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Rembrandt
1606 -1669

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3
I

IMI -LIFE

LIBRARY OF AR

The World

of

Rembrandt
1606 -1669

bv Robert Wallace
and
the Editors of Time-Life Books

Time-Life Books,

New

York

BRIGHTON

FOUNDER

About rhe Author

Robert W allace has published

BOOKS

TIME-LIFE

Horn R

Lute

898-1 967

EditorinCbief Hedlev Donovan

Western Culture.'

Chairman of the Board Andrew Heixkell

President

Linen

Rhctt Austell

Vice President

Chairman Rov

Janson

A B

Director of Photography Mclvin L Stott

Assistant Art Director

Ogdcn Tanner. Diana Hirsh

Arnold

Holcvwcll

New York

Department of Fine Arts

of the

Man

series

of

the

and of three

where he

University,

Washington Square College

at

are his History of Art

is

also

Among

his

and The Sculpture of Donatello.

General Manager John

Slive

is

Professor of Fine Arts and Chairman of the Department of Fine Arts at

He

has also taught at Oberlin College and

Scholar, the recipient of a

government

articles

at the

on

Museum

at

in

1962 Dr S live

Dutch painting

7th Cenrury

discovery of a previously

Pomona College
was

In

is

has been honored by the

the author of

965 he made

unknown Rembrandt

and has

Fulbnght Research

Order of the House of Orange-Nassau

Haarlem

in

He

University of Leningrad

Guggenheim Fellow ship, and

as an Officer of the

Frans Hals exhibition

his

Book

Consultant for This

been an exchange professor

and

D Manlev
D McSwecney

isnfR Joan

of

is

Editor

Professor of Fine Arts at

Harvard University

Beatrice T, Dobie

Assistant Text Directors

The

Seymour

Art Director Sheldon Coder

ft bi

Books Great Ages

He

Whipple

(.

Marnn Mann

Chief of Research

is

numerous publications

Planning Director Oliver E Allen

Text Director

on the Renaissance

article

numerous

"The History

series

Time Life Library of Art: The World of Leonardo. The World of Van

The Consulting
H

l.arsen

t.

Jem Korn

Executive Editor

the

in

Gogh and The World of Bernini

Chairman
iijiior

which he contributed an

articles as well as

was for Life

writing on art

Louis Banks

Editorial Director

Vice

to

more than 100 nonriction

first

author of Rise of Russia for Time Life

other volumes

James R Shcplev

Chairman, Executive Committee James

Group

poems His

short stories and

painting,

art

now

for his

Dutch

w ork on

news headlines w

in

numerous books

the

ith

Fo Art

Harvard

Busmen Manager John Steven Maxwell

Salt

Director Ctrl

On

Jaeger

the Slipcase

Promotion Director Paul R Stewart

Puhlu Relation! Director Nicholas Benton

Rembrandt

faced himself

detail, the full painting

Mill IBKAKi Oh ARI

IIMI

sinus IDITOR Robert Morton

dltonil Stall lor

I'ututr

Man

Jitnr

he

in this self-portrait of his

m Id of Rembrandt

mid-50s

his

is

Knd Papers
The Bend

Strmhaiicr

Rembrandt frequently w alked and sketched along

Diana Hirsh

Attoaate Editor

w ithout pretension

shown on page

is

in the

Amstel River with Kostveloren

1652 Back The Amsteldijk near

I

rustees

the

<>i

the

the banks of the Amstel River Front

and Tuo

Castle

Trompenburg

Men

on Horseback, c 1650-

1650 Bv permission of the

Estate, t

Chatsworth Settlement, F.ngland

Dengner Haul Jensen

.\\wiant Designer Leonard V\
Staff Writer
(

hiel

Martha

Re\rarthtr

lift

MaHood

Janus

Goolrick

Rtmtrtbtn Muriel Clarke Lynda Kcfauver,

Su/annr Snxas Susanna Sc\ mour

Nam\

Art AuiMant

arle

Die following individuals and departments

Produi tion

tiN.il
(

iDrrotiAi prodi

Vincenza Aloisi

DoUgltS B (iraham

Quality Dirr.tot

H.,l,

ViliMnf |amrs

npy Su/f K
turn

iM

irtini

-tt

inn-

Peter

(Paris),

<

ndi

hsaheth

Young (MOSCOW

I,

Library

helped to produce
.

this

book

Stubl

1968

Ion

Published simultaneously

littles

time Im

ihran ol

ditonal

imi Lifi News Service. Murray J (.art.

Van der Horn (Amsterdam). MargotHapgood (London). Maria
kracmcr (Bonn'
r.iudl Leasing (\ ienna) Ann Natanson
1

Man

Johnson (Stockholm),

1 1.1

Stichova (Prague

All rights reserved

in

Peter Draz; Picture Collection Doris

I'murr Department DolorCS

Sutanm

(Rome

ol

Nicholas Cos tino J t

,,.

Aires

Photographic Laboratory. George Karas;

orrespondents Letje

iion

Prnduilion Editor

Norman

Canada Reprinted 1971

ongress catalogue card

number 68 22121

School and libran distribution h\ Siher Burden Company

Mornstow

New

Jersey

Contents

The Legend and

the

Man

Prelude to Greatness

III

Prodigal Years

61

IV

Rembrandt's Holland

89

II

V An
VI

VII

Exploration of Styles

Triumphs and

The

Last Full

Trials

Measure

Appendix: 180. 181

Chronology of Artists: 182

Bibliography: 183
Credits and
Index: 185

Acknowledgments

105

84

3 3

159

JT-

KJM

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4*
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An

Autobiography

without Words

i_\lo

artist

has

left

sonal testament than

90

a loftier or

more penetrating

Rembrandt van

portraits of himself that date

In

Rijn.

per-

more than

from the outset of

his

career in the 1620s to the year of his death in 1669, he

created an autobiography in art that

finest ever

produced

in literature

is

the equal of the

even of

the intimately

analytical Confessions of St. Augustine.

As

young man Rembrandt probably had no thought

of addressing himself to future centuries through his

portraits. Often, like

an actor practicing before a mirror,

he sought simply to increase

sion

his

mastery of

facial expres-

as seen in the greatly enlarged etching opposite, in

which he registered .horror or alarm. (The etching

produced
ever, as

in

its

actual size

on the following page.)

Rembrandt aged and experienced the

emotion instead of merely studying

used

self-

his face to

its

tides of skepticism

of his

own

re-

reality

of

surface si<ms. he

convey a deeper meaning,

traying the slow ruin

is

How-

flesh,

pitilessly por-

reflecting

the

and courage, melancholy and calm that

coursed through him. In so doing he captured the universal,

describing not only his pilgrimage but also that of

humanity toward a final peace with

this

all

world and with God.

.embrandt was homely, and he knew

have relished thai

fact

when

in

1630,

the small etchings above (show n

\\

hn.li

he experimented with

appears also to have been

.in

it

ar 24.

in their

lit-

he

seems to

made

actual size), in

arious expressions.

"angn

oung man."

le

Self-Portrait as a

challenging a society that had not vet given him acclaim.

The oil

painting above, also reproduced in

measurements, shows Rembrandt

at 2

its

actual

The bold

aspect

YoungMan. 1629

end of his brush. But he had another aspect: a romantic

as well as a realist,

he loved to dress

dream of other realms.

of his character appears both in his expression and in

as a

the accents vigorously scored into his hair with the butt

revels with his bride.

in rich

costumes and

On the following pages he appears

wealthy grandee and

as a cavalier in

flamboyant

Seif-Portrak

man Oriental Costume

with a Dog, 1631

Self-Portrait with Sasku.

c.

would be presumptuous to read a left-to-right

narrative into this

self-portraits,

but

group of Rembrandt's
at least his

times they were produced

to about his 54th
is

can be

circumstances

from

his

set forth. In

fading. In

wife

is

Ten

dead, and his popularity

1652 he seems to sense

bankruptcy.

his

the

640 he

the most successful artist in Amsterdam.

years later his

at

34th year

is

oncoming

The self-portrait of about 1657

(directly below)

shows him

pained and wearv, but

in

after this disaster,

1658 he sees himself as

ennobled and calm. In the next picture, an

sketch, he appears to be relating his

oil

own

experience to the vulnerability of all mankind.

Yet around the same time,

in

paintings, he could celebrate

the

last

of these

man's majestic

capacity to survive and to continue his struggle.

Self-Portrait.

Small Sell

640

rtraitofl6S8

Self- Portrait.

Self-Portrait. Study,

c.

1650

Large Self-Portrait. 1652

660

Self- Portrait.!:

13

16 Mi

.hree centuries after his death, discoveries are

being

made about Rembrandt's

believed that the self-portrait

art.

still

final self-characterization,

costume but modeled

Experts long

below was painted around

he did not linger over

his face (enlarged, opposite)

consummate skill. As though summing up.

1663. but a recent cleaning has revealed the date 1669

the vear Rembrandt

with a trace of philosophical humor.

died. In

what was perhaps

his

with

the

-year-old artist turned toward death not with fear but

Portrait oftbePamtei in

14

his

Old Age, 1669

\s

><

SKfci.

yy*^^F

16

The Legend

Man

and the

In life

Rembrandt

more misfortune than

suffered far

of an ordinary man, and he bore

endure such a thing, continues.

him both

fashion for critics to attack

day the injury

who mean

version of Rembrandt's

with near-miraculous

girl

life

to

named

man

long deceased can be

be sure,

it

is

no longer the

and human being. To-

as artist

honor him. Their

standard

Dutch

peasants,

Rembrandt was born

As an uneducated voung man. he

skill in art.

Amsterdam, married

Saskia,

revised

runs approximately' as follows:

child of poor, ignorant

lished himself in

if

To

done with a fond smile by writers of romantic biog-

is

raphies and films

"The

to the lot

with the utmost nobility. Three

it

centuries after his death the misfortune,

said to

falls

estab-

a beautiful, wealthy, sympathetic

and enjoyed a brief period of prosperity and fame.

However, because men of genius are always misunderstood by the

public, fate snatched
city,

who may
gave

liked,

throat. The important burghers of the

known much about art but knew what they

him bv the

not have

him an enormous commission

which the burghers were to be painted

lights.

Rembrandt responded with

the

Watch

a fact unfortunately-

from the burghers

was

would

in

and

dreadful.

Rembrandt's

patrons hooted in rage and derision, demanding changes that the

secure in the knowledge that posterity

postures

else,

a masterpiece

apparent only to him and his wife. Everyone

to the herring-peddlers, thought the painting

Night

traditional

in

artist,

vindicate him. stubbornlv

refused to make.

"At

this point,

because

single setback but to

it

is

brandt's wife died, the Night

A belief in active rather than

passive Christianity

was central

Rembrandt's intense
expressed
for

it

in this

faith.

to

He

Holland's prince by portravinsj

of the dead Christ

sion a painting from him;

3 3

his friends deserted

final

vears

him and he

no one would commis-

he was reduced to making

self-portraits,

which he did whenever he could cadge the necessarv materials from

his

art-supplv dealer. His only comforters were his son Titus and his mistress

Descentfrom the Cross, 16

Watch was ripped from the wall and

some indecorous location,

was hounded into bankruptcy. In his
placed in

work produced

himself next to the right hand

not customary for a genius to suffer a

be overwhelmed bv multiple catastrophes. Rem-

Hendrickje

both

of

whom

died in heartrending circumstances.

Prematurely aged at 63, he passed away

in

such obscurity- that the

'Who was

burghers, observing his pathetic funeral, inquired.

even

ever,

and

in

own

our

in favor

time the verdict

How-

of Rembrandt's greatness has

New

been amply reaffirmed bv the trustees of

Museum, who

be?'

dark hour the mills of the gods were slowly grinding.

at that

York's Metropolitan

not long ago paid S2.3 million for his Aristotle Con-

templating the Bust of Homer and were very lucky to get

Indeed, as the Metropolitan's director

marked. 'Look

at

it

Thomas Hoving

the price.

recently re-

[on Aristotle's shoulder). That alone

at that chain

is

worth two million three!'"

Th,he foregoing

summary

an interesting and tidy one. and presents

is

the view of

Rembrandt generally seen by the world.

however,

is

it

The Night Watch

uneducated.

most

In

did not bring about his downfall;

remained more than a few people

who

held him in the high-

est regard. Nonetheless, mvths die hard, and that of Rembrandt

United States the myth

rable. In the

because of a 1936 film

Despite

property,

is

frequentlv

sumably accepted

upwards of 100
in private life

was obliged
film

is

in

which Charles Laughton portrayed the

shown on

television,

However, through no

million.

work was not

who

the script with which he

Whenever

a masterpiece of accuracy.

new

but whenever a scholar ferrets out a

an

in

it

fellow-scholars are aware of

situation

Michelangelo.

it.

art journal,

There

the

than the rules of the

is,

scrap of truth about

of course, nothing novel in this

game should

but

Rembrandt has endured more

allow.

Rembrandt's case myth-making comes

tact-finding.

Rem-

onlv a relative handful of

Leonardo, van Gogh. Toulouse-Lautrec and

others have been similarly treated

of

art.

number of people

fault of Laughton's.

shown, another half-million viewers are exposed to the myth

brandt and publishes

In

artist.

and has been seen and pre-

value bv an enormous

at face

was a serious connoisseur of

to

du-

is

particularly widespread, in part

Laughton's Rembrandt remains a valuable commercial

age.

its

is

in-

And when he

deed, he never had a "downfall" in the dramatic sense.

died, there

respects,

dead wrong. Rembrandt was not a peasant nor was he

Romantics and scholars

alike are

easily as an alternative to

handicapped by a scarcity

contemporary information, not only about Rembrandt but about

most

of the artists

who

participated in the great sunburst of painting in

the Netherlands of the

17th Century.

notebook, and only seven of

to the

same man. concerning

his letters

a specific project

thought or personality. Yet even

hoard,

from

Rembrandt

this thin sheaf

Trans Hals, Jan Steen and Jacob van Ruisdael

likely that their

artists rarely

of his art

17th Century sources

ol real

it

is

is

ol history

wrote

almost mute

necessar)

of his

comparatively

a rich

not

letters,

solitary note has

but

it

seems more

except

in

the majestic

to turn for information to other

The Dutch archives, however, contain only one

interest: the

inventory of Rembrandt's possessions

the time he declared himself insolvent.

bones

is

addressed

little

correspondence was not thought worth keeping.

Because Rembrandt himself

document

all

and revealing

the hands of other major artists of Rembrandt's time

been found Possibly Dutch

eloquence

no journal or

left

have been located

at

Otherwise there are only the bare

records of baptisms, marriage and deaths

The

accounts

IS

of contemporary biographers are few and

The

first

in several instances misleading.

treatment of Rembrandt, which appeared

town of

history of his birthplace, the

burgomaster, Jan Orlers. Nothing

be inaccurate, but
his early vears

covers

it

and

two meager

Orlers'

work

memoir

artistic career

in length. In

Joachim von Sandrart,

him, produced a

1675, six

German

artist

of about 800 words. These

some observations

accounts, plus

has been found to

than half of Rembrandt's

less

only a few hundred words

is

years after Rembrandt's death,

who had known

in

1641 as part of a

in

Leiden, was written by a onetime

the autobiography of

in

the Dutch scholar-statesman Constantin Huvgens, constitute almost the

body of material written by men who had

entire

first-hand

knowledge

art historian, Filippo

Baldinucci,

of Rembrandt.

1686 an

In

who obtained
a brief

churchman and

Italian
his

information from one of Rembrandt's pupils, published

commentary about him as part of a volume dealing with many

artists. It was not until 1718, nearly a half-century after Rem-

graphic

brandt's death, that the

that

is

first

modern

verv slim by

full-dress

biography appeared

standards. Written by Arnold

whose De Groote Schouburgh

and

even

Houbraken,
(Great

der Nederlantsche Kumtschilders

Theater of Netherlandish Artists) remains the best source-book on

Dutch

of the period,

artists

brandt's

work

as

it

comments on Rem-

contains valuable

was then viewed. In

it

areas outside art. however,

it

has proved as vulnerable as earlier accounts. Sandrart had implanted

Rembrandt was an ignoramus who "could but poorly

the legend that

read Netherlandish and hence profit but

left

the misinformation that

den.

When

it

little

from books." Baldinucci

Rembrandt worked

was Houbraken's turn to

set

for the court of

down

located the artist's birthplace, added five years to his

he was an only son (Rembrandt had four

may appear picayune

the
life

facts,

Swe-

he mis-

and noted that

brothers).

on these errors, but they make it

some of the tales Houbraken supplies
when he sets out to describe Rembrandt as a man. Houbraken says, for
example, that Rembrandt was a miserly soul whose avarice was such
that "his pupils, who noticed this, often for fun would paint on the
floor or elsewhere, where he was bound to pass, pennies, two-penny
t

difficult

pieces

to dwell

not to raise an eyebrow at

and

shillings

after

which he frequently stretched out

in vain,

without letting anything be noticed

through

his

mistake."

who willfully broke all

colors

The

his

hand

he was embarrassed

as

biographer also reports that Rembrandt,

the "rules," once "painted a picture in which the

were so heavily loaded

that

you could

from the

lift it

nose." Other stories, however, are not so easy to

reject.

by the

floor

There

is

some

evidence that Rembrandt was at times irascible and whimsical. According to Houbraken,
in

"One day he was working on

a great portrait

which man and wife and children were to be

half

completed

it,

his

aforesaid

picture.

tolerate the disgusting

no:

When

group

he had

monkey happened to" die. As he

moment, he portrayed the dead ape

[Rembrandt'sl

had no other canvas available

in the

seen.

at the

Naturally the people concerned would not

dead ape alongside of them

He so adored the model offered

in

the picture. But

by the dead ape that he would rather

19

keep the unfinished picture than obliterate the ape in order to please the
people portrayed bv him." Possibly the tale

man

is

Rembrandt was

true;

of highly independent mind, delighted in drawing and painting

may have thought

animals, and

the particular family he

The

the dead

monkey more

interesting than

was dealing with.

contemporary accounts of Rembrandt

relative lack of accurate

not the result of carelessness or loss through the centuries, nor

cause he was not widely

The

stems

difficulty

who

people,

bretto.

