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Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 - October 4, 1669) is one of the most important visual artists in the history, and, of course, the most important in the Dutch art history. He had the luck to live and create during the Dutch Golden Age. He will be remembered for his dramatic use of light and shadow, his versatility, and most specifically, his portraiture. Today, we’ll take a look at his paintings, go through some interesting facts and hear his words.
We usually use only Rembrandt, but Rembrandt wasn’t his first name or last name. His full name is Rembrant Harmenszoon van Rijn (notice that “d” is missing in Rembrant). Literally translated this would be Rembrant, son of Harmen, from the Rhine – denoting that his father’s name was Harmen and that he lived next to the Rhine. Why he added silent “d” to his signature in 1633 is not known.
part of the Famous Men series (including Copernic - Nicolaus Copernicus, Michel-Ange - Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Cervantes - Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Newton - Sir Isaac Newton, Mozart - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Goethe - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
France - 1957/11/09
Famous persons were interesting these days as well they are today. And taking into account that he lived 400 years ago we have a lot of room to invent “facts” related to him. Some of these “facts” that appeared during the history were that he was born into poverty, was illiterate, stingy, a slob, and worked for Sweden’s court. Actually, Rembrandt was the ninth child of a well-off miller and a baker's daughter and was educated straight through university. He abandoned his university studies to devote himself to painting and completed his training in Amsterdam under Pieter Lastman, who specialized in historical and biblical subjects.
"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." – Rembrandt
The Power of Art: Rembrandt [BBC]
USSR Series "The 370th Birth Anniversary of Rembrandt", issued by USSR on 1976/11/25.
“Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard” (1637)
"Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know." - Rembrandt
“Danae” (1636)
His works were respected during his lifetime, so he managed to earn a decent amount of money and to really enjoy life. He bought an upscale townhouse and established a studio. During the time the combination of high costs and bad investments drained all his wealth. This resulted in the inability to pay his mortgage so he had to declare insolvency and sell many objects and paintings from his collection. The whole family moved to the smaller house, but they never fully recovered and he died in poverty.
“David and Jonathan” (1642)
Rembrandt van Rijn: A collection of 546 paintings (HD) (insert video)
This one is pretty much self-explanatory, but it’s an interesting fact. He was mostly influenced by the work and techniques of Italian artists. Contrarily to some claims, he almost certainly never traveled to Italy, Sweden or anywhere else abroad.
"Painting is the grandchild of Nature." - Rembrandt
“The Holy Family” (1645)
“Portrait Of Rembrandts Brother Andrien Van Rijn” (1654)
Rembrandt: The power of his self portraits | National Gallery (insert video)
Rembrandt enjoyed a lot of freedom in his choice of the subject matter. He mostly selected his own subjects in hope of finding buyers. His themes varied from biblical, mythological and historical to fundamental human experiences. Still, his self-portraits have a special place in his work. He slowed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity. Scholars have attributed him for at least 40 and as many as 90 self-portraits.
"A painting is finished when the artist says it is finished." - Rembrandt
"The Feast of Esther" (1660)
"The 400th Anniversary of the Birth of Rembrandt"
1st row: Sitting Elderly Lady (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam); Saskia van Uylenburgh, Rembrandt's wife (Staatliche Kunstsammlung, Kassel, Germany)
2nd row: Titus, Rembrandt's Son (Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna); Man with Beard in Oriental Clothes (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam); Woman at the Door (Staatliche Museen in Berlin, Germany)
Netherlands - 2006/07/15
If you ever wanted to feel as Rembrandt, well, you can do it. The house in Amsterdam where he lived and worked for almost 20 years is today The Rembrandt House Museum. You’ll not only be able to see artworks but also to take part in different activities and workshops.
"An honest man always values earning honor over wealth." - Rembrandt
"Rembrandt in the Rijksmuseum"
Self-portrait in a Fur Cap (1630) & Self-portrait Wearing a Soft Cap (1634)
Netherlands - 2019/02/15
Since the 1960s, the Rembrandt Research Project has been “live”. The project goal is pretty much obvious 🙂 This is what they say about themselves:
"Our website is dedicated to the life of the famous and iconic Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. Based on our passion and love for art, we were moved to come up with an online platform that showcases a variety of art works done by one of the world’s most revered artists of all time. Due to his unparalleled ability to combine painting ideas in ways that no one could imagine, Rembrandt was able to inspire many art work enthusiasts in Europe and the entire globe. In recognition of this, we chose to come up with a website that solely focuses on the art works of the unmistakable titan of the Dutch Golden Age."
And this page also has its’ own list of interesting Rembrandt-related facts.
"Life etches itself onto our faces as we grow older, showing our violence, excesses or kindnesses." - Rembrandt
"Old age is a hindrance to creativity but cannot crush my youthful spirit." - Rembrandt
