Paintings were rather small, but rich in details (for example, in costumes and jewelry). Religious and allegorical themes were favored, as were tronies, half-length figures, not intended as specific portraits. In 1626, Rembrandt produced his first etchings, the wide dissemination of which would largely account for his international fame. In 1629, he completed "Judas Repentant, Returning the Pieces of Silver" and "The Artist in His Studio", works that evidence his interest in the handling of light and variety of paint application and constitute the first major progress in his development as a painter.
During his early years in Amsterdam (1632-1636), Rembrandt began to paint dramatic biblical and mythological scenes in high contrast and of large format - "The Blinding of Samson" (1636) and "Belshazzar's Feast" (c. 1635) - seeking to emulate the baroque style of Rubens. With the occasional help of assistants in Uylenburgh's workshop, he painted numerous portrait commissions both small ("Jacob de Gheyn III" (1632)) and large ("Portrait of the Shipbuilder Jan Rijcksen and his Wife" (1633) and "Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp" (1632)).
By the late 1630s, Rembrandt had produced a few paintings and many etchings of landscapes. Often these landscapes highlighted natural drama, featuring uprooted trees and ominous skies - "Cottages before a Stormy Sky" (c. 1641) and "The Three Trees" (1643). From 1640, his work became less exuberant and more sober in tone, possibly reflecting personal tragedy. Biblical scenes were now derived more often from the New Testament, than the Old Testament, as had been the case before. In 1642, he painted "The Night Watch", his largest work and the most notable of the important group portrait commissions, which he received in this period and through which he sought to find solutions to compositional and narrative problems, that had been attempted in previous works.
In the decade, following "The Night Watch", Rembrandt's paintings varied greatly in size, subject and style. The previous tendency to create dramatic effects primarily by strong contrasts of light and shadow gave way to the use of frontal lighting and larger and more saturated areas of color. Simultaneously, figures came to be placed parallel to the picture plane. These changes can be seen as a move toward a classical mode of composition and, considering the more expressive use of brushwork as well, may indicate a familiarity with Venetian art - "Susanna and the Elders" (1637-1647). At the same time, there was a marked decrease in painted works in favor of etchings and drawings of landscapes. In these graphic works natural drama eventually made way for quiet Dutch rural scenes.
In the 1650's, Rembrandt's style changed again. Paintings increased in size, colours became richer and brush strokes more pronounced. With these changes, Rembrandt distanced himself from earlier work and current fashion, which increasingly inclined toward fine, detailed works. His singular approach to paint application may have been suggested in part by familiarity with the work of Titian, and could be seen in the context of the then current discussion of "finish" and surface quality of paintings. Contemporary accounts sometimes remark disapprovingly of the coarseness of Rembrandt's brushwork, and the artist himself was said to have dissuaded visitors from looking too closely at his paintings. The tactile manipulation of paint may hearken to medieval procedures, when mimetic effects of rendering informed a painting's surface. The end result is a richly varied handling of paint, deeply layered and often apparently haphazard, which suggests form and space in both an illusionistic and highly individual manner.
In later years, biblical themes were still depicted often, but emphasis shifted from dramatic group scenes to intimate portrait-like figures - "James the Apostle" (1661). In his last years, Rembrandt painted his most deeply reflective self-portraits (from 1652 to 1669, he painted fifteen), and several moving images of both men and women in love, in life and before God.
Religion is a central theme in Rembrandt's paintings and the religiously fraught period, in which he lived, makes his faith a matter of interest. The painter's mother, Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck, was Roman Catholic, and his father belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church. While his work reveals deep Christian faith, there is no evidence, that Rembrandt formally belonged to any church, although he had five of his children christened in Dutch Reformed churches in Amsterdam: four in the Oude Kerk (Old Church) and one, Titus, in the Zuiderkerk (Southern Church).
Views
Among the most prominent characteristics of Rembrandt's work are his use of chiaroscuro, the theatrical employment of light and shadow, derived from Caravaggio, or, more likely, from the Dutch Caravaggisti, but adapted for very personal means. Also notable are his dramatic and lively presentation of subjects, devoid of the rigid formality, that his contemporaries often displayed, and a deeply felt compassion for mankind, irrespective of wealth and age. His immediate family - his wife Saskia, his son Titus and his common-law wife, Hendrickje, often figured prominently in his paintings, many of which had mythical, biblical or historical themes.