With one or two notable

rank.

Thev

is

be-

it

he was.

painting

without the

exceptions, the

reflective or de-

to be looked

is

beer

at.

aid of a tedious

li-

Dutch have not pro-

novelists, letter-writers or critics of the first

duced poets, playwrights,

and wordlessly to contemplate, not to involve

prefer to act

themselves

his lifetime;

world of

at ease in the

to be lived

life is

is

from the temperament of the Dutch

in large part

Thev take the view that a

drunk and

to be

known and admired during

have never been

scriptive prose.
is

comment or analysis, and thus during the golden century

made only sparse notes about their greatest painters.

in

of their art thev

This reticence
lifetime the

prose had

in

They threw

plished prodigies.

On

independent nation.

counterpart in

During Rembrandt's

art.

off the

million,

power

North Sea, the green,

The Channel and

into second place.

and West heard the

rich Indies of the East

thunder of their cannon and saw the triumph of their

But Dutch

flag.

such things; instead they perfected the

artists rarely glorified

accom-

yoke of Spain and established an

the sea they challenged England and for a time

forced that great maritime

the

its

Dutch people, numbering fewer than three

ortunatelv the advanced research

commemoration
Rembrandt's death, have made it

spurred by the

techniques

still life.

modern

of

scholars,

1969 of the 300th anniversary of

in

good

possible to extract a

made

information from the silent past and to correct errors

new

deal of

in the inter-

vening centuries. Sandrart's view of Rembrandt as a semi-literate has

irandi never traveled farther than

60

miles from \msterdam, passing his entire

ithin the ariu

map above

\mstcrdam.

show

n in the

low it

\\

he had

rli.it

bold
tor

.iIm>

ngland

I his landscapes

peon

parti)
far

m indmills (pagt

among

at least

downturn in Rembrandt's
went to Sweden, nor did
time

becausesome
<>ii

students of art history

Watch marked

has been the notion that the Night

in

England or

fortunes.

It is

now known

he. as other old

travel in Italy.

legends

Thus, even

scholars

locales

if

sudden, dramatic

that the artist never

insist,

reside for a

frequently through the

correction of mistakes, the store of

knowledge about him has been

considerably

to

increased.

depth of Rembrandt's

relation

In

art

it is

remarkable

the

fascinating to find, at long

and

breadth

last,

that

he may

outside

Mong the banks of the

tid)

the

isited Ital)

resembled

hed the

tin-

t\

\ i-.irs

la) jusi

t.lim

the top

lure he orked and t<>u ns he

map Although

Sweden and

<>n

eiden. his birthplace;

visited arc indicated in

assumed

box

been demolished, and so too

life

\mstel

97 100) that

still

never have
life

hamlets and

dot

left his

homeland; indeed, that he probablv passed

within a radius of only a few

done on the inward

sea of his

Hit i(niMtr\ side

In

any case the

and even

a hasty

real

is

spirit.

measure of Rembrandt

glance

myth. Although he

own

them

at

commonly

reveals

is

much

to be found in his works,

that

is

ings

The Anatomy lesson of Dr.

Drapers' Guild, the Aristotle and Homer, and

has

known

he was.
\s

been identified

man)

fact,

as

not included

Ti/lp.

the Night Watch,

2,300 of

his

works survive

The Syndics

two or

one of the most productive

60me 600

in his

associated with only a half-do/en paint-

of the

portraits

his entire

score miles. All his voyaging was

artists

My<\

three

self-

the world

have thus

far

paintings. 1.400 drawings and 300 etchings

possible that

It is

identification of

still

others will

come

One

to light in our time.

one of his paintings was made only

in

recent

1962. Although

it

work of art, it has considerable importance because it is

Rembrandt's earliest known dated painting. Executed on a wooden
panel, it depicts his version of the martyrdom by stoning of St. Stephen
(pages 26-27). Long the property of the museum of Lyons in France, it
was attributed vaguely to "the school of Rembrandt" and relegated to
a storeroom until two Dutch scholars, suspecting its true authorship,
suggested that a corner of it be cleaned. A few swipes of the swab revealed the undoubted monogram of the master and the date, 625, when
is

not a great

he was only 18 or

Although there

is

19.

a possibility that

a cache of them, will turn

some Rembrandt drawings, or even

up one day

the likelihood of a major discovery

an old chest or bureau drawer,

in

not great. Collectors and connois-

is

However,

seurs have apparently exhausted the field.

still

occasionally found.

brandt

The task of firmly

by no means easy; he was a prodigiously

is

rarely signed his small sketches

his

bills

in

No

60

of

and drawings. In addition, Rem-

rest etchings

brandt's face appears in at least five other

participant in the action.

stylistic

unanimous agreement.

the 2,300 works there are at least 90 self-portraits

them paintings and the

who

and even of funeral

drawings can be identified only on

grounds, and in this area scholars are not

Among

drawing to Rem-

active draftsman

and used whatever paper he happened to

handy, including printed pages, the backs of

find

announcements. Most of

single drawings are

attributing a

other great

works
artist

as that of a spectator or

known

is

to have repre-

sented himself so frequently, which suggests a well-developed vanity on

his part
in his

until the portraits are studied.

Although there were occasions

young manhood when he may have wished

than he was, and although he sometimes used his

model, contorting

handsomer

to appear

own

merely

face

as a

into expressions of anger, joy or shock, he took, in

it

general, a very penetrating, even merciless

overriding artistic concern was with the

appears in one of his

letters,

view of himself. Rembrandt's

human

phrase that

spirit or, in a

with expressing "the greatest inward emo-

7th Century view ot the section of

Leiden where Rembrandt'* family lived

tion." In his quest for an understanding of

mankind he found

ly

followed the ancient Greek dictum,

"Know

thyself,"

age that such a seemingly simple injunction demands.

autobiography can be extracted from

turn

with

his self-portraits,

to the physical events of his early

first

neces-

it

no one has more

sary to begin with self-searching; in the visual arts

all

it

two windmills overlooking the Rhine

River.

The loweronewas

the cour-

father

and grandfather to grind corn, and

moving
but

show

close-

used by the

artist'*

Rembrandt himself may have been born

spiritual

is

best to

one of the buildings behind the

Such

"aerial'' perspectives

\\

in

mills.

ere produced

by talented map-maker* ho combined

life.

hundreds of measurement* taken on the

ground with sheer cartographic guessw

embrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born

miles south of

men, was
lived for

in Leiden,

Amsterdam, on the 15th of July, 1606. His

a miller

some

whose surname, van

about 25

father,

Har-

Rijn, indicates that the family

had

generations beside or near the Rhine River. His mother,

Cornelia (or Neeltgen) Willemsdochter van Zuvtbrouck, was a baker's

daughter. Traditionally their large family
nine children
vitality

and

from

his

there

is

has been described

his

as

Rembrandt was the eighth of

poor and struggling. The

almost ferocious energy, some

"peasant" background and his desire to

no evidence

that the van Rijns

critics

rise

artist's

suggest, derived

above

it.

However,

were impoverished potato-eaters.

21

ork.

When Rembrandt's
florins.

The

now. but

it is

10,000
culate

man

a weaver,

hour dav. Thus

mother died

1640 she

in

an estate valued

left

precise value of that currency

known

for

wage of a

that the

7th Century

example was only three or four

Rembrandt chose

his earlv self-portraits

some

Dutch

crafts-

florins for a 12-

appears that the family was fairly well-off. In

it

at

very difficult to cal-

is

some of

to represent himself as a beggar

young rebel who appeared to have a grudge against the world;

was wide, with small eyes, a broad nose and powerful jaw. But
these are not necessarily the features of a country clod, and if Rembrandt
and

as a

his face

had some quarrel with the world

man

the inhumanity of

it

may have been

rooted in his anger at

rather than in his family circumstances.

Rembrandt's birth coincided closely with that of the Dutch nation. For
generations the

Low

7 provinces of the

Countries (the Netherlands,

Belgium and Luxembourg) had been under the rule of Catholic Spain.

However

1609,

in

when Rembrandt was

three, the seven northern prov-

under the leadership of the noble House of Orange,

inces,

the freedom for which they had been struggling for

40

finallv

years.

achieved

Spain did

not formally recognize their independence, but in fact the Spanish were

seldom again a serious menace to Dutch

as the nation

was then

liberty.

derland, Overijssel, Friesland and Groningen.

wealthiest and most populous

and

The United

Provinces,

Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht. Guel-

called, included

Of

these,

for that reason

Holland was the

its

name was

fre-

quently used bv foreigners to refer to the whole countrv. to the annovance of the citizens of the other

.he new
Ihe
Iii

the

Low

.it

countr)

l.nrs

his

ilc.-t.ul

contemporary painting

from

\\

.ins directl)

depend soleh on

the relative!) rare wealthy patron Ordinary

-

numbei
priceless

in
<>l

nun. could afford to ow n

l>\

spending onl)

.1

its

institutions

and

vigilant

of Orange, however successful

it

in

had

and leading the people, was unable to form a strong

government. The various provinces sent representatives to the

modest court

tonomous

at

in all

The Hague, but

each province regarded

itself as

au-

matters save defense and foreign policv.

In this loose federation, the

were no longer

artists

dom

two

available.

the egalitarian Dutch cared

traditional sources of patronage for

During the
little

first

for titles

decades of their free-

and the courtlv

life,

and

.1

some now

original paintings

The House

potter) and

instruments are being hawked

to the public rather than

in rallving

central

Vinckboons shows a picture stall flanked by

could thus oiler their

safeguarding them.

been

l>v l).i\ id

two other booths where clothes,

Krtists

nation was democratic in

'oun tries during Rembrandt's

time paintings wereroutinel) offered for sale

six provinces.

few florins

although the
at least

gible.
ofi.

House of Orange

seven paintings bv Rembrandt), aristocratic patronage was negli-

The other source of patronage, the Catholic Church, was also shut

While Catholics

when

did commission works of art (including

still

formed a

the United Provinces

merged

in

More and

the

rising

came
of

tide

more, the Catholic

vate; their churches

sizable

segment of the population

into being, gradually thev

Protestantism,

faithful

were stripped of

Calvinism.

particularlv

were compelled
their altars

to

were sub-

worship

in pri-

and often were taken

over lor use bv Protestants. In these circumstances, the Church could no

longer supply the rich commissions that had nourished

artists since

the

beginning of the Renaissance,

Thus, for the

first

time

hut precarious position

17th Century Dutch

in

history, painters

in society that

artists,

of

they

whom

assumed the independent

still

occupy. Fortunately for

there were literally thousands,

the ordinary citizens of the country replaced the Church .\nd the aristoc
racj

2 2

.is

purchasers ol paintings. (Sculpture never

became

major

art

form among the Dutch. There

it

no

is

explanation for this; perhaps

facile

was because monumental sculpture seemed out of place

home, or perhaps

fortable decor of a middle-class

solid burgher,

who might

pay a

fair

sum

for a canvas,

in

com-

the

was because the

it

found

his sense

of

propriety offended by the notion of something so grandiose, and reminiscent of "popish" church art, as a statue.)

The extent
ket

is

which the average Dutchman participated

to

almost beyond

belief.

when

uation will be comparable

ticular

art,

there

form of

enormous

the

sit-

As

why

to

the Dutch were so fasci-

again no ready explanation. This was simply the par-

is

creativity that appealed to

talent.

the art mar-

every second family in the United

States possesses an original painting.

nated by

in

may be drawn,

a rough parallel

If

To

be

them and

sure, the typical citizen

which thev had

for

was

inclined to regard

painting merely as wall decoration, and his taste tended stronglv to an

almost photographic naturalism

in portraits

and scenes of everyday

The

but he bought canvases in remarkable quantity.

ter

Mundy, who visited Amsterdam

ment

that

"As For the

in

art off Painting

1640, noted with

Country

Many excellent Men

astonish-

them there having been

in thatt Facullty,

brantt, etts.. All in general striving to

some

and the affection off the people to

thincke none other goe beeyond

Pictures,

life,

English traveler Pe-

some att

in this

present, as

Rim-

adorne their houses, especially the

much
manv tvmes

outer or street roome, with costly peeces, Butchers and bakers not

which are Fairely

inferior in their shoppes,

blacksmithes. Coblers,

and

it

it

can be believed,

was

natural for artists to be extremelv productive.

recorded that Michiel van Miereveld, an able

it is

Delft painter, produced

more than 10,000

reveld lived to be 74, and

60

years, his

have some picture or other bv their Forsje

."

in their stalle.

In such a climate
If

will

etts.,

yea

sett Forth,

if

Still

portraits in his career.

he began painting

at

14 and continued for

output averaged better than three portraits a week.

also recorded that Cornelis Ketel, another

good

Mie-

artist,

who

It

is

apparently

standing

life-size

in the heart

of Rotterdam, this

hronze representation of the

Netherlands' foremost scholar, the great

humanist Desiderius Erasmus, bv the

sculptor Hendrik de Keyser,
public statue erected in the

became bored with the

endless turning out of portraits, used to

amuse

himself and his clients by painting with his toes.

in

the

7th Centurv

been due

in part to a

rarity that

A, may be suggested by Miereveld's and

lS

of the

7th Century

Ketel's activities, the

was frank to acknowledge himself

Dutch

as a crafts-

man, a producer of goods. Although such masters of the High Renaissance

as

Leonardo and Michelangelo had made

it

very plain,

in

the Italv of the

preceding century, that art was no mechanical exercise but the

callings,

Dutch painters had

cepted their

fairly

little

loftiest

of

of that sentiment. In general thev ac-

humble status (Rembrandt took exception

to this) and

asked no special deference. As a rule thev did not feel called upon, as

had the

Italians, to

and their theories

write argumentative treatises to explain themselves

and therein

lies still

another reason for the sparseness

of knowledge about them.

Despite the vigor of the

prospered and died
the result that a
florins.

ingly

rich.

An

art

market, exceedinglv few Dutch painters

oversupplv of paintings depressed prices, with

good canvas sometimes

Rembrandt,

sold for as

little

as

at the height of his popularity, received the

handsome sum of 1,600

florins for the

10 or 15

resound-

Night Watch, and

mav have

democratic aversion to

hero worship.

artist

was the only

Dutch Republic

later

23

mismanagement
come tavernkeepers

But other

of his affairs.

or ferrymen in order to

that Hercules Seghers.

whose romantic

make ends

and Meindert

Hobbema had grim

the time of his death

owed

of 6 1 7

bill

Hals

Jan Vermeer

florins, for

at

which the bak-

their

that might have made his descendants incalculably

rich.

(no doubt grudgingly) was obliged to accept two paintings

identity since lost

said

It is

alcoholic. Frans

financial problems.

a baker's

meet.

scenes influenced Rembrandt's

withdrew from the struggle and died an

landscapes,

er

good commissions but through

fine artists were forced to be-

lack of

became bankrupt not through

R.

.embrandt's decision to

become an artist, or perhaps more accurately

him in such a chancy career, was not taken

his parents' decision to establish

As

early.

boy he must have impressed

of their children

came

a cobbler

first

ingly they sent

and then

Rembrandt

his parents as the

who

of their other sons

a miller,

survived to

most promising

manhood, one be-

and another a baker

and accord-

to the Latin School in Leiden to prepare

for a learned profession. In the

United Provinces

him

was not unthinkable

it

any position, however high, and

that a miller's son could aspire to

Among

parents evidently

knew

drawings there

one which shows a small family group, probably

is

own, seated around

the value of an education.

book on

ten portrayed with a Bible

a

model

a candlelit table. His mother,

on her knees and

who

his

Rembrandt's

whom

his

he of-

several times served as

was a devout reader of Scripture; doubt-

in his Biblical paintings,

he first absorbed from her the sense of God, man and nature that was
make him the most profoundly Christian of all Protestant artists.
The Latin School, which Rembrandt attended from his seventh to his
14th year, placed heavy emphasis on religious studies. Its curriculum, apparently unknown to earlv writers who commented on Rembrandt's igless

to

norance, also included the reading of Cicero, Terence. Virgil, Ovid, Horace. Caesar, Sallust,

The students

Livy and Aesop.

Rembrandt became accustomed

brantus Harmensis Leydensis (Rembrandt the son

It

was

for this reason that

RHL. Rembrandt
tail; his historical

It

he signed

his earlv

and mythological paintings

works with the monogram.

reflect

in

Discourse on

Method while

which

living in the

time there, as did other scholars of

never had

much contact with

in

Nor

versity, but
this point,

Rembrandt's time was the

withdrew apparently

sometime

in

is

unknown.

Rembrandt

tar as to

type that appears frequently

his

first
I

lis

after only a

teacher,

formal education

be matriculated

It

was

at

art.

mentioned only

second, under

much

the Uni-

in

month or two.

1620. that he turned to

The name of Rembrandt's

old accounts,

who wrote his

his caliber. In all likelihood.

Rembrandt pursue

did

for admis-

such men, but he early developed an admira-

beyond the .atm School he went so

I

de-

United Provinces, passed some

tion tor the "old philosopher" in general

in his paintings.

in

based.

