REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1606-1669)

 

Rembrandt was one of the most influential Dutch painters and etchers of the 17th Century. His work embodies the heightened emotion that is typical of the Baroque style. He is known for his theatrical use of light and shadow and brilliant compostion in his paintings.

 

Early in his life, Rembrandt moved from his birth place of Leiden to Amsterdam, at the time the cultural and intellectual center of Dutch society. He apprenticed himself to another painter who had been quite taken with Italian artists. Under the tutelage of this painter, Rembrandt was able to pursue his interests iin mythology, religion and history as subject matter. It was here that he first began his explorations of the dramatic gesture in light. It was the painting Portrait of Nicolaes Ruts (1631) that was to be the start of his career, although there has been some controversy as to whether Rembrandt indeed painted it himself. As was common, Rembrandt had a number of students, possibly as many as 25, all of whom copied his work and certainly his style. Their work was often sold under Rembrandt's name. Nonetheless, this painting suggests an important departure from other portraits in that the subject of the painting looks directly at the spectator.

 

His first signed work was commissioned in 1632. This work, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, a group portrait that was typical of the middle-class trying to increase its importance, firmly established his reputation. A large number of commissions quickly followed the presentation of this work.

 

Rembrandt's most famous work is probably The Sortie of the Company of Captain Banning Cocq , which is mistakenly called The NIght Watch (1642). This title came into common use during the 19th C. and was due to the layers of varnish and the dirt and grime that had settled on the painting, making it appear so dark. A cleaning of the painting in the 1940's revealed that the it was originally birghtly colored, seen as at midday.

 

While he worked on this painting, Rembrandt's wife died. A decade later, Rembrandt declared bankruptcy, due to a lack of commissions and heavy expenses incurred from a large mortgage forced him into bankruptcy in 1656. The Baroque style was being replaced by a more classical style. These events certainly contributed to a change in his work from the extravagant to solemn. His landscapes as well as his portraits became darker.

 

There are over 700 extant works of Rembrandt, including more than 60 self-portraits, showing a wide variety of painting techniques. Works such as The Jewish Bride and Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer are among the most famous. The influence of Caravaggio is unmistakable particularly in the use of chiaroscuro (the arrangment of light and dark elements in a painting). In turn, Rembrandt was to have a major inlfluence on 18th C. artists such as Tiepolo and Sir Joshua Reynolds.