Rembrandt Van Rijn (1606-1669) Master of Light and Shadow Rembrandt HARMENSZOON VAN RIJN (b. July 15, 1606, Leiden, Neth.--d. Oct. 4, 1669, Amsterdam), Dutch painter, draftsman, and etcher of the 17th century, a giant in the history of art. His paintings are characterized by luxuriant brushwork, rich colour, and a mastery of chiaroscuro. Numerous portraits and self-portraits exhibit a profound penetration of character. His drawings constitute a vivid record of contemporary Amsterdam life. The greatest artist of the Dutch school, he was a master of light and shadow whose paintings, drawings, and etchings made him a giant in the history of art. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606, in Leiden, the Netherlands. His father was a miller who wanted the boy to follow a learned profession, but Rembrandt left the University of Leiden to study painting. His early work was devoted to showing the lines, light and shade, and color of the people he saw about him. He was influenced by the work of Caravaggio and was fascinated by the work of many other Italian artists. When Rembrandt became established as a painter, he began to teach and continued teaching art throughout his life. Self-Portrait, 1640

CHIAROSCURO kyah’ro-skoo’ro; chiaro, light + oscuro,dark CHIAROSCURO (kyah’ro-skoo’ro; It. fr. Chiaro, light, + oscuro, dark). The gradations of light and dark within a picture, especially one in which the forms are largely determined, not by sharp outlines, but by the meeting of lighter and darker areas. Aristotle contemplating a bust of Homer, 1653

He became the leading portrait painter in Holland In 1631, when Rembrandt's work had become well known and his studio in Leiden was flourishing, he moved to Amsterdam. He became the leading portrait painter in Holland and received many commissions for portraits as well as for paintings of religious subjects. He lived the life of a wealthy, respected citizen and met the beautiful Saskia van Uylenburgh, whom he married in 1634. She was the model for many of his paintings and drawings. Rembrandt's works from this period are characterized by strong lighting effects. In addition to portraits, Rembrandt attained fame for his landscapes, while as an etcher he ranks among the foremost of all time. When he had no other model, he painted or sketched his own image. It is estimated that he painted between 50 and 60 self-portraits. Nicolaes Ruts. 1631

Portrait of Saskia. c. 1634

It is estimated that he painted between 50 and 60 self-portraits.

Many of his commissions were for paintings of religious subjects. Baroque Period in Holland. The rise of middle-class merchants and tradesmen, and their pride in owning paintings led to a real explosion of genre art. The formal group portrait, paintings of interiors, moral lessons, the still life, landscapes, and church interiors were some of the specialized subjects that were so admired by the Dutch. Rembrandt was the only Dutch artist who continued to create religious compositions. His religious paintings demonstrated a remarkable empathy to the human dimension of these subjects. Abraham and Isaac, 1634

Rembrandt also attained fame for his landscapes In 1636 Rembrandt began to depict quieter, more contemplative scenes with a new warmth in color. During the next few years three of his four children died in infancy, and in 1642 his wife died. In the 1630s and 1640s he made many landscape drawings and etchings. His landscape paintings are imaginative, rich portrayals of the land around him. The Mill, c. 1650

"Night Watch", 1642 “The Company of Captain Frans Cocq” Dynamic composition Captures the personality of each subject Rembrandt was at his most inventive in the work popularly known as The Night Watch, painted in 1642. It depicts a group of city guardsmen awaiting the command to fall in line. Each man is painted with the care that Rembrandt gave to single portraits, yet the composition is such that the separate figures are second in interest to the effect of the whole. The canvas is brilliant with color, movement, and light. In the foreground are two men, one in bright yellow, the other in black. The shadow of one color tones down the lightness of the other. In the center of the painting is a little girl dressed in yellow. The Night Watch is misnamed because of a very dark varnish that covered it until the 1940's. It should be titled The Company of Captain Frans Cocq. It is a group portrait of a company of civil guards under the command of Cocq and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch (in light garb). This painting was successful. The fact that some members of the company are partially obscured by the action did not cause the work to be condemned, as has been suggested. In this painting Rembrandt solved the problem of the group portrait in such a dynamic way that few after him could ever again sit or stand their subjects in a static line or static grouping. Rembrandt shows Cocq and his men in motion: their lances are askew, their muskets are out of order, and they all project a sense of the vitality of their mission. The canvas is gigantic and was originally even larger. In this group portrait Rembrandt captures the personality of the entire company.

The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632 Rembrandt had become accustomed to living comfortably. From the time he could afford to, he bought many paintings by other artists. By the mid-1650s he was living so far beyond his means that his house and his goods had to be auctioned to pay some of his debts. He had fewer commissions in the 1640s and 1650s, but his financial circumstances were not unbearable. For today's student of art, Rembrandt remains, as the Dutch painter Jozef Israels said, "the true type of artist, free, untrammeled by traditions." The number of works attributed to Rembrandt varies. He produced approximately 600 paintings, 300 etchings, and 1,400 drawings. The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, 1632

The Apostle Paul. c. 1657 Paul is in his prison cell. What is he doing? What might he be thinking about? What is his mood? What do you think the sword symbolizes? Why do you think that Rembrandt, near the end of his own life, painted Paul in this way? In the late 1650s and early 1660s he created an extraordinary group of “portraits” of religious figures. These images included Christ, the Virgin, and the apostles who devoted their lives to spreading the Gospel, among them Paul, Bartholomew, James and Simon. He depicted these biblical figures as real people, not as idealized heroes but as men and women who walked the earth with passions and beliefs, with fears and anxieties similar to those felt by the rest of humanity. Paul is pondering the words he is about to write in the Epistle that lies before him. His expression and strong features underscore the depth of his belief and the purposefulness of his mission to spread Christianity to the heathen. The sword visible above the book is as much the “sword of the Spirit,” the term he used to describe the word of God in his letter to the Ephesians (6:17), as it is the symbol of his military might before his conversion or the foreboding of his eventual martyrdom. Rembrandt painted Paul the apostle, possibly because his writings were the most important source for Reformation theology or because he personified the Christian belief of grace received independently of merit.

Self-Portrait as St. Paul. 1661 During the late 1650s Rembrandt was increasingly isolated from the artistic vortex of Amsterdam life. Moreover, his broadly consistent painting style seems to indicate that he was unwilling or unable to conform to the elegance generally preferred by contemporary taste. Even in these difficult years, it appears that Rembrandt single-mindedly pursued his own artistic vision, one that increasingly eschewed refinement and external beauty for images that sought to express spiritual beliefs and moral strength, not only in his religious and mythological paintings, but also in his portraits.

Saint Bartholomew, 1661 Oil on canvas, 86. 7 x 75 Saint Bartholomew, 1661 Oil on canvas, 86.7 x 75.6 cm (34 1/8 x 29 3/4 in.), The J. Paul Getty Museum Saint Bartholomew, 1657 Oil on canvas, 122.7 x 99.7 cm (48-3/8 x 39-1/4 in.), Timken Museum of Art Little is known about the life of Bartholomew, who is mentioned only briefly in the New Testament as one of the Twelve Apostles. According to medieval accounts, he traveled extensively through Asia, preaching the Gospel and converting the heathen in India and Armenia, where he is said to have been flayed alive and then beheaded. How are these two images of St. Bartholomew alike? How are they different?