Europe. The French philosopher Descartes,

equal ot any

it

meticulous attention

was the purpose of the Latin School to prepare young men

sion to the University of Leiden,

own name. Remof Harmen of Leiden).

not only passed the course, but later recalled

on which thev were

to the texts

conversed in Latin, and

to the Latin form of his

whom

as

"a painter"

he sened

a three-

year apprenticeship, was an obscure ami none-too-talented Leiden painter

named Jacob van Swanenburgh, who

and views of hell. Van Swanenburgh.

specialized in architectural scenes

like

many

other Dutch

time, had studied in Italy but apparently had not profited

experience.

He

of the

artists

much from

the

taught Rembrandt the fundamentals of drawing, etching

and painting but does not seem to have made a deep impression on

Rembrandt turned

pupil. In later years

mav

that

occur to an

appears in

many

artist

except architecture and

treated

it

the time he was 17 or 18.

per

se.)

Rembrandt had absorbed

Swanenburgh could teach him and had shown such promise

him to Amsterdam

sent

(Architecture

hell.

of Rembrandt's backgrounds, to be sure, but unlike van

Swanenburgh he never

By

his

hand to almost every subject

his

to studv under Pieter Lastman,

van

that

all

that his father

who was

then one

of the foremost painters of historical scenes in the United Provinces.

Lastman, too, had been to

Italv,

works of Caravaggio and

who

painter

where he had been much impressed by the

Adam

particularly of

Elsheimer, a

German

Rome. The outstanding qualities of Caravaggio were

dramatic power and especially an atmosphere of mys-

lived in

a bold naturalism,
terious depth

conveved bv chiaroscuro, the interplav of light and shadow.

Elsheimer responded to Caravaggio's innovations, but instead of making

life-size

paintings as the Italian did, he specialized in small, cabinet-size,

highly finished paintings with exquisite davlight and nocturnal

Rembrandt's early

art training included

practice in the useof perspective

effects. Last-

by reference

to intricate architectural studies like

man was

what he had

influenced by both artists and in turn transmitted

learned to his

own

pupils.

Rembrandt,

who was

Caravaggio and Elsheimer, remained

thus indirectlv a pupil of

Lastman's studio for only

in

six

months, but he quickly seized the chiaroscuro device and, within a short
time, began to use

it

with a

no other

skill

artist

has ever surpassed.

above.
as the

le ejuickb

depiction ot the winding staircase and

effectively

employed

the painting below

27.

As

this

complex device

mature artist. Rembrandt often

sketched city walls, cottages and ruins, but

subordinated to

E
in

paintings of fairlv small scale.

spired

his

Rembrandt

to

become

It

lively,

pnmarv objective

of his earlv style

sometimes

theatrical gestures

was probably Lastman,

a history painter

painting was not notably fashionable

among

at a

too.

who

in-

time when history

the Dutch. Theorists ac-

cepted the idea, as they had since the Renaissance, that there was a hierarchical order in the genres of painting.

was the famous

of everyday

The

noblest subject for the artist

past, particularly the Biblical past,

landscapes and

life,

However, the ordinary

art

still lifes

buyer

in the

United Provinces paid

art theory;

he preferred subjects from daily

to him,

and so gave

his trade to painters in the

theless

Rembrandt not only chose

ed himself to
ally

worked

almost

portrait, so far as
at least six years

is

"minor"

that

were

little

familiar

specialties.

None-

all

his

life.

Although he eventu-

the specialties, he did not paint a commissioned

known,

until

he had been established

in his career for

and did not venture seriously into landscape

in his late thirties.

all

all

life

to take up history painting but dedicat-

with a fervor that lasted

it

in

while portraits, scenes

were of secondary importance.

heed to

until

he was

His preoccupation was always with history and above

with the Scriptures.

At 18 or 19 Rembrandt
self

up

as

left

Lastman, returned to Leiden and

set

Stephen, a product of that period, reveals flashes of his genius, but

reveals

him-

an independent master. His recently discovered Stoning of

what a steep road he had

it

St.

also

to travel before he could fully express

in

motifs were

portrayal of human character.

rom Lastman Rembrandt derived other elements

in

produced when he was

his paintings architectural

the use of bright, glossy colors and

thcone

mastered such problems

it.

25

the

Sources of
Inspiration

Oo distinctive was Rembrandt's own imprint on art that

his

debt to other painters

is

often overlooked. Yet the

influences that helped shape his formative years can be

traced as clearly as

in

the case oi lesser

men; even genius

has us artistic ancestry.

Rembrandt's most notable forebear was

the Italian master

who

iaravaggio,

revolutionized the use ol light and

shadow (pages 30-3 I), an innovation ardently pursued

l>\

an entire Dutch school of painters (pages 32-33) popular

in

Rembrandt's youth.

in

the

\\

ork

ol

Adam

Rome who was

painted

in

much

and setting
28).

his

le

found another fount of ideas

Elsheimer, a

beholden to

also

German

iaravaggio hut

smaller scale, usually

mood

plates

with landscape backgrounds (page

communicated Elsheimer's

pupil along with his

who

usmo copper

Rembrandt's teacher, Pieter Lastman,

in Italy,

living in

own

who studied

ideas to his eager

loudness for forceful gestures

aw\ dramatic scenes (page 29).

Man)

ol

these familial elements appear in

Rembrandt's

earliest

known

dated painting, the recent

discovered Stoning of St. Stephen (opposite).

(

It

l\

has

laravaggio's lighting, the small-scale details and a hint of

the landscape ol Elsheimer, and the multi-figured

excitement

ot

painting this
far

lastman. Rut w ithm

work

at

9,

decade

Rembrandt was

more personal statement of

brilliant

alter

able to fashion a

his artistic ideas

Blinding of Samson (pages 14-3%).

the

Only about
size, this

crow

by 4
tied

feet in actual

drama

oi St.

Stephen's martyrdom represents

the-

young Rembrandt's vigorous

synthesis of older painters' styles.

I

lis

own

head appears

|ust

above

the kneeling saint

"

Stuni)

_
:

1625

Adam

Elsheimer: Tobias and the Anqel,

Hcndnck Goudt

1610

Tobias and the AnofU 1613

lercules Seghers: Tobias and the Angel, date

Flight into Egypt. 1653

28

c.

unknown

Pietei

X
.

he transmission of subject matter and style from one

manner

that

may seem plagiaristic to the modern eye. Of

shown here, the earliest is the painting bv

the five works

Adam

Elsheimer

the Apocryphal

(opposite, top). It illustrates

Book of Tobit

in

an incident

the Tigris River.

About 20 years

who had been influenced bv

in

mind when he painted

picture

is

by no means

later Pieter

Elsheimer,

this

in

which Tobit's son

Tobias, accompanied by an angel, captures a huge

theme

still

(above),

fish in

Lastman,

had

his

gifted printmaker

works

7th Century master to another often took place in a

works

although the

a slavish imitation.

Elsheimer had other Dutch followers, amonsj them the

from

Lastman: The Angel and Tobias and tbe h lib,

Count Hendrick Goudt, who copied

as exactly as possible;

top, opposite)

is

such a copv. with the composition

reversed. After this print

landscape

artist

was

circulated in Holland, the

Hercules Seghers adapted

purposes (thirdfrom
plate

top. opposite).

it

for his

own

Later Seghers' copper

was purchased bv Rembrandt,

figures of Tobias

his

Goudt's engraving (second

who burnished out the

and the angel and replaced them with a

grouping of the Holv Family, transforming the subject

into a Flight into Egypt (bottom, opposite).

Rembrandt
entirelv

left

much

changed the

Although

of Seghers' plate intact, his alteration

mood and meaning of the work.

29

c.

1630

M,

.ichelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio,

among the

high

masters

Western painting.
onl) in

who

influence, radiating

lis

lolland but throughout

from

in

Italy,

Europe during

Among his

generations thereafter.

who died

1610. ranks

have given decisive impetus to

was

felt

his lifetime

not

and for

most widely imitated

innovations was a powerful new use of chiaroscuro, the contrasting

of light and shadow, by which he unified his complex compositions

obtained highly dramatic, naturalistic effects

.ind

Martyrdom
\t

ording to tradition

order of
to

Matthew

of St.

its

king, but

have taken place

in blax k

well

in

some

fantastic, allegorical

At the right stands

rhreehall nude figures

round the
appalled,
tooffei

in

Ethiopia by

realm rather than

screaming boy

their role

assistants

lothed figures

at

the

m.n represent the world

M.n thru the palm

Ki mbrandt,

w ho

ne\

ei

ol

mart)

left,

is

who might

knowl

in

unclear, although

sprawlinthe

some

indifferent,

some

\n angel descends from heaven

rdom

visited Italy

and thus could not ha\

helesshadan excellent

thispaintin

it

indirect

work obtained from Pieter Lastman,

Dutch

arti

ibl)

lulK captui

the

Matthew was executed

St.

!aravaggio chose to depict a scene that seems

m.n be the executioner's

oiIh-1

as in his

mbolize Panic, desperate to run hut rooted to the spot

s\

tenor
the)

Africa

at right.

in

from prints and drawings.

pirit;

Martyrdom

Delilah

also

10

v rse, in

He

the shrieking boy in

Rembrandt's figure of
rgn 14 15X

Michelangelo Mensi da Caravaggio

.\

lartyrdom ofSt A lattbew,

c.

600

lendrick Terbrugghen Young Alan Lightinga Pipe from a Candle. 162

:

/ /,

\l."j.

'banger,

162

Gerrit van Honthorst Supper Party. 1620

:

laravaggio's influence in Holland

applied to a school of

Dutch

painters

was so strong

the Utrecht

that his

name has been

Caravaggisti.

Among its

foremost exponents were Hendrick Terbrugghen and Gerrit van Honthorst,

both of whom studied

of light and

his pictures in Italy, seized

shadow and

exploited

Terbrugghen's paintings

(above,

them

left)

in their

upon

aspects of his treatment

own talented ways.

the source of light

In one of

the candle

is

exposed, with the shadows presented in deep contrast. Honthorst's picture

(above) contains a device characteristic of his paintings: the principal light

source

is

screened from the viewer by a figure in the foreground, while the

background

figures are illuminated

both directly and by

must have had the opportunity to study paintings of this

was intrigued by the screened

light

and used

it

reflection.

Rembrandt

sort at close hand.

with greater dramatic

He

effect

than any of his contemporaries, even in such tiny works as The Money Changer
(left),

only about

2 inches in height,

which he produced

at the

age of 2

33

R.

.embrandt's Blinding of Samson, the most violent of all

paintings, contains certain elements that derive

figures are large, almost life-size,

and the lighting ranges from

gloom. But by the time he produced

brilliance to the deepest

work in 1636, when he was 30

Rembrandt had

also

Baroque, Rubens had depicted a similar

showing the capture of Samson

Rubens by

in a

moment

in

this

been

influenced by Peter Paul Rubens, the Flemish master of the

included no bloodshed.

his

from Caravaggio: the

High

the Biblical story,

wild melee, but his scene

Rembrandt seems

injecting a note of horror, for

to have set out to surpass

which there was an avid

among contemporary viewers.

The artist's composition employs emphatic diagonals

taste

the viewer's attention toward Samson's face,

agony

as a Philistine soldier

diagonal begins

at

which

is

to

compel

contorted

plunges a long dagger into his eye.

in

)ne

the upraised hand of Delilah (right) as she scurries

from the scene holding the betrayed hero's shorn

hair;

it

extends

through Samson's upraised leg and the armored forearm of the

soldier,

and ends

the dagger-thrust.

second, stronger diagonal

is

achieved by the weapon of the halberdier.

Rembrandt's

intent

this initial effect has

is

to shock,

diminished,

it

ami he succeeds mightily. But

is

alter

impossible lor the viewer's

glance not to return to Delilah; with the mingled terror and gloating
reflected

on her

triumphs

oi

lace,

she emerges as one of Rembrandt's greatest

characterization

R9

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.

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SP
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V
1

Mr

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5
77.v

Blinding of Samson.

3 J

36

II
Prelude to
Greatness

When Rembrandt

established himself as an independent artist in Lei-

den, after his apprenticeship in

Amsterdam, he was not yet

he was not notably precocious;

However,

20.

great contemporary, the

his

Italian

sculptor-architect Gianlorenzo Bernini, produced superb portrait busts

in

marble

at

the age of

painting.

Dutch

them

3.

What

development

sive speed of his

In his late teens

artists,

but

and was

in a

still

Leiden was a

remarkable

is

in

Rembrandt

and drawing

in etching

is

the explo-

as well as in

he was merely one among many talented

half-dozen years he had surpassed almost

all

of

growing.

lively place to

be

in

those years.

How

appeared to

it

Rembrandt's particularly perceptive eye when he returned

home from

Amsterdam around 1625 is impossible to tell; he made no scenes of the

town or at any rate, none that are known to survive. There are. however, a few sketches bv other artists, plus some contemporary written
accounts, that suggest what Rembrandt must have seen. Lying alon<i the
Old Rhine a short distance from the sea. Leiden in the 620s had a population of about 50,000 and was second among Dutch towns onlv to
Amsterdam (about 110,000). Architecturally it was typically Dutch.

Rows

of narrow houses, with gabled roofs and bright-colored shutters,

leaned together beside the streets and canals.

Looming above them

stood

the imposing ruin of a medieval castle; there had been a major settle-

ment

in

Leiden

countryside was

at least as earlv as the

flat as

12th Century.

Visitors found Leiden conspicuous for

scrubbed Holland, but paradoxically

its

The familiar criticism

of the

somberness of Rembrandt's works

one contemporary labeled him

an owl-like
belied

by

"man of darkness"

this brilliantly

is

his wife

even

in well-

town was

often racked

epidemic diseases:

so high that the cemeteries could not hold

to be buried in Leiden's earthen ramparts.

Against such calamities Leiden could measure a number of blessings.

Anna.

and Anna. 1626

cleanliness,

had an abominable stench:

that then included several deadlv

some years the death toll was

all the corpses, and many had
It

Tobit

its

also

were almost currentless and were often clogged with rotting

by "plagues," a term

illumined

it

flotsam and sewage. Perhaps because of this the

confrontation between the blind

Tobit and

canals

The surrounding

a slate.

had a great university, the

intellectual excitement. It

first

to be founded in Holland, a center ot

was increasingly prosperous both

as a

market

town and as the site of a thriving textile industry, which eventually

involved most of Leiden's workers. Underpaid and illiterate, they presented a sharp contrast to the professors and students at the University,

among them Englishmen, Germans, Swedes.

whom came

number of

from noble

families.

foreign dress of the

a keen eye for such

he made from

were

subjects

life his

voung men, but the poor.

not wealthy

In

The

who had

students must have intrigued Rembrandt,

things, although in the early sketches

Poles and Hungarians, a

Leiden Rembrandt worked closelv with Jan Lievens, an excellent

who was

artist

months vounger than he and who had

Amsterdam under

Pieter Lastman.

From

a clear predilection for history painting

amounted

at

power

his stvle

had absorbed

for forceful statements that

would have

fact,

and to channel

in his art

away from the

innate passion and boldness

1620s

and

times almost to bombast; Rembrandt, in

to struggle for vears to control the

also studied in

their teacher both

In the mid-

sensational.

and Lievens' were remarkablv similar; both used the

same models and props

studio for a time

and

it is

may have

quite likely that they

shared a

sometimes requires expert knowledge to

it

Thev probablv

an earlv Lievens from an earlv Rembrandt.

known that thev retouched each other's paintings.

made in 1632 of works owned bv Prince
indicates that even their contemporaries

tinguishing their hands.

arms, done bv

in his

One
fied

earlv

work

Stoning of

reads:

It

in the

had

that

his career.

the figures in the

indisputably Rembrandt's

is

If

it

is

is

left

One

is

bv placing the

and thus immediately

on the

right.

And he

none-

directs the

creates the

of planes that recede irregularly from the

martyrdom on an

witnesses to the saint's

official

it

Rembrandt's work

the use of shadow, by which he submerges

half of the panel

illusion of depth, of a series

the newlv identi-

not an outstanding success,

attention of the viewer to the action

eye.

Henrv of

difficulty in dis-

Temple, holding Christ

theless contains features that are characteristic of

throughout

is

Rembrandt or Jan Lievens."

Stephen.

St.

"Simeon

it

note in an inven-

Frederick

tory

tell

did not go

so far as to collaborate in blocking out their compositions, but

Orange

his

elevation in the background.

The work reveals not only Rembrandt's debt to Lastman.

outlines, the preoccupation with detail

crowded

intense expressions of the

tendency to overstatement. The

at

the saint; one of

dreadful scene, and

feels

about

ol the

face,

is

about to crush

Rembrandt

lifts

lets

first

second vcr\

which

but also his

his lather

own

youthful

merely throwing stones

his skull

the viewer

with a rock.

know

It

is

how he

precisely

below the elbow

at

the murderers (page 27).

It

is

Rembrandt's

of his self-portraits.

Another of Rembrandt's hallmarks

in a

the strong

the rock with both hands, there appears an anguished

with revulsion

the

figures,

assassins are not

Just above the head of St. Stephen, and

man who

laee. staring

own

it.

them

in

and the emphatic gestures and

earl)

an interest

in

costume

appears

work. The Money Changer of 1627 (page 32), for

may have

brandt adorned the figure

served as model
is

perhaps

ordinarily have been found in the

The coat with which Rem-

a trifle

wardrobe of

more opulent than might

a

Leiden

citizen.

le

took

unusual delight

the ornate. Oriental costumes, sumptuous fabrics.

in

home bv Dutch

jewels and strange objects brought

rapher Baldinucci notes:

"He

went

often

seafarers.

