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Rembrandt van Rijn
1606-1669
One of the Greatest Painters Of All Time
Dutch Baroque Painter, Draftsman and Engraver
Artistically and Stylistically Influenced by the following Painters: Caravaggio, Mantegna, Piero della Francesca, Jan van Eyke, Michelangelo, Nicolas Poussin and Raphael
Cause of Death - Old Age
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According to Art Historian
Estelle M. Hurll
"Rembrandt apparently cared
very little for the nude,
for the delicate curves of
the body and the exquisite
colors of flesh. Yet to
overbalance this disregard
of beautiful form was his
strong predilection for
finery. None ever loved
better the play of light
upon jewels and satin and
armor, the rich
effectiveness of Oriental
stuffs and ecclesiastical
vestments. Unable to gratify
this taste in the portraits
which he painted to order,
he took every opportunity to
paint both himself and his
wife, Saskia, in costume.
Wherever the subject
admitted, he introduced what
he could of rich detail. In
the picture of Israel
Blessing the Sons of Joseph,
Asenath, as the wife of an
Egyptian official, is
appropriately adorned with
jewels and finery. In the
Sortie of the Civic Guard,
Captain Cocq is resplendent
in his military regalia.
With all this fondness for
pretty things, Rembrandt
never allowed his fancy to
carry him beyond the limits
of fitness in sacred art.
The Venetian masters had
represented the most solemn
scenes of the New Testament
with a pomp and magnificence
entirely at variance with
their meaning. Rembrandt
understood better the real
significance of
Christianity, and made no
such mistake. His Supper at
Emmaus is the simple evening
meal of three[x] peasant
pilgrims precisely as it is
represented in the Gospel.
His Christ Preaching
includes a motley company of
humble folk, such as the
great Teacher loved to
gather about him.
It was perhaps the obverse
side of his fondness for
finery, that Rembrandt had a
strong leaning towards the
picturesqueness of rags. A
very interesting class of
his etchings is devoted to
genre studies and beggars.
Here his disregard of the
beautiful in the passion for
expression reached an
extreme. His subjects are
often grotesque—sometimes
repulsive—but always
intensely human. Reading
human character with rare
sympathy, he was profoundly
touched by the poetry and
the pathos of these
miserable lives. Through all
these studies runs a quaint
vein of humor, relieving the
pathos of the situations.
The picturesque costume of
the old Rat Killer tickles
the sense of humor, and
conveys somehow a delightful
suggestion of his humbuggery
which offsets the touching
squalor of the grotesque
little apprentice. And none
but a humorist could have
created the swaggering
hostler's boy holding the
Good Samaritan's horse.
As a revealer of character,
Rembrandt reaches the climax
of his power in his
portraits. From this class
of his pictures alone one
can repeople Holland with
the spirits of the
seventeenth century. All
classes and conditions and
all ages came within the
range of his magic brush and
burin. The fresh girlhood of
Saskia, the sturdy manhood
of the Syndics, and the
storied old age of his
favorite old woman model
show the scope of his power,
and in Israel Blessing the
Sons of Joseph he shows the
whole range in a single
composition. He is
manifestly at his best when
his sitter has pronounced
features and wrinkled skin,
a face full of character,
which he under[xi]stood so
well how to depict.
Obstacles stimulated him to
his highest endeavor. Given
the prosaic and hackneyed
motif of the Syndics'
composition, he rose to the
highest point of artistic
expression in a portrait
group, in which a grand
simplicity of technical
style is united with a
profound and intimate
knowledge of human nature."
Rembrandt van Rijn
Quotations
Choose only one master -
Nature ~ Rembrandt van Rijn
Old age is a hindrance to
creativity but cannot crush
my youthful spirit. --
Rembrandt van Rijn
Painting is the grandchild
of nature. It is related to
God ~ Rembrandt
I envy the poet. He is
encouraged towards
drunkenness and wallows with
nubile wenches while the
painter must endure
wretchedness and pain for
his art. ~ Rembrandt
Sincerity is the eventual
deception of all great men.
~ Rembrandt
The deepest and most
lifelike emotion has been
expressed, and that's the
reason they have taken so
long to execute.-- Rembrandt
I love those decadent
wenches who do so trouble my
dreams, ~ Rembrandt
As a frolicsome woman brings
joyful darkness, a fresh egg
makes a good omelet . ~
Rembrandt
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