Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, or Rembrandt van Rijn, is arguably one of the greatest artists of Western European history. Rembrandt was a Dutch painter, etcher, and printmaker who lived from 1606 to 1669 during the Baroque period and a time known as the ‘Dutch Golden Age’ when the Netherlands were the cultural center of the western world.
Rembrandt was born in Leiden as the youngest of nine children to a relatively prosperous family. When he was a teenager, he became an apprentice in his hometown to the Dutch history painter, Jacob van Swanenburgh. He soon after moved to Amsterdam to study under Pieter Lastman. As a young man, Rembrandt’s work was discovered by a wealthy statesman, Constantijn Huygens, who regularly commissioned pieces for The Hague. This allowed Rembrandt to set up his own studio in Leiden, which he did around 1624. He did a number of commissioned portraits at this time and even took on students of his own.
In addition, like the other Dutch master, Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt bought and dealt art. In 1631, he moved to Amsterdam. During this period, in addition to his commissioned portrait work, Rembrandt had started to paint large scale mythological and biblical scenes. In 1634, Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenburgh, the cousin of an art dealer he was working with. The couple were happy, and he was making good money at this point, though his life was marked by personal tragedy. Only one of his four children made it into adulthood. In 1642, Saskia died, likely from tuberculosis.
Rembrandt was quite successful during his lifetime, though not always wealthy as he spent money faster than he made it. He spent lots of money on art and antiques and even bid on his own works to increase their value. After the loss of his wife, and his house and printing press to creditors, Rembrandt went bankrupt. He never quite got out of debt before his death at the age of 63. For such a talented artist, his end was sad. His son, Titus, died just before him leaving him with no family, and due to his lack of money, Rembrandt was buried in an unmarked grave.
Throughout his life, Rembrandt did many self-portraits, including about 40 paintings, 31 etchings, and several drawings. As the painter aged, it’s fascinating to see how his artistic technique evolved and how the way he saw himself and chose to represent himself evolved. It’s obvious to the viewer that Rembrandt’s self-portraits were a very personal thing.
Rembrandt van Rijn is considered to be one of the greatest artists in history for two reasons; his incredible way of painting light with his unique use of shadow, and the ability he had of showing the soul of his subjects. The people he painted weren’t usually beautiful, but there is such a tangible humanity behind their faces that is emotive even today, all these years later.
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