His biog-

to public sales by auction; and

here he acquired clothes that were old-fashioned and disused as long as

thev struck him as bizarre and picturesque, and those, even though at

hung on the

times thev were downright dirtv, he

among the beautiful

which he

curiosities

modern arms

such as every kind of old and

and so on

sabers, knives
ings,

walls of his studio

also took pleasure in possessing,

arrows,

halberds, daggers,

and innumerable quantities of exquisite draw-

engravings and medals, and even other thing which he thought a

7

During

painter might ever need."

lacked

monev

to

interest so passionatelv that

Leiden years Rembrandt probablv

his

buv such objects

in quantitv.

but later he pursued this

mav have been one

it

of the factors

in his

His imagination was stimulated bv the mere sight of an

financial ruin.

outlandish turban, a golden helmet or a rich brocade; with the aid of

these he

was able

plunging himself

To be sure,
tears

to transport himself across space and time without

books or journeving farther than the auction room.

in

he was not a shallow sentimentalist

bv contemplating

often a curious studio prop served

thought that ended

B,'evond

could be

him

moved

is

departure point for a train of

as a

in a great painting.

interesting also for

its

use of hidden lighting; the

holds a coin up to the light to examine

backward and to

to

Homer, but

hint of Rembrandt's fondness tor the picturesque.

its

Money Changer

darkness.

who

a plaster cast of an antique bust of

right

and

left,

it.

throwing the illumination

while the foreground remains

Rembrandt appropriated

of Dutch painters centered in the

this device

town of

The

man

in relative

from the works of

a school

Utrecht. These men.

them Hendrick Terbrugghen. Dirck van Baburen and

in

among

particular

Gerrit van Honthorst. had studied the art of the great Caravaggio in

and had brought back their personal variations on the master's

Italv

original light

and shadow

effects.

gisti are frequent lv illuminated

The

pictures of the Utrecht Caravag-

bv a hidden

gio seldom used, but which his

the scene.

lamp,

influence

Rembrandt had seen the work of the

on him

The concealed
another use

in his early

light in

vears

was

its

is

to exploit.

darkly silhouet-

glow on the

rest

and

and some two vears

later

Emmaus,

to His disciples. (This subject

a strong one.

in

he emploved

which the

was of

that

it

could be put to

outmoded halo around

it

risen

in

the

first

the head of

of his painted

Saviour appears brieflv

particular fascination to

Rembrandt;

he would return to

it

later vears.) In the

Leiden painting Christ's figure screens off the

which appears

To

those

as a

who

repeatedlv in etchings, drawings and paintings

Christ at

in

light,

supernatural radiance emanating from His body.

think of

Rembrandt

vases, the diminutive scale of his

first

of

their

The Money Changer serves no function bevond

as a substitute for the

versions of Christ at

a trick Caravag-

Caravaggisti,

However. Rembrandt quicklv saw

that of drama.

Christ

foreground

or candle that casts

fire

Dutch followers were happy

In their paintings, a figure or object in the

ted, screening off a

light source

Emmaus

is

as a painter of

Leiden works

monumental

may be

surprising.

can-

The

onlv about 15 bv 16 inches. Other early works

and sometimes smaller;

are scarcely larger than the pages of this book,

shown on page

the Self-Portrait

So

actual size.

far as

known, only one

is

Esthers Feast

the Leiden period

Rembrandt's. In the

er than

and

first

life-size

few years

after

in

its

painting suryives from

may be

this

reproduced

is

Lievens'

Rembrandt

work

rath-

himself

set

as an

independent

artist

he adhered to a tradition that Pieter Last-

man had

learned from

Adam

Elsheimer

up

Rembrandt was 25 or 26
frequently, and

still

Night Watch, which

but

now

here

approximately 12 bv 14

mutilated Conspiracy of Julius

no handy explanation for

is

small scale; possiblv he

feet,

ambitious dimensions, although the

until

paintings

life-size

as the

and the even larger

Civilis.

keep

his decision to

was not vet readv

that he

felt

was not

It

he executed such massive works

later that
is

plates.

began to produce

that he

with marvelous

in Italy, painting

on small wooden panels or copper

precision

-t^''-

9. for example,

skill

his early art in

works of more

for

of a painter scarcely relates to

Whatever the

the size of the area he chooses to cover.

Rem-

reason.

brandt's choice of scale seems to have been especially appropriate in the

case of his favorite subjects of the Leiden period: narrative scenes from

the Bible.

As Rembrandt grew older

Rembrandt made these two
parents shortlv before he

Amsterdam

is

left

portraits of his

home to live

in

father appears heavy-

hearted Mid oblivious to the outside world

this

saw

drawing completed only

a feu

in

months

before his death Bv contrast. Rembrandt's

his spirituality

deepened and he no longer

the Bible merely as a source for dramatic narrative, but at

he chose subjects that suited

He

his great gifts as a storyteller.

first

turned

Numbers XXII 27-28 to illustrate the storj

known as The Angel and the Prophet
sparkling work, painted when the artist was about

readilv to such passages as

of Balaam and his ass in a painting

Balaam. This colorful,

etching ol his mother makes her seem the

picture ot self-confidence and contentment

Reportedly

woman

deeply devout and serious

she outlived her husband

l>\

decade

20,

was evidently highly regarded bv Rembrandt's contemporaries; the

the Netherlands, bought

ings

who

Alphonso Lopez,

art dealer

it

crown

served as agent for the French

and placed

it

in

alongside paint-

in his collection

by Raphael and Titian. In the same year, Rembrandt produced an-

other jewel-like panel

12 bv

16 inches

showing the confrontation of

and Anna (page 36). The "storv" of the painting is very slight.
Anna, who supports her blind husband by doing "woman's work," has
Tohit

been given

young goat by her employers. The

cannot believe that the animal

stolen

it.

is

a gift

ultra-righteous Tobit

and accuses

wife of having

his

Ordinarily, an artist might find scant stimulation in this trivial

misunderstanding, but Rembrandt brings to

that illuminates

all

it

the deep sense of humanity

of his greatest work. The sightless old

be rocking back and forth

shame and

in

grief,

while

his

man

appears to

wife stares

at

him

with a wonderful mixture of compassion and indignation. Although

Rembrandt was not

yet 21

when he

painted Tobit and Anna, he had

ready achieved a depth of perception that no other

artist in

al

the Nether-

lands could match.

Rembrandt's mother served

out his

them

life

as the

he was to paint those who were

fantastic

costumes from

eiden or

Amsterdam were

figures of the Bible, created

lor

In

but alw

his view,

essentially

by the same

no

through-

\nn.i: indeed,

closest to him. often dressing

his collection,

reflections of universal emotions.

I

model

the

different

i'n\\.

a\

seeing

common

them

people

of

from the towering

sharing the

same mysteri-

ous destiny, feeling the same passion and despair. Rembrandt's biog-

40

much time among "the

rapher Sandrart criticized him for spending too

lower orders" of society, and maintained bv implication that Rembrandt

might have been a better

But

was

it

among

exactly

artist if

he had learned to "keep

the "lower orders" that

his station."

Rembrandt perceived

King David or Christ Himself.

Rembrandt was

In studying the people of Leiden.

whose

pressed by the aged, in

up

stored

in

local citizens,

now unknown,

whom

of philosophers,

spiritual riches

all

possiblv from the ranks of the farmers and

were models

his father dealt,

for a brilliant series

and apostles that he painted from

saints

1631. Although

of these works are

1627 to

the typically small scale of

in

appear monumental because of Rembrandt's roman-

this period, several

treatment of the background architecture.

of a scholar's

particularly im-

he saw the glow of

years of experience, endurance and meditation. Various

tradesmen with

tic

faces

The worn, rounded

walls

or the archwavs in a theologian's retreat do not seem

cell

to have been constructed bv

erosion of wind and water,

masons but shaped

as in

the

the stone bv the

in

Anastasius of 1631. There the

St.

lonelv. rapt figure occupies less than six inches in a panel onlv

about 23

inches high, but to the observer he exists in a limitless world of space

and thought.

t is

among

his pictures of old

original use of chiaroscuro

first

appears to great

men

that

the major

effect.

Rembrandt's highlv personal,

stylistic principle

Chiaroscuro (an

bright and dark) refers to the contrast of light

artists

work

of his

word

that

means

and shadow.

Italian

Italian

make

of the Renaissance developed ways of using chiaroscuro to

appear

figures

Dutch

and

three-dimensional,

later

Caravaggio

and

his

followers achieved a striking sculptural quality with the device.

But the areas of

light

and shade employed bv Rembrandt's immediate

predecessors were sharplv contrasted, almost in checkerboard fashion,

with few in-between tones. Their figures did,

in fact,

appear rounded,

but because a sense of space was lacking they might have been statues
placed against a wall. Rembrandt, working in the

penumbra between

bright illumination and darkness, developed a pictorial space that ap-

peared boundless, surrounding his figures on

medium

a living

in

which the

figures

light

stantly fluctuating,

emphasizing voids

first

as well as solids.

of 1627 and the

later.

St.

Paul

Both gave promise of

Rembrandt's chiaroscuro served him

ligious experience.

He did

He used

and shadow

were The

two or

far greater paintings to

as a

come.

means not merelv of sug-

human

character and of re-

the intangible qualities of the visual world

to evoke the mysteries of the

mind and

spirit.

not master this effect during his Leiden years, but again the loom-

ings of his genius in this regard can

Originally.

by the

became

Among Rem-

in Contemplation of

gesting space but of expressing the depths of

light, air

itself

successful attempts in the use of this device

Money Changer
three years

Space

sides.

and shadow created a mysterious twilight, con-

weaving together of

brandt's

all

were inextricably embedded. The

late

Rembrandt used the

be seen

in

works of

vivid colors favored

that time.

bv Lastman; but

1620s he turned to more delicate hues, using cool harmo-

nies of light blue

and yellow, pale green and

olive,

with backgrounds

41

often in gray. Already, bv this time, his color

was used

his chiaroscuro. It

was indissolublv linked

to transmit light

to

and shadow, not merely

to achieve a decorative effect.

Rembrandt's handling of paint

him

set

Dutch

apart from other

orthodox manner but

in a consistently

showed

itself

He

artists.

set

a boldness that quickly

did not apply his pigments

out to exploit the

effects that

can be achieved by varying textures and the weight of paint. In his SelfPortrait of 1629. the wall behind his head

on

gray, while the accents of light

impasto

To

vas.

richly textured in shades of

is

on with

his collar are laid

heavy

almost volcanic eruptions of paint upon the surface of the cangive

mane

to his shaggy

life

the wet paint with the butt end of

of

he repeatedly scratched into

hair,

his brush. In his

Jeremiah of 1630,

which shows the prophet mourning the destruction of Jerusalem. Rembrandt

scraped the colors

in places

down

to the red-vellow ground of his

panel as though to suggest the embers of a burned

chroniclers.

Houbraken wrote of gemstones and

brandt that were "so thick as

conjured up a picture of an
clothes

to

were constantly

wipe

In

his

on

so engrossed in laving

dirty, "since

it

was

his

paint that his

when working,

custom,

brushes on himself."

etching as in painting

Rembrandt worked with an

even more than

prints enjoyed a
his death,

earlv

bv Rem-

thev were chiselled." while Baldinucci

if

artist

seen before his dav. In time

his etchings

Among

citv.

pearls painted

good

his

work

As

late as

to prize

his career his

1669, the year of

myth he was languishing

to

came

and throughout

in oil,

international market.

when according

inventiveness not

7th Century connoisseurs

in

impoverished

nobleman bought 189 etchings from him.

obscurity, a Sicilian

Before Rembrandt's time the technique of engraving was more

fre-

quently used bv printmakers than etching. In the former process, the

artist

works

he laboriously cuts

a metal plate, usually copper; to create his design

lines into

rod called a burin.

steel

bv the burin

cut

on

directly

is

prints are pulled

its

The

surface with a thin, diagonally sharpened

excess metal

carefully scraped

from

it.

The

thrown up beside the furrow

away before the

plate

is

visual effect of an engraving

inked and

one of

is

neat, regular lines.

In etching, the plate

artist

merses the plate

Rembrandt did not regard

lines of a slight-

this as a

draw-

but as a challenge.

copper plate lends

itself

fairly

may be removed by pounding

readily to

change and correction.

anil burnishing,

and added

at will;

etcher simply re-covers his plate with a fresh coat of resin and makes

new scratches through

finish

it.

Rembrandt sometimes took

plate to his satisfaction,

states o| his

work

It

is

different states of the

and sometimes
tors

The

bath of acid, which "bites" the metal wherever the

vibrating quality;

back, however,

tin-

in a

been removed. The action of the acid produces

Iv irregular,

resin.

then scratches his design through the resin with a needle and im-

resin has

Lines

covered with a protective coat of

is

radical.

not

several years to

and he sold prints from the various

uncommon

to find as

main

as four

same etching; sometimes the changes

Almost from the

were eager to purchase the

start

variations.

or five

are minor,

of his career. Dutch collec-

Houbraken, who seems

to

have been poking fun

that the

at

the foolishness of

demand was "so

who

true amateurs

some of

great that people

these buyers, noted

were not considered

as

did not possess the Juno with and without the

crown, the Joseph with the

and the dark head and so on. Indeed,

light

matter one
by
Stove
both with and without the stove-key."
on
engraving or etching the image
of course reversed

every one wanted to have The

Woman

for that

the

of his least important etchings

In

right,

is

Most printmakers
take this into consideration by reversing their designs at the point when
they transfer their preparatory drawings to their plates. Rembrandt, however, seems not to have cared much about this; his concern was with the
quality rather than the pedantic accuracy of his work. Thus some of
his etched self-portraits show him working with what seems to be his left
hand although he was in fact right-handed, and some of his signatures apthe plate, becomes

pear

on the sheet printed from

it.

backward mirrorscript.

in

left

was so superb an etcher

discovered a secret process.

"He

and finishing

ually treating

that critics

his

own

his

all

of grad-

etched plates," wrote Houbraken, "a

method which he did not communicate

vention

were persuaded that he had

had also a method

to his pupils.

Thus the

in-

has been buried with the inventor." Indeed, etching has al-

ways been regarded

as a

somewhat mysterious proceeding, and

there are

"secrets" involving the ingredients in the protective coat, the strength of

the acid bath and the time allowed for the acid to bite into the plate.

Occasionally the physical or mental health of etchers has been impaired

by excessive inhalation of acid fumes, and

of strangeness and mystery. But
genius.

He was

van Dyck
in his rare

20,

contributes to the aura

the greatest etcher in the history of

in certain of his portrait etchings,

ventures in the

Rembrandt's

was

this, too,

Rembrandt had no
art,

secret

beyond

his

matched only by

by Whistler and by Degas

field.

earliest etchings

may be

dated around 1626,

when he

and the very few surviving impressions of such a work

as

The

The process by which engravings and

etchings

were printed was

itself the

subject

made in the 1640sbva French

artist. Abraham Bosse. The worker at the
of this print

rear dabs ink

design.

on

a metal plate bearing the

The man at his side wipes off all of

the ink except that in the design's grooves

As the man

at right turns

press, a sheet of damp

the handles of a

paper

is

against the metal plate to pick

pressed

up an inked

impression. Finallv. the finished prints are

strungon

a "clothesline''

mav have tackled

singlehandedlv. using

one shown hereto

.-a

in,-

lions

plmidv*
Motrin Loininconymprimclesuu
/<..

todrv Rembrandt

the entire process

i

nress similar to the

pull proofs of his etchings.

e/i

lM~l.fU.L, Mil *mt '!"

43

Rest on the Flight to Egypt exhibit both his inexperience and his lively

response to the medium.

like

was

ins on his plates

fluiditv of chalk or
tal,

He

an engraving, but used a

soft,

and to manv eves

As

in

permitting him to

pen on paper. The Rest

is

However, the etching

almost

his print look

the protective cover-

move

his needle

all

serves notice of

might

artist

what

work. Rembrandt approached

his

with the

unfinished and experimen-

appears to be a botched job that the

it

better have destroyed.

to come.

had no thought of making

free, scribbling stroke;

soon

is

his subject

Holv Familv not in the traditional

Marv feeds her Son while Joseph, who

with great warmth, conceiving the

way but quite literally as a family:

is

often relegated to the background in such scenes, holds the dish.

R,.embrandt's

sense of humanitv

small etchings of beggars and outcasts

was considerably influenced

7

even more evident

is

made

in subject

the late 1620s. In these he

matter and even

works of the great contemporary French

seen at

in

group of

in a

in

pose bv the

etcher. Jacques Callot. Having;

hand the horrors resulting from the Thirty Years' War.

first

maimed wretches such as might have been

found on anv highway in Europe. The prints were widely circulated, and
there can be little doubt that Rembrandt was familiar with them. Powerful as Callot's prints mav be. however, thev still contain a faintlv satirical
Callot produced a gallery of

quality, as

though the

Gallic manner.
cripples

were asking the viewer,

artist

but

not "interesting."

are

of suffering.

full

man. and

feeling of wrath at the plight of

himself with them: on an etched sheet

there appear the heads of an old

couple hobbling on

sticks,

its

print,

shown here

in

actual size, reveals his earl) interest in the

exotic dress

<>t

the foreigners

Amsterdam when he

who

lived there

frequented
I

le

minuscule work. The

produced

this

Polander,

m hen he was

v.istk

master of etching.

is

plain that he identified

1630

of about

of studies

man and woman, an aged beggar

face.

after his first efforts

The

Thev arouse

Rembrandt had

portrait of his mother, dated 1628.

be-

is

an

extraordinarily penetrating character study, executed by the 22-vear-old

artist

Little

in

shadow and

network of very
air

with a

fine lines

skill far

that capture the play of light,

exceeding that of Callot or of anv Dutch

and trying to

master the technique ol etching; he soon

applied

come

it

and Rembrandt's

Within two or three years

Rembrandt's smallest

detached

in

"Are thev not interesting?" Rembrandt's beggars and

hat he had learned to larger

more complex compositions

and

The refinement of

etcher.

his

technique appears to even greater advan-

tage in a later portrait of his mother, in 1631, in which countless scurrying, hair-thin strokes are used to build
I

[owever

as in the total of

up

his

chiaroscuro and texture.

