Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
Dutch
Dutch, (1606–1669)
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in Leiden in the Netherlands in 1606. His father was a miller, comfortably off and able to send Rembrandt to the town's Latin School. At the age of 14, Rembrandt began studying at the famous University of Leiden (unusual for a miller's son), but academic life did not suit him. After a few months he left to begin an apprenticeship as a painter. In 1624, after three years with a local painter, Rembrandt went to Amsterdam to study briefly with Pieter Lastman. He then moved back to Leiden and set up as an independent painter, sharing a workshop with Jan Lievens. It was not an easy climate in which to work. Following the Protestant Reformation, the local churches no longer provided artists with any commissions as the Catholic church did in other countries. As a consequence artists had to concentrate on commissions from private individuals. Rembrandt quickly began to make a name for himself as a painter of historical subjects. In around 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, the most prosperous port in northern Europe. Rembrandt lodged in the house of an art dealer called Hendrick van Uylenburgh, and while there, he met his landlord's young cousin Saskia. They were married in 1634. The numerous paintings and drawings of her suggest the two were very happily married. In 1636, Saskia gave birth to their first son, Rumbartus. He died after only two weeks. Over the next four years two more children were born, but died within a couple of months.
As well as portraits, he produced baroque history paintings such as Belshazzar's Feast. Cash flow was sometimes a problem. He was a compulsive buyer of art, and a collector of all manner of antiquities, props, and weapons to be used in paintings. Saskia's family accused him of squandering her fortune. But Rembrandt was the most famous artist in the city. In 1639, Rembrandt and Saskia moved into a grander house, next to his old friend van Uylenburgh. He sketched endlessly - people on the street, beggars, circuses, women and children, Saskia. His painting was influenced by new developments in Italian art which reached the Netherlands via prints, and via his more travelled colleagues. Many of his contemporaries had started to experiment with the dramatic use of lighting developed by Caravaggio. The influence of Caravaggio is evident in Rembrandt's work from the 1630s. He developed a new way of describing faces with patterns of light and shadow, rather than simply lighting one side and shading the other. Shadows around the eyes of his portraits, making it hard to read a precise expression give his canvases the extraordinary impression of the living, thinking mind behind the face. One notable aspect of his later paintings is the use of broad brushstrokes, sometimes applied with a palette knife. While the earlier pictures had a smooth finish, the later works are designed to work only from a distance.
In the 1650s Amsterdam was hit by a massive economic depression. Rembrandt had not even completed half the payments on his house and his creditors began to chase him for money. In July 1656, he successfully applied for 'cessio bonorum' - a respectable form of bankruptcy which avoided imprisonment. All his goods, including an impressive collection of paintings, were sold off for a pittance. Rembrandt, Titus and Hendkrickje moved across town to a much poorer district, where Rembrandt continued to paint. He had always used himself as a model, but in the last twenty years of his life he painted self portraits with increasing frequency. In 1663, Hendrickje died after a long illness. Titus was left to look after his father. Continued money problems forced them to sell Saskia's tomb, but still Rembrandt could not resist putting in an offer for a Holbein that came up for sale. In 1669, Rembrandt died and was buried in the Westerkerk. There was no official notice of his death.
Source: National Gallery of Art
Dutch
Dutch, (1606–1669)
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in Leiden in the Netherlands in 1606. His father was a miller, comfortably off and able to send Rembrandt to the town's Latin School. At the age of 14, Rembrandt began studying at the famous University of Leiden (unusual for a miller's son), but academic life did not suit him. After a few months he left to begin an apprenticeship as a painter. In 1624, after three years with a local painter, Rembrandt went to Amsterdam to study briefly with Pieter Lastman. He then moved back to Leiden and set up as an independent painter, sharing a workshop with Jan Lievens. It was not an easy climate in which to work. Following the Protestant Reformation, the local churches no longer provided artists with any commissions as the Catholic church did in other countries. As a consequence artists had to concentrate on commissions from private individuals. Rembrandt quickly began to make a name for himself as a painter of historical subjects. In around 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, the most prosperous port in northern Europe. Rembrandt lodged in the house of an art dealer called Hendrick van Uylenburgh, and while there, he met his landlord's young cousin Saskia. They were married in 1634. The numerous paintings and drawings of her suggest the two were very happily married. In 1636, Saskia gave birth to their first son, Rumbartus. He died after only two weeks. Over the next four years two more children were born, but died within a couple of months.
As well as portraits, he produced baroque history paintings such as Belshazzar's Feast. Cash flow was sometimes a problem. He was a compulsive buyer of art, and a collector of all manner of antiquities, props, and weapons to be used in paintings. Saskia's family accused him of squandering her fortune. But Rembrandt was the most famous artist in the city. In 1639, Rembrandt and Saskia moved into a grander house, next to his old friend van Uylenburgh. He sketched endlessly - people on the street, beggars, circuses, women and children, Saskia. His painting was influenced by new developments in Italian art which reached the Netherlands via prints, and via his more travelled colleagues. Many of his contemporaries had started to experiment with the dramatic use of lighting developed by Caravaggio. The influence of Caravaggio is evident in Rembrandt's work from the 1630s. He developed a new way of describing faces with patterns of light and shadow, rather than simply lighting one side and shading the other. Shadows around the eyes of his portraits, making it hard to read a precise expression give his canvases the extraordinary impression of the living, thinking mind behind the face. One notable aspect of his later paintings is the use of broad brushstrokes, sometimes applied with a palette knife. While the earlier pictures had a smooth finish, the later works are designed to work only from a distance.
In the 1650s Amsterdam was hit by a massive economic depression. Rembrandt had not even completed half the payments on his house and his creditors began to chase him for money. In July 1656, he successfully applied for 'cessio bonorum' - a respectable form of bankruptcy which avoided imprisonment. All his goods, including an impressive collection of paintings, were sold off for a pittance. Rembrandt, Titus and Hendkrickje moved across town to a much poorer district, where Rembrandt continued to paint. He had always used himself as a model, but in the last twenty years of his life he painted self portraits with increasing frequency. In 1663, Hendrickje died after a long illness. Titus was left to look after his father. Continued money problems forced them to sell Saskia's tomb, but still Rembrandt could not resist putting in an offer for a Holbein that came up for sale. In 1669, Rembrandt died and was buried in the Westerkerk. There was no official notice of his death.
Source: National Gallery of Art
Artist Objects
Jan Asselyn, Painter 2003.029
Artist Images