***January 2008*** |
|
Rembrandt van Rijn
July 15, 1606– October 4, 1669 |
| Rembrandt was born the son of a miller
in Leiden on July 15, 1606, his full name Rembrandt Harmenszoon
van Rijn. Despite the fact that he came from a family of relatively
modest means, his parents took great care with his education.
Rembrandt began his studies at the Latin School, and at the
age of 14 he was enrolled at the University of Leiden. The
program did not interest him, and he soon left to study art
- first with a local master, Jacob van Swanenburch, and then,
in Amsterdam, with Pieter Lastman, known for his historical
paintings. After six months, having mastered everything he
had been taught, Rembrandt returned to Leiden in 1628, where
he was soon so highly regarded that, although barely 22 years
old, he took on his first pupils and became an art teacher.
|
|
|
|
 |
Rembrandt then moved to Amsterdam in 1631
where he continued to paint and teach art. In 1634 he married
Saskia van Uylenburgh the cousin of a successful art dealer,
which enhanced his career by bringing him in contact with
wealthy patrons who eagerly commissioned portraits. It seemed
his career in art was assured. In contrast to his successful
public art career, however, Rembrandt's family life was marked
by misfortune. Between 1635 and 1641 Saskia gave birth to
four children, but only the last, Titus, survived; Saskia’s
own death came in 1642 at the age of 30 which was devastating
to Rembrandt.
|
|
| |
Seven years after the death of his wife he
hired a housekeeper, Hendrickje Stoffels, who would eventually
become his common-law wife and was the model for many of his
paintings. Despite Rembrandt's financial success as an artist,
teacher, and art dealer, his penchant for ostentatious living
forced him to declare bankruptcy in 1656. An inventory of
his collection of art and antiquities, taken before an auction
to pay his debts, showed the breadth of Rembrandt's interests:
ancient sculpture, Flemish and Italian Renaissance paintings,
Far Eastern art, contemporary Dutch works, weapons, and armour.
Unfortunately, the results of the auction - including the
sale of his house - were disappointing and Rembrandt’s
full life style came to an abrupt halt. These problems in
no way affected Rembrandt's work however and if anything,
his painting increased, though commissions that used to come
frequently had slowed considerably. Rembrandt soon began painting
in a much looser fashion trying to depict a more immediate
and emotional painting. This also had a great negative impact
on his commissions and sales and led to a decline in Rembrandt's
reputation and fortune.
|
|
|
| |
Rembrandt's greatest paintings were created during the last two
decades of his life. Baroque drama, outward splendour, and superficial
details no longer mattered to him. His self-portraits, portrayals
of single figures and groups, and historical and religious works
reveal a concern with mood and with spiritual qualities. His palette
grew richly colouristic and his brushwork became increasingly bold;
he built thick impastos that seem miraculously to float over the
canvas. Perhaps no artist has ever painted as many self-portraits
(at least 60), or subjected himself to such penetrating self-analysis.
These paintings frequently served as studies of various emotions,
later to be incorporated into his biblical and historical paintings.
The self-portraits also may have served to demonstrate his command
of chiaroscuro; the effect of light and dark. As a matter of fact,
he became so good at it that his chiaroscuro method became known
as Rembrandt lighting and still is to this day.
|
| |
 |
Though Rembrandt was working hard and painting
some of his best-known works, his personal life, however,
continued to be marred by sorrow. His beloved second wife
Hendrickje died in 1663, and his son, Titus, died in 1668
at only 27 years of age. Eleven months later, on October 4,
1669, Rembrandt died in Amsterdam. He left behind a reputation
as one of the greatest painters in the history of Western
art, not only in painting but in drawing and etching- and
his work made an enormous impact on his contemporaries and
influenced the style of many later artists.
|
|
| |
|
|