Rembrandt's production during

his

Leiden

years delicacy appears side by side with boldness, even coarseness. In

his oils of the period, the contrast

cision

with the handle of the brush. In

is

may be

seen by comparing the pre-

and polish of Tobit and Anna with the 1629

his etching.

Self-Portrait, scored

Rembrandt's muscular

vividly apparent in another self-portrait of the

same

experimented with the use of a blunt instrument, probably

style

which he

ear. in

broken or

double-pointed one. exposing the copper beneath the coating with vigorous slashes
of

like

those

in a

spontaneous pen drawing. The twin currents

refinement and dash, of the smooth and the rough, emerge

work from

brandt's
dictory.

They

was able
achieves

the very beginning and are by

indicate instead the

to accomplish
in a lifetime

more

tremendous range

in a

in

Rem-

no means contra-

o\ a

young man

few years than main another

\\

ho

artist

Rembrandt made

In the course of his career

impressions from
the etchings
size

many

by

larger than 21

is

scores,

even hundreds of

The

or smaller, and one.

18

many

inches;

measures only three-

Polander,

Little

brandt's income from the sale of his prints

of

are of postcard

wide and two and one-quarter inches

quarters of an inch

None

of his approximately 290 plates.

Rem-

high.

impossible to determine,

is

although the celebrated "Hundred Guilder Print" apparently was so

was willing

called because an early collector

pression of

Today, when a particularly

it.

brandt etching changes hands, the price

in

least

sum

an im-

for

Rem-

impression of a rare

may be

the present buoyant state of the art market

At

to pay that

fine

it

79 of Rembrandt's original plates are

high as $84,000, and

as

will doubtless
still

go higher.

in existence. All are

of thin metal, the thickest being only about one twenty-fifth of an inch,

and many of them are worn or have been ruined by the reworking of

no fewer than 75 of the

later hands. Astonishingly,

plates are

owned by

one man, Robert Lee Humber of Greenville. North Carolina,

who

international lawyer,

place

them on

acquired them in 1938

in Paris

a retired

but did not

exhibition for almost 20 years, during which time the

question of their whereabouts continued to mvstifv

Rembrandt

scholars.

Humber permitted his treasure to be exhibited at

North Carolina Museum of Art, at once settling all the scholarly
In

1956 Mr.

The

flement.

plates are genuine, and, as recent

181), a few are

still

.embrandt's disdain for tradition

the third category of his art

garded drawing primarily

making of

as

The

in his

drawing.

etching also manifested

Earlier artists

had

Rembrandt made only

itself

as a rule re-

an indispensable preliminary step

a painting or print.

paratory studies.

photographs show (page

in fine condition.

R
in

the
baf-

in

the

few such pre-

majority of his drawings are self-contained works

of art with an independent

life

of their own. Ordinarily, he

made them

very rapidly, almost journalistically, with the intention of capturing an

idea or impression with a

them,

just as a writer

fleeting ideas,

wished.

of

lines.

He

seldom disposed of

although evidently he could have sold them had he

Not long

after

Roger de

Piles,

noisseur.

minimum

does not dispose of the notebooks that contain his

Rembrandt's death, a French

critic

and con-

noted that he considered Rembrandt's drawings

superior to the etchings.

Rembrandt was

compulsive draftsman; so

many subjects engaged his mind and eye that he must have been involved
in drawing almost daily. The 1,400 surviving sketches probably represent only a fraction of his total output.

That Rembrandt

mav be
in his

seen

work:

in

women

birds, vignettes of

landscapes.

as a

draftsman worked primarily to please himself

the great range of subjects that seldom appear elsewhere

and children

random

These he

listed

his declaration of insolvency in

were

signed or dated them

them

in

homelv domestic

for his

among

between blank pages

in

his possessions at the

bound

time of

1656). Another indication that

own

as a result,

scenes, animals,

the streets, views of towns and

carefully preserved

books (24 of which were

brandt's drawings

in

activity' in

use

when

is

Rem-

the fact that he almost never

there

was

a revival of interest in

the 19th Century, art historians were hard put to arrange

them

45

in

chronological order, although today the

makes possible

brandt's style

known

Rem-

evolution of

judgments about their

fair

Among

dates.

the perhaps 60 drawings that can almost certainly be placed

summary

Leiden years there are chalk studies of beggars, more

his

in

in style

but fully as powerful as his etchings. At least three self-portraits, drawings

known

of his father and mother, and another

have been produced during

both the

this period.

The Reading, must

as

he became expert with

Later,

and the reed pen. which he often used

quill

with a wash of
drawings, such

warm brown color. Some

as A Woman Sleeping (page

also

conjunction

in

of his most breathtaking

were made with a

55),

brush alone.

.embrandt had several pupils

Dou.

is

when he was

early in 1628,

Leiden of

in

Dou became

of particular consequence.

whom

only one, Gerrit

apprenticed to the master

not yet 15 and Rembrandt only 21, and he

rapidly assimilated the highly finished style of Rembrandt's small, early

paintings.

However, while

Dou was

content with a dwarfish

his

master

later

went on

become

to

The

elegant stature.

if

a giant.

polished,

enamel-like surfaces of his paintings and his almost microscopic detail

were very popular

paid artists in

all

in Leiden,

and ultimately he became one of the best-

of the Netherlands, making a fortune by elaborating on

only one facet of Rembrandt's genius. His vogue,

that his paintings consistently

Dou made

little

more

in

compete with Rembrandt's use of chiaro-

effort to

scuro for dramatic

was so great

in fact,

brought higher prices than Rembrandt's.

concentrating instead on details that seem

effects,

the province of a jeweler than a painter. At one point,

was complimented on

his skill in painting a

broom no

he remarked that the broom was unfinished

fingernail,

when he

larger than a

he

still

had

work to do on it. Dou's success is typical of that of numerous

other Rembrandt pupils in later years; it is doubtful that any of them
three days'

understood the great man. but several of them managed to grasp a

really

him and

fraction of
It

was

to

make a very good thing of it.

Rembrandt should sooner

parted from Leiden, which despite

town.

or later have de-

inevitable that

The

great opportunities

University was

were to be found

Amsterdam. One of the

tan city of

its

in

a provincial

still

the rich, cosmopoli-

factors that precipitated

Rembrandt's

move was undoubtedly a visit made to Leiden around 1629 by one of

the most remarkable Dutchmen of the 7th Century, Constantin Huv1

gens,

who

had personal contact with Rembrandt and Jan Lievens and

an account of them

Constantin

luygens

left

autobiography.
it

is

impossible not to salute the

man

across

was an exceptionally well-informed connoisseur of

the centuries

statesman,

in his

who spent much

of his

life in

art. a

the sen ice of the princes of Or-

ange, and the founder of a most distinguished family.

lis

son. Christian,

was the astronomer and mathematician who. among other

scientific

achievements, perfected the pendulum clock and discovered the true

nature ol the rings of Saturn.
Latin,

corresponded

Balzac and
translated

4r,

in

tjtrcc

in

Huygens composed

his

autobiography

French with the writers Corneille and

languages

with

John Donne from English

the philosopher

into

Dutch (he was

Descartes.
a

in

Guez de
,\\^\

good poet

in

own

his

Moreover, he was a student of nature, took a most com-

risjht).

mendable

interest

in

women

horse merely by leaping onto

and was said to be able to mount

back.

its

on the outside the dizzying

He

his

had the courage to climb

also

spire of the Cathedral of Strasbourg. In

the field of painting, he was an accomplished amateur; he might, indeed,

have become a professional, but

had to paint
art.

having

in secret.

when he observed

respectively

were already

soon surpass them,

his

worthv of

at first

note.

at

Con-

24 and 23

most famous painters and would

peers of the

word

artist

Rembrandt and Lievens

that

carried weight.

Huvgens found both Lievens and Rembrandt

in fact,

subject of

and England and also having studied

traveled in Italv

hand the works of almost everv Netherlandish

sequently,

not approve, and he had

his father did

Huvgens knew whereof he wrote on the

to be tireless workers;

he expressed concern about their health. In

this,

mav be

perhaps,

found some refutation of the idea that Rembrandt had only to daub

gested to

Rembrandt and Lievens

to Italy to perfect their

the best of exemplars, but the

Italian paintings

was not
at the

make

the customary journev

mentioning Raphael and Michelangelo

art.

were too busy to interrupt

that thev

his

Huvgens sug-

panel to produce a great work; he labored long and hard.

young men were unwilling

their

work. Moreover, thev

could be seen close at hand

said,

time was not very impressive. But particularly

is

the finest

the Netherlands. This

in

Dutch hands

accurate: the quantity and quality of Italian art in

brandt, the lack of interest in a trip to Italv

as

to go; thev

of

in the case

He

significant.

Rem-

was not

then concerned with classical models; the anatomically improbable perfection of Michelangelo's figures

human bodv

as

it

actually

order to find his models

ly to

keep

his eves

open

it

as

is.

mav even have amused

not as the

classicists

was not necessarv to

him.

He saw

would have

travel to

Rome

it.

the

and

in

but mere-

down the street. Rembrandt had no

demanded the superhuman. The human was

he walked

special "pictorial" sense that

The statesman Constantin Huygens,

quite enough.

Rembrandt's

first

influential admirer,

dignified sub|ect of this portrait

de Keyser.

R..embrandt's

desire to stay

home did

not shock Huvgens.

He

believed.

but he had a supple mind and did not

feel that a classical style

was

necessarv. Indeed, he gave the highest praise to a notably unclassical

work of Rembrandt's, the Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of

of 1629. To modern tastes there are many other of Rembrandt's
ings that have

much

stronger appeal, but to

eye

in

frantic, his

it is

its

it

hands clasped

in

there are no

*-\

mbolic references to another

:

paint-

Frederick

Henrv of Orange, Huygens was

leading arbiter of Dutch taste, and he used

hi--

station to bring young artists like

Rembrandt before the public e\

knows

impossible to obtain.

failed to turn

of so eminent a

man

as

Huvgens cannot

Rembrandt's eves toward Amsterdam. Moreover.

Huvgens was not an ineffectual dilettante who contented himself merelv

with words of praise. In his capacity as an aide to the Prince of Orange,
he soon arranged valuable commissions for the
early in

1632 moved to Holland's greatest

artist,

who

city to find

late in

Through

painting.

hiske) position as private secretarj to Prince

particularly

supplication for the pardon that he

including a cbittarrone (a kind of lute) and

globes of the earth and heavens Curiously,

Silver

depiction of the emotion of Judas, his clothes torn, his

The enthusiastic endorsement

have

with an attendant.

before a desk strewn with

ot his favorite subjects

Huvgens the Judas compared

favorably with any painting. Italian or Dutch; he found

outstanding

Shown

sits

the

objects symbolizing the range of his interest-..

with the traditionalists, that history painting was the highest form of
art.

Huvgens

is

bv Thomas

1631 or

almost immediate

fame and wealth.

47

rVcmbrandt was one

history of

way

the

journal

Because he usually regarded

a novelist regards the ideas he jots

feelings

art.

his

drawings

down

in his

and

as a purely private record of observations

thev are often deceptively simple. Yet the very

spontaneity and
his

of the greatest draftsmen in the

impressions

economy with which Rembrandt sketched

make them

dazzling to connoisseurs.

His production of drawings was

About 1,400

brilliant.

probably

at least

reasons tor the

attributed to

an equal

loss,

as prolific as

him

survive,

number have been

aside from

fire,

was

it

and

lost.

The

flood and negligence.

may be divined from the drawings that remain. Rembrandt

made relatively few preparatory studies for his paintings
and even fewer highly finished "presentation" drawings
gilts for friends

were unrelated to

and admirers. Usually

his

his

drawings

major works and were, moreover.

unsigned; only about 25 that bear his signature are known.

Thus

it

is

inexperienced collectors, misled

likely that

b) the simplicity of

the drawings and ignorant of their

authorship, discarded them.

Experts estimate the elates of Rembrandt's drawings by

studying

his style

and the way he used

red and black chalk, ink

washes

All of the

and

his favorite

quill or reed pen.

of a

4.S

brush and

drawings on the following pages,

unless otherwise specified, are in actual size,

their range-

media:

and quality they reveal the

man who deeply

loved

all life.

and

in

warm humanity

-*-

A /T n cf-/=ki*'o

J-lv^

T^\
-L^ J-

IVAdOLv^l O
"

Cl

W 111M O

'

'fy~

*_

60

Ill
Prodigal
Years

At the time of Rembrandt's move to Amsterdam

city

1631 or 1632 the

in

was the leading seaport of northern Europe. Merchants and seamen

swarmed along

of a dozen nations

wharves, creating such a polyglot

its

tumult that one observer noted: "It appears

anv particular people but to be

common

not to be the city of

at first

to all." Crates, bales and barrels

overflowed the warehouses: craftsmen plied their trades outside their

wagons and

front doors:

sledges groaned through the streets, and above

hammering and shouting could be heard the sound of innumerable church bells sprinkling sanctity on the sharp dealers below.

the rumbling,

The

citv

was not without

and a theater

cultural interests

but commerce was

its

philosopher Descartes wrote that "everyone

ing his

own

interests that

it

had a fledgling university

The

preoccupation.
is

so engrossed in further-

could spend the whole of

French

visiting

mv

life

there with-

out being noticed bv a soul."

In

its

general plan

exchange and town

Amsterdam was fan-shaped, with

hall at the

Manv

connected bv smaller ones, forming the framework.

were arched high enough above water

Some were

boats to pass.

move

a sledge over

the harbor, stock

base and three large semicircular canals,

so steep that

them; on the

level

it

of

bridges

its

to permit small-masted

required

immense

exertion to

ascent, teamsters eased the

way bv

down

throwing fat-soaked rags beneath the runners and on the way

spread straw to provide a brake.
material,

and

brick,

were used

for

The
most

fine houses, churches

buildings. Because the citv. like Venice,

reservations

choice of such weighty material and expressed them

when he was
happiest of moods

and public

was constructed above

swamp. Dutchmen of Rembrandt's time had

Rembrandt made this lovelv

same

bridges were of stone: the

in a

huge

about the

popular verse:

silverpoint of Saskia
in

the

explained bv his words beneath

The gnat town of Amsterdam

it:

is

drawn

"This

is

when

she was 2

third

day

after

after
1

mv

built

on

piles,

until

wife,

the day the whole place tumbles

years old. the

our betrothal

the

then

who

will

pay the

down:

bill?

8thjune. 1633."

The verse was

Saskia, 163

correct in part: every large building in the citv

supported bv long, heavv beams formed into

trestles

was

in fact

and driven through

61

the estuarial

mud

into solid ground.

enormous weight

tures of

presented a catastrophic

Amsterdam was
rels

and

crates of

still

But today many

7th Century struc-

stand firmly in place, and no one has yet

bill.

colorful as well as clamorous. Canal boats, carts, bar-

merchandise were painted

red, blue

and green. Bright

ornamental signs hung from the houses to advertise the trades of the occupants; pastry-cooks used pictures of St. Nicholas, the patron saint of
children, while surgeons displayed poles painted in red,
stripes.

The

patients, the

red indicated that the surgeon

white that he would pull teeth or

that he would,

if

there

was nothing more

white and blue

was prepared
set bones,

to bleed his

and the blue

serious to be done, give the

customer a shave.

.he sights and sounds of

Amsterdam were

attractive,

but Rembrandt

was not to be deflected into painting the everyday scenes

so strongly to his countrymen.
his chief

demand

As a voung

artist in

that appealed

search of fortune,

concern was portraiture, and soon his portraits were

that patrons reportedly

in

such

had to beseech him to produce them.

Rembrandt's reputation had preceded him from Leiden, and he was

regarded, at 25 or 26, as an artist of considerable stature.
his arrival

Soon

after

he made a business arrangement with a painter and dealer

named Hendrick van Uvlenburgh, who operated an "academy," part of

which could be more accurately described as an art factory where young
men made copies of paintings that van Uylenburgh sold. Rembrandt
was already too important an

artist

however, he lived and worked

what

services

he performed for

in

to bother with such hack work;

van Uylenburgh's house. Precisely

his landlord are not

known, but

his paint-

ings

were among those routinely copied by van Uylenburgh's appren-

tices

and exported

for sale in the provinces. (In 1637, after the death of

the moderately talented artist Lambert Jacobszoon. his effects were found
to contain six copies he had

made

of pictures by Rembrandt. Although

not intended to deceive anyone, such "Rembrandts" caused serious prob-

lems for

Amsterdam's port, seen

in tins

7th Century

panoramic engraving, mushroomed when

the

itv's

shipowners cornered Europe's

"I

it)

its

oppressive rule of the

chiel mercantile rival,

northern Netherlands

tin

Antwerp, after

won independence

from the Spanish Manyol Antwerp's

Protestants, mi hiding experienced

nun

h. ints

fled to

Amsterdam

to escape the

persecuting zeal oi the Spanish Inquisition,

.ind
.in

soon helped native residents launch

economic boom

the

hub ol

FETt.-IiH .IriV^^ ;^Vif4Tliru

AWS1

urope

that
s

made Amsterdam

trade

62

in

Europe and the United

States,

i-irfg-i.-iT-Tiinriin ""rtTTnlMn Tiff'.i

LLODAMLM IOIILS

prosperitj to hostile Spain,

its

which continued
.