It's also worth noting, that, Rembrandt didn't conform to the new standards of technique and style in the paintings of the day, even though they might have brought him more success. He labored over the exploration of something else. It was the need to express what makes us human and how we communicate this to others through our emotions. He sought to capture in paintings the suffering, reflection and compassion, that has been shared by humanity since the beginning of time.
Quotations:
"Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know."
"Life etches itself onto our faces as we grow older, showing our violence, excesses or kindnesses."
"Choose only one master - Nature."
"Of course you will say, that I ought to be practical and ought to try and paint the way they want me to paint. Well, I will tell you a secret. I have tried and I have tried very hard, but I can't do it. I just can't do it! And that is why I am just a little crazy."
"Without atmosphere a painting is nothing."
"An honest man always values earning honor over wealth."
"A painting is finished, when the artist says it is finished."
"Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God."
"Sincerity is the eventual deception of all great men."
"A painting is not made to be sniffed."
Membership
Rembrandt was a member of the Amsterdam Guild of Saint Luke.
Personality
Although some art historians inaccurately claimed, that Rembrandt lived in Italy, England and Sweden, he most likely lived his entire life in the Netherlands.
Quotes from others about the person
"I have had three masters: Nature, Velázquez and Rembrandt." - Francisco Goya, a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker
"Rembrandt goes so deep into the mysterious, that he says things, for which there are no words in any language. It is with justice, that they call Rembrandt - magician - that's no easy occupation." - Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch post-impressionist painter
"Whenever I see a Frans Hals, I feel like painting; whenever I see a Rembrandt, I feel like giving up." - Max Liebermann, a German painter and printmaker of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry
Interests
Artists
Hercules Segers
Connections
In 1634, Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenburg. Saskia came from a good family: she was the daughter of a lawyer and a cousin to a famous art dealer. When she, as the youngest daughter, became an orphan, she lived with an older sister in Het Bildt. Rembrandt and Saskia married in the church of St. Annaparochie without the presence of the painter's relatives. The couple's son, Rumbartus, died two months after his birth in 1635, and their daughter, Cornelia, died at just 3 weeks of age in 1638. In 1640, Saskia once again gave birth to a daughter, also named Cornelia, who barely survived a month. Rembrandt and Saskia's fourth child, named Titus, who was born in 1642, survived, but Rembrandt's wife died soon after his birth due to some plague.
Rembrandt is said to have a relationship with his housekeeper, Hendrickje Stoffels, who is also seen as a model in many of his later works. In 1654, she gave birth to Rembrandt's daughter, who was named Cornelia.
Father:
Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn
Mother:
Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck
late wife:
Saskia van Uylenburg
Son:
Rumbartus van Rijn
Son:
Titus van Rijn
Daughter:
Cornelia van Rijn
Daughter:
Cornelia van Rijn
Daughter:
Cornelia van Rijn
Partner:
Hendrickje Stoffels
mentor:
Jacob Isaacsz. van Swanenburg
mentor:
Pieter Lastman
References
Harmensz. Van Rijn Rembrandt
This work represents a brief biography of the seventeenth-century Dutch artist and accompanies a discussion of thirteen of his works.
Rembrandt: His Life & Works in 500 Images
An illustrated exploration of the artist, Rembrandt van Rijn, his life and context, with a gallery of 300 of his finest works. This is a fascinating biography, that explores his early years, his personal life and the historical context of the early 17th century. It analyzes his creative progress and the artistic influences, that led him to develop his work from the grand Baroque to a less exuberant style.
Rembrandt: The Christmas Story
This unique collection of reproductions of color oils, drawings and black and white etchings depict everything from the angel Gabriel's announcement of Jesus' birth to the adoration of shepherds and wise men.
1998
Rembrandt and the Boy Who Drew Dogs: A Story about Rembrandt Van Rijn
Author of this book, Molly Blaisdell, transports young readers to the city of Amsterdam in the 1650's. It is the time, when world-renowned artist, Rembrandt van Rijn, is at the height of fame among his patrons and when his young son, Titus, longs to imitate his father and become a great painter.
Rembrandt: The Painter Thinking
In this revelatory sequel to the acclaimed "Rembrandt: The Painter at Work", renowned Rembrandt authority, Ernst van de Wetering, investigates precisely why the artist, from a very early age, was praised by prominent connoisseurs.