Today, both

\msterdam owed

freight traffic. Ironically,

much

later art experts.

IlKOI'l

IMPOK

more than

there are

few

It

who

collectors

works bv the master, when

in fact

believe that they

own

thev

was probably under van Uvlenburgh's roof

some of his

first

commissioned

out and express the inner

life

of his subjects

plished technicians as
painters

knew

in a

genuine

Rembrandt painted
was to seek

his genius

this

the time-worn faces of the old had fascinated

was obliged to compete

that

Although

portraits.

own

old copies.)

was why,

him

in

Leiden,

in

Amsterdam he

conventional framework with such accom-

Thomas de Kevser and

Nicolaes

Elias.

These

very well what the public wanted, and thev delivered

it:

good likeness, with proper attention to details of dress and ornament, and
small attempt to probe beneath the obvious.
financial success
la;

still

to

Young Rembrandt, with

be won. showed no desire to revise the formu-

he met the Amsterdam portraitists on their

instead,

own ground and

surpassed them. His earliest commissioned works, the Portrait of a

Scholar and Nicolaes Ruts, are excellent performances within the acceptlimits.

Thev

are half-length, with

and hands

in full

or almost-full

ed

light.

neutral

Their

backgrounds and

vitality

faces

and strong modeling

are far superior to that in the paintings of the fashionable artists,

it is

only

in

comparison with Rembrandt's

may be seen. Both the scholar and

er,

later

work

and

that shortcomings

Nicolaes Ruts stare directly

at

the view-

seeking to establish a self-conscious communication with him. to

him know
must be

that thev are substantial

Dutch

paid. In the portraiture of his

citizens to

whom

mature years Rembrandt would

continue to produce fine likenesses but would add spiritual depths

dom found

In

in his

work of the

portrait.

of Dr. Tulp (pages 75-77), that quickly lifted

Dutch

The group

institution, arising

table societies, militia

sel-

1630s.

1632 Rembrandt painted a group

public esteem.

let

attention

portrait

was

him

The Anatomy Lesson

to the highest level of

a long-established

from the desire of the

and singularly

officers of guilds, chari-

companies and other organizations to decorate

the walls of their meetinghouses with memorials to themselves. Cus-

tomarily a group portrait included at least a half-dozen and sometimes as

wK.y wrff.-vj v.-.w -v

IIHIIKKIMl
Amsterdam

\l

rw

R >">-.
l

MOM WDIIOri

tf..i"V^ .V'M|!l^

PK

At A R

k^Vt
1

ll

'

R BS

l* 1

'

DLL

~ U_

^=H
N LATA

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-v

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f ljy mii

63

many

20 or more

as

The commissions were

painter's fee.

whom

individuals, each of

lucrative,

was formidable. Each member of the group,

Dutch democratic

paid a portion of the

but the

problem

artistic

accord with the sturdv

in

expected equal prominence with the others,

spirit,

with the result that the subjects were often arranged

rows or crescents a glance

at a

modern

monotonous

in

college vearbook, with

its

pho-

tographs of the members of the debating team or the fencing squad, reveals the difficulty.

In Dr. Tulp,

Rembrandt used

a roughly pvramidal composition.

evidently
not
popularitvof the painting

eight

men he portraved

excellent likenesses, to judge

arbitrarily arranged;

are

all,

The

from the

with varying

degrees of involvement, are witnessing an important event, the dissection

of a corpse bv Dr. Nicolaas Tulp. a prominent physician of Amsterdam,

and there
corpse

is

a unity in the picture that earlier artists had not achieved.

ivory in color,

itself,

attracts the

first

eve because

the largest area of light on the canvas, but beside

Tulp provides a powerful

it

it

the dark figure of Dr.

Save for the crimson of the

contrast.

The

occupies

partially

dissected forearm, the other colors in the painting are cool and tend to-

ward monochrome, adding

further to the sense of unity.

still

extraordinary feature of the painting

by

use of

his

shadow on the

right

his

way the artist

Another

achieved balance;

and the prominence he gives to Dr.

men

Tulp. Rembrandt poises seven

throwing

the

is

against

one without

the least

in

work askew.

JLhe resounding success of Dr. Tulp soon brought Rembrandt more

commissions

At

dle.

least

for single portraits than

produced

that several others he

than

Rembrandt's

artistic difficulties

were narrow and,

life-size

fore

double

made

portraits.

that of

to.

han-

such paintings

rule,

could

lost.

is

In an-

double portraits of husbands

production was very

as

decade have been

in that

other tvpe of portraiture, however

and wives

he could, or perhaps cared

65 such works date from the 1630s. and the probability

not

slight.

less

Practical

popular.

conveniently

Most husband-and-wife

not attempted on a single large canvas

Dutch houses
accommodate

portraits

bur

rather

were there-

on two separate

smaller ones. In the hands of journeyman artists these proved unimagina-

with

tive efforts,

or no psychological relationship established be-

little

tween the two fibres. Occasionally, however, an

or Rembrandt's caliber could

Rembrandt did

as

1634

in

his wife to

while she lightly plucks

slight

his

portraits of

how

makes

little

difference

problem was

to

skirt,

man

artist

together,

left

and gestures

as

has just entered the room.

seemingly about to make

window, door or

make

a piece ot

it

these two

furniture,

it

Dutch house

for a large

double

portrait, the

the painting a coherent whole and not merejusi

as well

usually did no better w

separate canvases. But

lals's

obviously the) belong together.

K two likenesses that could

journev

her

Marten Soolmans and

or nod to acknowledge the introduction. Even

When there was space in

artistic

someone who

at a fold in

paintings are separated In

Frans

tie a pair ot pictures inextricably

in

wife Oopien Coppit. Soolmans stands on the

his

though presenting

64

artist ot

be cut apart with

ith

a knife.

The

such portraits than with the

in his life size portrait ot

The Shipbuilder and His

Wife of 163

3,

which

now one

is

Rembrandt captured

ace,

indivisible

shipbuilder, his caliper barely lifted

work by

deliver a letter; her

ment of drama

hand

his wife,

in

making,

is

Rembrandt
skill

who was more

far

in-

is

room

door handle. Bv adding the

showing a

is

The

Leiden.

has suddenly entered the

to the accuracy of likeness,

of the time save Hals,

Pal-

of interaction that

from the design he

who

clasps the

still

the double portrait problem,

artist

moment

and Anna he had produced

as in the Tobit

terrupted in his

Buckingham

of the adornments of

his subjects in a

to

ele-

beautifully solved

beyond

any

that of

than 20 years his senior.

R.

.embrandt's portraiture was financially the most rewarding facet of

but

his art in the 1630s,

He

continued

hand

represented only a portion of his output.

it

ventured into mythology, tried his

his Biblical paintings,

(late in the

decade) at landscape, and kept on with his non-com-

missioned portraits of himself and of anonymous people

discerning eye

A Man

types

known only

with a Turban.

Many

as

An

who
Young

caught

his

Officer or

of his works of the period reflect an un-

usual joyousness, and for this the reason

in

Old Jew,

not hard to

is

find.

While

living

van Uylenburgh's house he met the dealer's orphaned cousin, Saskia.

town of Leeuwarden

the daughter of a wealthy burgomaster of the

province of Friesland.

Evidently

he began to court her

in

the

1632,

in

when she was 20 and he 26 he made his first painted portrait of her that
The young couple became engaged on June 5, 163 3, and a few days
later Rembrandt made an exquisite drawing of Saskia (page 60) in silverpoint, a medium he rarely used, and surely one of the most exacting in
;

year.

all art.

Upon

a specially prepared surface (in this case

drawn with

are

a thin silver stylus; there

one or two slipped

no

and the drawing

strokes,

no errors and produced

is

work

but his obvious love for the

white vellum)

lines

possibility of correction

ruined.

is

Rembrandt made

that reveals not only his technical

skill

girl.

Rembrandt and Saskia van Uylenburgh were married

in

1634. She

brought him a large dowry and through her family connections intro-

duced him to

into his

He

life

Amsterdam society that he might not otherwise

The demand for his work increased still further, and

levels of

have penetrated.

and

art

came an

ebullience he never before or later displayed.

when he went

indulged his passion for collecting;

to auctions, ac-

cording to Baldinucci, he "bid so high at the outset that no one else

came forward

to bid; and he said that he did this in order to emphasize

the prestige of his profession." In

one

self-portrait (page

10),

he

pic-

tured himself in the dress of an Oriental potentate, with robes of silk

and velvet and a feathered turban, and by casting

side of his face

he somewhat narrowed

a patrician look.

dominated European

art in his century.

ment and melodrama of the

work,

it

so-called

indicates that he

Soon, when he came

ish

on the

right

His rather theatrical pose, the curving rhythm of the

silhouette and the strong chiaroscuro are

this

his light

"peasant" breadth and achieved

its

briefly

all

in

the Baroque style that

While the exuberance, move-

High Baroque

had begun to tend

are absent from

in

that

direction.

under the influence of the flamboyant Flem-

master, Peter Paul Rubens,

Rembrandt was

to plunge into the

High

Baroque with a vengeance.

6>

which Rembrandt repre-

In his Self-Portrait with Saskia (page 11), in

plumed

sents himself as a sword-carrving cavalier in a

hat. lifting a great

beaker of wine with one hand while he clasps his wife around the waist

own momentary

with the other, both the Baroque stvle and his

ment, however, to place

Leiden miller's son. having

of a laughing

man had

It

won fame and

Dutch

in riotous living. In

art the

fortune in the big

image of

city, revels

maiden seated on the

well-known meaning:

absorp-

would be an unfair judgthe obvious interpretation on all of this: i.e..

tion with material comfort are marked.

lap

referred to the Prodi-

it

Son of the Scriptural parable, in gav company before his downfall and
homecoming- Rembrandt was thoroughly familiar with this story and

gal
his

later

based one of his most moving paintings on

Indeed, in 1636,

it.

within a year of the Self-Portrait with Saskia, the theme of the Prodigal

Son

first

appeared

etched work.

in his

bv no means inconceivable

It is

Rembrandt had some subconscious feeling

he was wandering from his spiritual home and that he would return

that in this prosperous decade

that
to

it.

In the 1640s he did return, both sadder

greater art

might not have been so

art that

and wiser, to produce a

lofty

if

he had not expe-

rienced this interlude.

In any case. Rembrandt's religious feeling never deserted him. even
in

the 1630s:

works from

it

would deepen constantly

this

decade

until the

illustrate the point;

end of

may be

it

his

life.

Manx-

well to select one.

some early viewers regarded with unalloyed shock

many modern viewers find themselves estheticallv unable

at the outset, that

(and one that

to cope with). This

(page 15?).

The

front of the inn to

human

an etching of The Good Samaritan, dated 163

is

injured wayfarer

shown being

is

lifted

from

which the Samaritan has taken him.

figures, all of

them

soft-fleshed

a horse in

number of

and lumpish, occupy the center of

the composition, and prominent in the right foreground

something

is

worse: an unattractive dog squatting to perform a natural function.

Prince Frederick

Henry of Orange, the

subject ol this engraving

.1

actually a

Anthon) vanDyck
the

was the titular head of

Dutch Republic during much of

Goethe took note of

true Christianity

Prince failed to build a

favored decentralization anil also because

also

the) disapproved of his court. Frederick

lenrj

's

intimates spent

in

active,

recognized until

an essav almost two centuries later

not passive.
it

is

his duty.

is

that

very well for the Samaritan

It is all

put into the world people whose bodies

man

it

But

if

the Creator chose to

as a

strong government, parti) because the Dutch

more time gambling,

.Irmkin'j fussing over finer)

is

which seems not to have been

to help the wayfarer; in fact,

Rembrandt's career. Although popular

militar) leader the

Rembrandt's point

copy of

painting by the great Flemish portraitist

and making

love than worrying about affairs of state

is

not to quarrel with this or be revolted bv

saw

fit

to give

life

to ugly dogs

who

that, either.

of

it

it.

Further,

are under the

Christian must have reverence for

all

if

same

man cannot

Orange,

relieving themselves as a Prince of

Greek

short of the

fall

life,

ideal.

the Creator
necessity of

quarrel with

even

aspects

if

occasionally disgust him. This at least seems to have been

Rem-

brandt's understanding of Scripture.

(
did not
.embrandt

find

it

Samaritan, to be simultaneously
Passion tor Prince Frederick

ment probably obtained

for

incongruous, while etching The Good

at

work on

Orange

him by

his

By 1633 he had completed two of the

from

the Cross.

a series of paintings ot the

lenrv of

a verv

important assign

admirer Constantin Huygens.

series,

an Elevation and

66

Descent

Later an Entombment, a Resurrection and an Ascension

were ordered, and Rembrandt worked on these intermittently

vnd

,i

of the decade,

until the

he faced a

In attempting to please the Prince,

Henrv and Huvgens

Frederick

brandt)

end of

that Peter Paul Rubens, then nearing the

felt

was the superior

liant career,

problem. Both

difficult

Rem-

(despite the latter's regard for

his bril-

Rembrandt must have been aware

artist.

of this but did not choose to imitate Rubens' style. In the case of one of

the commissioned paintings, the Descent (page 16), he did

rectly

from a Rubens work but considerably altered

He

it.

borrow

di-

both simpli-

composition and boldly moved the central action back into the

fied the

middle ground, an idea quite foreign to the consummate showmanship of

Rubens. Moreover, Rembrandt did not
to

make his

a realism that verged

the Cross,

constrained, as did Rubens,

feel

figures classically dignified or beautiful but painted

is

on

brutality. Christ, as

is

them with

tenderly lowered from

dead body, without a trace of

a pathetically limp,

might make His muscles appear

He

"artistically" rendered.

contrived in the attitudes of the

men engaged

Rembrandt used himself

model

as the

in their

for the

There

nothing

melancholy task;

who

one

is

that

life

stands on the

ladder holding Christ's arm. In the Elevation the artist also appears

prominently, as the green-garbed soldier

erect the dreadfully
is

recalled,

itan,

weighted Cross.

If

in

the center

who

struggles to

Rembrandt's view of Christianity

with his capacity for including the dog

in

The Good Samar-

not particularly remarkable that he should have inserted him-

it is

self into these paintings; indeed,

No other

artist

the opposite of vanity

involved here.

is

has entered so personally and subjectively into the stories

Rem-

of the Bible, and in showing himself helping to raise the Cross,

brandt appears to be making a statement frequently heard from the

pulpits of today: Christ

is

must share the

it.

guilt for

I n connection
to

Huvgens

still

figuratively being crucified,

with the Passion

all

series

and

men

all

Rembrandt wrote seven

letters

of his correspondence that has been preserved.

They

are the usual letters from artist to patron, indicating gratitude and dis-

money (Rembrandt hoped

cussing
tain

one phrase of

for

more than he

got), but thev con-

special interest. In a note of 1639,

Rembrandt

ac-

knowledges that he has taken a long time to complete two of the paintings,

adding that

this has

been because he has sought to express "die

meeste ende die naetuereelste beweechgelickheijt." This can be trans-

two ways

lated in

either as "the greatest

and most innate emotion" or

The difference between

movement" has occasioned a prolonged
and sometimes heated debate among scholars. Many thousands of words
as

"the greatest and most natural movement."

"innate emotion" and "natural

have been written

in

learned journals bv students

strongly in the matter;

it

it

does, after

known

remains the only

phrase

all,

in

who

concern the

have

very

felt

artist's intent,

which he ever mentioned

and
it.

convenient means of avoiding the controversy, and possibly the most

satisfactory one.

is

to assume that both interpretations of the throat-

clogging

word "beweechgelickheijt" mav be

emotion

is

as

one

critic

frenzied

One

valid. In the

the overwhelming force; in the Resurrection

has put

it,

the painting

is

it

Entombment,
is

action, or

a "turbulent composition with

baroque movement."

of Rembrandt's letters to

Huvgens expressed the wish

to

make

67

him

another painting "10 feet long and 8 feet high" as a token

a gift of

of appreciation. Huvgens' reply does not survive, but he seems to have

been reluctant to accept

from the dimensions,

for such subjects, there

Rembrandt

this offering.

from what

as well as

good reason

is

is

sent

known

anyway, and

it

of Huvgens' taste

assume that the painting was

to

The Blinding of Samson (pages 34-35). The storv of Samson was a

Baroque favorite because of its violence and sensuality, and in the Netherlands of the 1630s

had an added attraction: the Dutch had

it

was an admired

the Jews against Philistine oppression,

The Blinding, by

In

became more

"movement."

special case; in

mind

in

it

was

mrrm

made

cover
I

all

unique glimpse of Rembrandt

a class in life

drawing

\\ .is

sketched during the I650sb\ oneofhis

students
pupil's

seems to be criticizing one

le

work

.is

another peers over

li<>

poses on

that,

rlu-

small dais

Mthough students sought him out from

Riinlir.niilr

most

1111K

,iv

mi

<>\

ol

rpow

Delilah

as

on

armor gleaming

opening of the
over-

in half-light,

but

monstrous

in

forcefully than
in a

museum

at

it

painting

Rem-

not a

It is

owner would

a private

he be forced to look

too. with a curtain lest

The

pain.

words can do.

everv day. For

no mere melodramatic piece of Grand Guignol. Rem-

are altogether

apparent.

as in the face

of

he wished to make plain that he

If

style,

he surely did

Rembrandt's mythological paintings of the 1630s

many

then

or. for that matter,

during

so.

their own

parably the most beautiful

I

lermitage

in

is

the

he did not
incom-

his entire career

.1

them stayed with Inm

bricfh before striking out

brilliantly illuminated

could handle the highest of High Baroque

paint
triiiL;

more dramatic bv Rem-

brandt's pictorial powers and his psychological insight

the stan to the close ol his career.

tc.u her that

more

mav hangam-where
is

the

terrify-

The Blind-

case.

of them plunges a dagger into Samson's eve. and the

itself far

it

of Huvgens'

Ins

shoulder Others continue sketching

nude w

it.

any

a curtain. In
all

blood gushes forth while he writhes

speaks for

brandt that

conducting

triumph toward the

One

him.

One

shadow: Delilah, having cut off Samson's

tent while Philistine warriors, their

whelm

com-

on "emo-

falling increasingly

head of Medusa bv Rubens, said to be so

was usually kept covered bv

hair, scurries in

never

very likely that The Blinding was a

his sponsor's taste for the appalling.

brandt's clash of light and

'>-..

emphasis

It is

ing boils with horrific action,

^T^

He

attempting to please Huvgens. Rembrandt must have

favorite paintings

ing that

works. Rembrandt

his

but after this painting he slowly

style,

restrained, with his

tion" rather than

figure.

he was inclined to go.

as far as

abandoned the Baroque

pletely

borne

most gruesome of

far the

High Baroque

carried the

fresh

and Samson, the champion of

their struggle with Spain,

memories of

Danae of 1636.

(It

is

now

in

the

Leningrad, which contains one of the greatest collections

of Rembrandts

them amassed by the Empress

18th Century.) Although the meaning

the world, almost

in

Catherine the Great

the late

in

all

of

Danae has been much discussed, it almost certamK refers to the

fableoi the Greek king Akrisios, who was warned by an oracle that his
daughter. Danae. would give birth to a son who would kill him. 1'luis

ot the

he attempted to keep her

ing (pages
tered,

into a

is

IS-

19). the

symbolic of

this.

shower of golden

prophecj was

in a state

at

upper

the paint-

in

right, his

hands

fet-

low ever, the god Zeus, transforming himself

rain,

found

his

a\

to

Danae and

in

time the

fulfilled.

The nude figure of Danae

model

is

explicit;

however

the lowliest
1

68

of permanent chastity;

weeping cupid

it

is

for

which Saskia max well have been the

Rembrandt ever painted and

sexually the most

saved from excessive sensuousness or vulgant)

by

its

Rembrandt

In his composition

artistic strength.

substituted

the shower of golden rain a celestial light that enters from the

washes over the

The

girl.

kev to the

The

Danae

is

stvle of the

the

girl's

work

High Baroque.

again

is

upraised hand, which both welcomes

her arriving lover and separates the planes between her

own

lishment of depth, and

in this

and

figure

Rembrandt was alwavs much concerned with the

the background.

estab-

instance he succeeded with an ease that can

onlv dishearten other men. Moreover, his modeling, his color, his
sight

the ingredients of a masterwork

all

plating the Danae,

German
he

it

Impressionist

Max Liebermann. "Whenever

but

said. "I feel the desire to paint;

when

see a

made bv

it

L,uke

his

see a Frans Hals."

Rembrandt.

The

etchings are

realistic,

the romantic he chose to

work

but

during

the

orderlv,

when Rembrandt wished

his first years in

the

in

to express

painted scene the Stormy

A
sums up the nature of work
single

in oil.

Landscape of 1638 (pages 102-10.0

this field

from

treat quite different aspects of nature

landscape etchings, which began to appear in quantity onlv

flat,

want

mythological works. Rembrandt's landscape paintings are not

numerous, and most of them

1640s.

the

up."

to give

his

in-

Contem-

are breathtaking.

easv to sympathize with a remark

is

tor

and

left

his

Amsterdam.

It

bears utterly

wind-washed Dutch countryside;

no

instead,

in

relation to
it

contains

mountains and a shadowed viaduct lying beneath a mottled, menacing

Overwhelmed, almost

skv.

figures that, for

lost in the

foreground, are

their insignificance in

all

brandt's eternal preoccupation: even

when

forces of nature, he could not leave out

well, in his rare

still lifes;

human

two

the painting,
his subject

tiny
reveal

human
Rem-

was the dynamic

mankind. (This holds

true, as

figures appear in all of them.)

Rembrandt's production during the 1630s was so vast that onlv

surface can be

skimmed

here. In his paintings,

its

drawings and etchings he

turned repeatedly to Saskia as his model. His early studies of her show

voung

a very attractive

ladv.

bv the wholesome standards of the time,

and seemingly the epitome of robust Dutch health, but

Rembrandt could only record what was

true; she

as

time passed

was slowly being worn

down by some unknown illness. In 1635 she bore a son. Rumbartus.

who lived for onlv two months. In 1638 Saskia's second babv. Cornelia
I,

also died in infancy, as did her third. Cornelia

during the brief

life

of Cornelia

of Saskia with a babv in her lap.

woman

be that of a

However much
art in general did

in

Rembrandt made a touching drawing

Her face she was then 26 appears to

become

mav have

ly

handsome town house

in

Todav

burden, and

was forced to move.

upper storv and
appearance
gO\

it

ins:

it

it

both

bidding at auctions

the house

is

660 Rembrandt

^w ing

bears. In

eminent made

preserx

The house became

A new owner added

roof,

still

in

it

with

felt

the Dutch

as a shrine to a

7th Centurv

Dutch

architecture.

heavy

Rembrandt museum.

It

revered

national artist and as an imposing example of

that his financial suc-

his belief that fine artists are not

the

the

Rembrandt museum

the St. Anthoniesbreestraat in

as in

mere-

craftsmen but fully the equals of rich merchants and important

cials.

a financial

depressed Rembrandt, his

would continue, and perhaps he wished to demonstrate again

his profligate

ol his children died here.

infused with melancholy, and he continued

the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam. Manifestly he

cess

twice her age. weary and resigned.

to liveinazestful, extravagant stvle. In 1639 he purchased

mortgage

1640. Perhaps

Amsterdam Purchased bv the artist in

639, when he was 3 3, it proved to lie the
scene ot personal tragedy: his w jfe and three

I,

Saskia's illness

not

II,

Rembrandt produced many ol his mature

in this fashionable town house in

works

offi-

has been increased in

height and there have been changes in the facade, but plainly even in

69

1639

must have been a massive investment and

it

Bv
artists

Rembrandt had manv

the late 1630s

Among the

served their apprenticeships with him.

imposing

a very

pupils; at least

sight.

50 Dutch

foremost of the

Amsterdam decade were Govaert Flinck. Jacob Backer and Ferdinand Bol, all verv good men whose paintings still command substantial
prices. Rembrandt had so manv pupils, indeed, that according to Houbraken, he was obliged to rent a warehouse to accommodate them. They
worked in cubicles while the master wandered from one to another to
make his corrections and suggestions. Houbraken is not alwavs accurate
first

but he records a master-and-pupil tale that

in his dates,

mav

well belong

to the late 1630s or to the earlv 1640s.

.oubraken writes of an incident

people, especiallv
into mischief, so

if

it

there are

happened

manv

warehouse. In one of the cu-

in the

voung student was sketching

bicles a

a female model, and "since

them

of

also here.

This aroused the curiosity of

young

together, will sometimes get

the others, who, in order not to be heard, in their socks, one after the other,

looked on through a chink

pened, on a

warm summer's

in

purpose.

Now

The merry

jokes and

model

words which passed

be retold bv the spectators of

easilv

hap-

it

dav. that both the painter and the

stripped so as to be stark naked.

between the two could

made on

the wall

this

comedy.

About the same time there arrived Rembrandt to see what his pupils were
doing and, as was his custom, to teach one after the other; and so he came

room where the two naked ones were sitting next to one another."
It can safelv be assumed that Rembrandt was a man who was not easily
shocked; this mav be deduced merelv from the titles of some of his etchings, without the necessity of reproducing the prints in this volume
A
Man Making Water and The French Bed. The likeliest supposition is that
he was much amused bv the incident described by Houbraken. but that he
to the

still

felt,

as a master, the obligation to take

As Houbraken goes on to

"He

say,

through the chink that had been made,

heard,

'Now we

naked."

are exactly as

On this he knocked

used by an

artist as a

Adam

support for

Paradise."

Having forced

Adam

and

his pupil

I've play,

|ust able,

you

his

mahlstick

are naked

treatmeni of
etchings

The

at

Adam and

arn\c naked

Adam

in

the

subject

is

ot

that

course

we

are also

padded

stick

called out.

you must get out of

his Eve, so that the)

with

stairs,

to put

on

part of their

the street."

about the same time,

Eve

[a

by threats to open the door, he entered,

However amused Rembrandt mav have been

coincidence engaged,

other words he also

in Paradise, for

transformed comedy into tragedy, and

when running down

clothes, in order not to

for a while their pranks

hand while painting] and

drove away with blows the pretended

wereonly

action.

among

and Eve

his

to the terror of both. 'But because

spoiled the

watched
until

door with

at the

some

at this affair
in a

he was

profoundly serious

ranks as one of the finest o\

among

the oldest

l>\

in

Western

all

art,

his

and

among the most famous representations of is the 5>04 engraving by

the German Renaissance master Albrccht Diirer. A comparison ot the
two works, side by side, reveals much about Renaissance and Baroque
viewpoints and much about Rembrandt as man ,\nd artist.
At first glance Diirer's engraving may appear to be mere!) decorative,
it

70

come

failing to

to grips with a storv that

predicament of mankind.
fruit

lies,

after

all,

the center of the

at

magnificently proportioned Eve accepts the

from the inconspicuous serpent with apparently no more thought

than a

accepting an hors d'oeuvre. while an equally magnificently

girl

proportioned
in a

Adam

looks on

somewhat

gesture of protest but to display

its

primary intent was to present two

mindlessly, extending his

musculature.

arm not

true that Diirer's

nudes, perfectly posed, but

classical

more than

It is

was a scholar and theorework may be found all manner

of thoughts and symbols that are not apparent to the modern eve. The
scholar Erwin Panofskv, in The Life and Art of Albrecht Diirer. points
out several of them. The relationship between the mouse and cat in the
the engraving contains far

tician as well as a great artist,

lower foreground

perched on

parallels that

Adam

ash to which
its

in

in his

between

Adam

clings alludes to the

fig tree

"humors" or "temperaments." The

elk melancholic

random but
fall

work

Adam

is

complex

relate to a

with the theory of the

cat denotes choleric cruelty, the

gloom, the rabbit sanguine sensuality and the ox phleg-

matic sluggishness. Altogether Diirer's approach

ful

and the parrot

Life,

and the devilish serpent. The ani-

the engraving are not chosen at

philosophical doctrine that connected man's

four

and Eve. The mountain

Tree of

branch symbolizes benevolence and wisdom. Juxtaposed

with these are the forbidden

mals

and

that. Diirer

that of a Renaissance intellectual

in his subtle

and beauti-

the classical proportions of

and Eve themselves were actually developed with the aid of com-

pass, ruler

and geometry.

Rembrandt, although he admired Diirer (the serpent or dragon

etching
a

is

closely patterned after a creature engraved

bookman and had

Adam and Eve.

little

bv

Diirer),

in his

was not

use for theoretics. There are no symbols in his

His approach

highly emotional, and his figures in their

is

nakedness bear no resemblance to the Apollo Belvedere or the Medici

Venus.
faces

They

may be

are only poor mortals, capable of error and of tears. In their

seen a maelstrom of feelings

innocence, boldness and

man's

fate

fear.

The

doubt and

tension between

desire, craft

them

hangs here suspended, and Rembrandt does not

is

and

frightening:

call

upon the

viewer to think but to cry out in warning and despair.

Albrecht Diirer:

Adam andEve, 504

1

Rembrandt Adam and Ezr.

:

71

Tbhe oroup

portrait

is

uniquely Dutch. Alone

Europeans, the Dutch conceived this special

hrought
left

it

it

to a peak of excellence in the

an enduring

as

monument

art

among
form,

7th Century and

to their satisfaction with

The

Prideful

Burghers

themselves. Often called "corporation portraits," these

paintings memorialized

and of town councils,

members

of militia companies

officers of guilds,

and

administrators of almshouses, hospitals and other

institutions.

included

Occasionally 30 or 40

in a single

were

life-size figures

work, resulting

in a

canvas as colossal

as a billboard.

The two

masters of the corporation portrait were

Frans Hals and Rembrandt. Their approaches to the

subject offer a clue to their differences in temperament.

Hals painted three of

his

groups

in convivial

banquet

scenes;

Rembrandt's four known group portraits

was

but destroyed bv

all

Two

ot his

fire

struck

one

more sober

note.

groups attend an anatomy lesson, another

convenes on guild

Amsterdam

the fourth

affairs,

falls

into step

on an

Rembrandt's

gift tor

presen ing

individual likenesses within the

street.

broader context of the group

\\ hether seen roistering or intent

people portrayed

l>\

lals

on business, the

and Rembrandt shared an

understandable vanity; since each

member

of a group

portrait appears in this close-up

of Captain Frans Banning Cocq,

the central figure of the

guard depleted

paid part of the artist's

tee.

each expected not to be

slighted in the finished work.

(pages 82

But a sense of pride also

motivated them; Dutch burghers had

and were not ashamed to glorify

'

Watcb

ei\ ic

the Nigbt

in

it.

strong civic spirit

,un

>,im

Cocq and Lieutenant

WiUem

Ruytenb

Banning

van

atcb). detail

iM

Thomas dc

Kevser: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Sebastiaen Egbtrtsz., 1619

EX

"utch painters found an intriguing

theme

in

the

anatomy lessons given by the surgeons' guild of

Amsterdam. Sometimes the) were publicly performed,
and on these occasions the corpse of an executed criminal

was

dissected before a large audience,

(part ot the proceeds

banquet

of ticket

sales

which paid to attend

went

lor a lavish

for the surgeons).

The Anatomy Lesson ofDr. Sebastiaen Egbertsz. (left)

prominent Amsterdam portraitist. Thomas de

In a

is

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr.

Keyser. For

all

composition.

his proficiency

The picture

is

vertical line of the skeleton

The effect has

faces.

static

by the

and balanced by triangles of

more excitement than might be

men examining a statue rather

the remains of a human being once clothed in flesh

found
than

little

de Kevser produced a

carefully bisected

in a painting

of six

and inhabited bv dreams.

In

Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson of Dr.

affair

of deep

of the observers are involved, in varying decrees, in an

significance.

The effect

is

one of

drama, not of mere reporting, and the composition

balanced more subtlv than de Keyser's. Dr. Tulp

wears

his hat as a

mark of his eminent

stature*

is

is

(who

given

such psychological power that he successfullv

counterpoises seven men. Yet Rembrandt has not violated
the canons ot

Ti/lp (right), all

human

Ti/lp.

good

portraiture: as

may be

seen in the

enlarged detail on the following pages, each face

rendered with stunning

skill.

75

is

6 ?2

1
I

'

Wg&<

ns

Hals ranks with Ren

one ofthe triumvirs of]

for the palpitating

78

life hi

ndJanVermeeras
is no precedent
>

01 for his

spontaneous brushwork.

In this portrait o\ tin- senior

ami

junior officers of one of the militia companies of the town

of

laarlem,

hidden order underlies the lustiness B\

Frans Hals Assembly of Officers and Subalterns of the Civic Guards of St Hadrian at Haarlem. [633
:

varying

movement and

officers to

expression, Ha's relates the

each other and to the viewer. And. as always, he

achieves a rhythmical unirv: the positions of the heads

suggest the placement of musical notes on a stave, while

the upthrust of weapons provides accents that can almost

be heard as well

as seen.

79

t/?\

V,

ft

lj^

^^^

i^

B in

I'V

^y

*jn

^^r

^V

^^L

"^^^^H

^A

"

is

'
1
:

yf*
1^
^^m >^^

r
^fi

f&'Wi

^^|

4'W

^H

fa

^B

^^^J

^^^'^^1

JBTjb

TJ

j||

^fl

'.

u^

cWnjttr

Frans Hals: Lai/y Governors oftbe Old Men's

.als lived

to a ripe old age; he

was more than 80 when he died

In his final vears, he produced this painting of the

Men's

Home at Haarlem,

legend,

touch

was

work.

666.

Lady Governors of the Old

the charitable institution that, according to erroneous

his last refuge.

in this late

in

Home at Haarlem, c. 664

Another mvth holds that the aged

He was.

in fact, still in

the detail on the opposite page shows, his

deepened, and there was a gain, not a

artist

had

supreme command of his

lost his
art.

As

power of psychological penetration

loss, in his

matchless ability to use bold,

powerful strokes that simultaneously model form and suggest texture, while
creating lively spatial and surface accents.
in

Western

It is

a passage that

is

seldom equaled

painting.

81

.cm Brandt's great Night Watch did not

meet the usual

criteria

of his time. Save

lieutenant

and

the center foreground, the

in

who paid

militiamen

of group portraiture

for the captain

not receive the prominence they

hoped

for.

engulfed

which

for the painting did

may have

found themselves

Instead, they

an enormous Baroque work,

in

not methodically representational

is

but furiously dramatic

a revolutionary

To their

explosion of color and movement.

credit, the

militiamen never recorded an

objection to this extraordinary treatment.

or to the

(who paid

6 extraneous figures

nothing) added by Rembrandt

to heighten

the sense of drama, or even to such

details as those

unorthodox

following pages.
,i

shown on

The scurrying

the

little girl

white bird with bluish-grey

feathers

at

scarcely merits a

her waist

proper place

among

bold soldiers, but she

echoes Rembrandt's central accord

and yellow

colors.

vcllow

dad

urchin

musket close to the ear

next to her. firing a

of the

of red

The mischievous
lieutenant,

seemed improper

would

also

to a lesser artist

actually the flame of the blast blends into

the plumes of the officer's

li.it

While

there

were no quarrels with Rembrandt's

masterpie< c durin
for filer

it

remained

that the artist

failure,

Ins lifetime,

pedants to on< lude, incxplicahK

one

82

had produced

that

pro

ipitated his downfall

The Company of Captain

From Banning Coca and Lieutenant Wittem

van Ruytenburcb (Niebt

1 \

atcb)

642

-fy*

*++-

jjK:-

'%
..^S^v ^m

^-"----^

t54

m<
&&.

'^Z&g-l'-

**&&

m^-

.nihV/v inatomy Lesson ofDi Tulp JO years earlier,

Rembrandi made
serve his

Guild

own

the requirements of group portraiture

purposes

in

The Syndh of the Drapers'

acking so dramatic

86

.1

"prop"

.is

corpse, he

sought another means of creating an

found

it

bv involving the spectator

cloth merchants appear

deliberations to focus

air

in

momentarily

tlu-ir

attention

of tension and

the picture: the

to interrupt their

upon the entering

Tbe Syndics of tbe Drapers' Guild.

viewer. Soon,

it is

sensed, thev will turn back to their

work; but the moment of drama

What is most remarkable

is

had no reason to

established.

in this painting,

Rembrandt's probing analysis of his

subjects.

however,

inclination
is

While he

was

flatter

businessmen,

to esteem

shrewd appraisal of men

all his

66

his natural

fellow men.

who will

The

result

is

acquit themselves

with great respect for the guilder, but with honor

87

as

welL

88

IV
Rembrandt's
Holland

1640 Rembrandt was 34 and. bv the standards of

In

his time,

proaching middle age. Both the round-numbered vear and the

he was about to enter must have prompted him

life
self,

and

to take stock of

his Self-Portrait of that year (page 12) hints at the

mind. There

his

something searching and

is

He has come a long; wav trom

admired,

wealth, but in his eves

dane success and

Unlike manv

is

now

Leiden, and

is

of

him-

working

of

faintly quizzical in his look.

in

Amsterdam he

is

much

men

of authority and

a suggestion that he has seen

enough of mun-

house and mingles with

lives in a great

was apstag;e

becoming disenchanted.

Rembrandt was never

artists.

be examined

society; his art will

in

to

become

alienated from

vain for extremes of bitterness or

indignation. Occasionally he produced satirical works, such as his small

etching; of a

was simply

monk and a peasant woman fornicating; in a field, but this

comment on human behavior rather than an attack on the

Catholic Church.

He

also satirized art criticism in a drawing; in

which

pundit with donkey's ears discourses pompously on a picture before a

gullible

crowd while

man

foreground scatolog;icallv expresses

in the

(and Rembrandt's) opinion of the

comments. In

similar

his

manv

critic.

Few

studies of tramps,

beggars and peddlers (pages 146-147), Rembrandt

his

have

artists

failed to

peasants, cripples,

made

it

economic

privilege.

Yet there

is

Nevertheless,

Rembrandt's son

sat for this

work, research indicates that

it

when

in

rich

Once

1965 for $2,234,000.

and

socially

more at ease with hi^ family and a few

The well-to-do Dutchman of the 7th Century, as a rule. thought
religion and money
seriously of only two things
but not in the way
Rembrandt thought of them. The stern, implacable God of the Cal-

values were not his; he was

vinists

was not credible to him; he never painted

shunned apocalyptic themes. His was the

Portrait of a bov. (usually called
Portrait of tbe Artist's
c.

1653-1654

Son Titus

it.

Rembrandt did not remain comfortable

prominent whose portraits he painted. Their

appears that

acquired for a shilling, the picture

was sold

among the

it

friends.

was painted Titus was older

than the bov shown.

where

no evidence that he wished

to change his world radically or that he longed to escape

Despite the recent romantic belief

clear

sympathies lav and. bv indirection, that he hated oppression and the

callousness of

that

his

make

New

Testament.

The

letter-strict

a Last

Judgment, and he

loving;. torg;iving

morality

God

of the

of the Calvinists was also

foreign to him.

He

did not ridicule

it:

he ignored

it.

S^

As

money. Rembrandt had

for

of what could be done with

for his wife

and on objects of

a healthy appreciation of

He

and rare

art

curiosities for himself.

its

own

eminent male preoccupation, even exceeding sex

Among

however, the accumulation of

not as a means to an end but for

ers found.

or rather

it,

spent freely on clothing and jewels

contemporaries,

his business-oriented

money

it.

sake was the pre-

or so foreign observ-

7th Century English ambassador to the

Dutch Republic.

"One meets pleasant voung gallants,

but no mad lovers." When a Dutchman sought diversion from business
affairs he was inclined to look for it in drink rather than in women; it
was simpler. As a result of this foreigners thought Dutchwomen were
in a continual state of frustration, and when thev were presented with
opportunities thev took full advantage of them. "To make love like a
Dutchwoman" was a common saying in Paris. To be sure, male frigidity
was by no means a national affliction, but it does appear that among
William Temple, noted that

Sir

the bourgeois and upper classes, at

early into
in

The

brandt.

was not a

.he major fortunes of the

in shipping. Fullv half of

built in

'

"

in all,

Europe's trade was carried

'ML'"'

English

,000 tons.

number considerably

flags, plied

woman was

in

the wealth of

7th Century

Amsterdam found expression

like

the one

in this

the

freighters,

More

than 2,000 merchant ships

The

under the French or

efficiency of the

made

it

Dutch and
difficult for

foreign shipowners to compete.

Dutch merchantmen, moreover, were

in allegories

engraving

Dutch

from the Baltic and boast-

larger than that

the world's ports.

in

iron

the beggarly wages paid to their captains and crews

Local pride

Rem-

a necessity to him;

Dutch during Rembrandt's time were made

Amsterdam of wood and

ing a capacity of as high as

M

fairly

it.

X
manv

situation that could have appealed to

intimate companionship of a

he could not do without

marriages degenerated

frequent and fanatical housecleanings. while husbands pursued the

guilder. Again, this

I K

least,

unimpassioned arrangements. Wives exhausted their energies

In

1639 Spain, trying to reclaim

its

easily converted into warships.

authority over the northern Nether-

frontispiece lor a history of the city

published
as a

queen

in

66

Amsterdam

regally accepting

figures thai

is

Liitts

personified

from

symbolize lour continents; the

woman

with the parrot represents Asia, the

Moor M

ith

the

queen, Europe;
rolls
i

<

aim

\lriea

Hollander. Although his force was outnumbered,

the kneeling

Indian with two

of tobacco the Americas

is

The bearded

Neptune, the

This armada

was met by about two dozen ships under Admiral Maarten Tromp. a

drive the
I,

mi<\ the

harai tei at low er right

Roman god

lands, sent several score vessels into the English Channel.

there.
in

enemy

into the English roadstead near

to

Dover and pin them

For a month, thousands of Dutch shipwrights worked frantically

the yards along the rivers Scheldt.

men

Tromp managed

tor war,

Maas and

Ij.

fitting

out merchant-

and thev were able to increase Tromp's small

fleet

to 70

ol the sea. s\ robotizing to

\mstcrdamers the oeeans on which

flung trading

empire depended

their far-

combat

vessels.

With

these the

Dutch demolished the Spaniards; only

10 of their badly battered ships survived.

sailed

Tromp. the story goes, then

through the Channel with a broom lashed to

his

masthead

in

token

of his boast that he could sweep the seas clean.

In addition to shipping,

another source of Dutch riches stemmed from

the far-flung ventures of the East and

the East India

ernment

at

The

and

90

the

and equipment

a fleet of

India Companies. In effect.

than the weak central go\

[ague; through the pooling of the funds invested bj

many stockholders,
capital

West

Company swung more weight

some fO

Company
enabling
ships.

its

concentrated the nation's resources of

it

to maintain an

army of $0,000 men

These heavily armed vessels rounded the

Cape of Good Hope and cruised the Indian Ocean, the Java Sea and the
Pacific as far north as Formosa and Japan, establishing fortified outposts
of islands and coastal enclaves.

in scores

Dutch, conservative and cautious

when

long chances

men and
rival

large profits

The

risks

were great but the

other matters, were willing to take

in

might be made. Although thousands of

countless ships were lost to typhoons, tropical diseases, and

adventurers from Portugal and England, the East Indiamen brought

home

fabulous cargoes of

By 1650

indigo and spices.

rice,

Com-

the

pany's stock certificates were returning 500 per cent a year, and

it

was

with complete justification that the statesman-poet Constantin Huvgens

could write:

How com' st tkou, golden swamp, by the abundance of heaven;

Warehouse of East and West,

Two

all

water and all street.

Venices in one, where do thy ramparts end?

Dutch burghers were so

made

ing specially

had

earth, although thev often

the Chinese potters.

and Biblical or
decorations

affluent that they

and

difficulty in

The Dutch

historical scenes

thought nothing of order-

Canton on the opposite

porcelain from

making

side of the

their orders clear to

preferred floral patterns, coats of arms

the

plates

were sometimes used

continually admonished the

Oriental

for wall

craftsmen to

"paint no dragons or other animals" and "avoid your Chinese fantasies."

However, the potters

persisted in producing Biblical heroes in Chinese

robes and hats, and angels with

almond

eyes.

One

wealthy Dutch house-

wife, wishing to replace a dinner service, sent a chipped

cup to China

as

a pattern and in time received her order, fulfilled with absolute fidelity.

Every item had an identical nick

West

In the Americas, the

traders in the East but

still

in

it.

India

Company

fared less well than the

extracted fortunes in

mahogany and sugar

from the coasts of Brazil and Guiana and from the Caribbean
Valuable

furs

Amsterdam, the
ware River

especially beaver
capital of a

and otter

Dutch colony

to the Connecticut

and

islands.

were taken out from New

that extended

as far inland as

from the Dela-

Albany. In 1667, two

Still

thriving todav. the manufacture of

Dutch

tiles

was at

subjects as a

years before Rembrandt's death, the

this colony,

New

New York in
coast.

The

Dutch would be compelled

Netherlands, to the English

who

to cede

would rename

it

exchange for Surinam, a jungle on the South American

loss of

New
it

Netherlands was probably inevitable, but the

it

longer

if

they had administered

with an eye for quick

it

skillfully

profit, failed to build

a strong colonial population and had small idea of

ice-skating.

its

up

potential.

mopping. Thev were so

households that

is

no record that Rembrandt ever invested a guilder

or East India Companies.

in the objects

in

brought

1656

kets, a "great

lists

However,

as

an

artist

home by seafarers. The

the

after Indian miniatures of the

like

delicate

Mogul

powerful chiaroscuro

West

bamboo wind
made at least 20

school, using subtle, al-

washes on Japanese paper.

most European maritime nations

in

them

subordinating such

East Indian bowls, a Japanese helmet, Chinese bas-

also

frequcntlv

interestinglv. never used

he was much interested

He

notablv Jan

included them in their domestic scenes.

quantity" of shells and marine specimens,

most Oriental pen strokes and

The Dutch,

in

common in Dutch

manv artists,

inventory of his possessions

instruments and weapons from the Near East.

drawings

made into

Vermeerand Pieterde Hoogh.

details to his

.here

Rembrandt's

Holland, the tiles served as built-in fireplace

decorations and were also

in his interior settings,

in

bov rolling a hoop and a man

Found in almost even- home in

Rembrandt,

made

peak

baseboards to protect the walls during

Dutch might have retained

Instead, they exploited

its

time. Often thev depicted such lighthearted

Rembrandt's day.

91

effect s.

were heavilv engaged

in the slave trade.

Negroes a vear

florins a

30

at

Thev bought

manv

as

as

5,000

head on the African coast of Angola and

them in the Americas at 300 to 500 a head. Devout, Bible-reading

Dutch captains saw no immorality in the practice and even imagined that

sold

God would

aid

them

When

in adversity.

their chained cargoes, thev

would

tention of the Deitv to the

economic

however, was prohibited

how managed

in

epidemics broke out

muskets into the

fire

losses thev

were

Dutch

freed.

Rembrandt made

and mummers, perhaps during a pageant held

Hague to
and

who

But

exotic.

ment of

if

Negro some-

pen-and-wash drawings of Negro musi1638

in

The

at

celebrate the marriage of a sister of the Princess of Orange. In

these drawings his attention

ful

the at-

he was automatically

soil

cians

several

among

sustaining. Slavery,

the United Provinces, and

to gain the sanctuary of

air to call

was

fixed, as

it

frequently was, on the color-

one painting of Negroes,

his

European hands,

their treatment at

if

not an outright indict-

two

reveals

men

dignified

obviously have Rembrandt's respect and svmpathv.

At a time when the Netherlands was regarded

as the richest nation in

Europe, the great prosperity of the upper classes did not descend to the
lower. Peasants and urban laborers endured poverty and hardship

com-

parable to that in England a century later at the start of the Industrial

By 1640 Rembrandt's

Revolution.

workers, most of whom lived

tile

In a traffic that

was

little

birthplace of Leiden had 20,000 tex-

huts furnished onlv with straw

in

from the slave

different

work

in the mills; in

one decade, Leiden alone imported 4,000 of

them, procured from Liege by one businessman.

was

bv

scarcely pricked

officials

in

whose

"espite their

cal rebellions,

The Dutch
1646

in

it

work more than 14 hours

in their

windows, "for

may

hearts the sight

a day. In

that

Am-

must not over-

fear of

saddening

arouse covetous instincts."

penury and their occasional unsuccessful

Dutch workers remained

conscience

was decreed

ruled that bakers of fancv cakes

decorate the wares displayed

poor people

although

this practice,

children should not be forced to

sterdam, city

were

Germany

"recruited" from the highways and orphanages of Flanders and

to

litter.

trade, children

so

strikes

foreigners noted

and

lo-

remark-

ably good-humored. Seemingly unaffected by the puritanical morality of

Although painting was tlu-.m form most

popular

iih ilu

iti

hobb)

amateur artists was glass engraving

iih h

roemcr,

Rotterdam
I

le

<>r v,

from

Jacques <

allot,

beautiful!) that

piece

rhis

li\

he

but he executed
it is

now

tin-

prized as a

ins<

ribed

.1

name and

then signed his

\l

who

could be readily understood by Rembrandt, the miller's son

want to give

an

.1

Idei

hie>

This

is

his station."

my mind

and

who

diversion, then

not to imply that the

shops

his

spent

little at

it is

said to

is

not honor

museum

ement,

artist

was

have remarked. "If

I

seek, but

a frequenter of the

biographer Houbraken makes

work so

couplet below the

two figures praising his own a<

exec ution

.1

the French etcher

rhe hobbyist was so proud ol the

result thai

men

who

would not "keep

incised b)

to.duel beneai

prim

.1

.is

the two irritable

his motil

gnomes preparing
arboi

the upper classes, they were sturdy brawlers and drinkers, the sort of

freedom."

mcr< hant and tax collector

flax

borrowed

ine goblet,

ol

intellectuals,

taverns"

Among

lolland gin-

point of recording that "he

or that he did not also seek out the companj

the latter were a

number

oi

of Protestant theologians.

including Jan Cornelis Sylvius, Cornelis Claesz Anslo and Jan Uytenbogaert,
too. with

whose

le was on good terms.

community who lived near

portraits he etched or painted.

members

of the well-to-do Jewish

the date ol
I

659

the St
\t

Anthonicsbrccstr.i.n
this time,

intolerance

was

where

most of the Jews

leveled

primanK

at

his

m
(

house stood.
the Netherlands

'athohes

where

religious

were Spanish and Portu-

guese Jews. or'Sephardim, refugees from persecution

in

the

Iberian

Manv.

peninsula.

like

Rembrandt's friend Menasseh ben

were men of considerable learning and

who

north-European Jews, or Ashkenazim,

that part of the continent

Rembrandt appears to have had

wide

the Sephardim. including scholars with

Testament

Jews

in friendly

at least

for the love of

had

and whose cultural

Israel, a writer,

There were

sensitivity.

fled

among

of acquaintances

circle

in

was somewhat lower.

level

whom

some

also

from countries

he could discuss the Old

and advanced terms. Through

his contacts

with

35 of his portraits of them survive, most probablv painted

it

on commission

rather than

vinced that these

men

Testament from

whom

Rembrandt

became conOld

physically resembled the great figures of the

thev were descended, and that idealized Renais-

sance versions of Jewish heroes were incorrect. This conviction caused

him

make some

to

example,

is

of his rare deviations from Biblical

described in the

Old Testament

soothe the half-mad King Saul (pages 174-175), the

for

quarter

VJo

David a voung man

who was not

known about Rembrandt

little is

tured about his attitude toward

he had

world

frail

as

and dark-haired.

much

that not

Amsterdam

can be ven-

else

society in general except that

which material success was equated with

habits he seems to have been an abstemious

The Dutch, although

ments.

harp to

used

enthusiasm for a conformist and essentially hypocritical

little

in

his

artist

presumably from the Amsterdam Jewish

not handsome, but

fair,

David, for

and handsome; how-

as fair

Rembrandt's magnificent painting of David playing

ever, in

model

text.

execrable cooks,

visitors

were prodigious

man

virtue. In his personal

of fairly simple require-

from abroad found them to be

eaters.

Yet Rembrandt, according to

Houbraken, "lived but simply, often content with some bread and
cheese or a pickled herring as his whole meal." His round face suggests
that he

was

also

plump

in

body;

his full-length self-portrait in Oriental

costume (page 10) would seem to confirm the notion. However, he mav
well have chosen to exaggerate his girth in that painting for artistic rea-

drawn sketch of him-

sons. In another full-length portrait, a powerfully

self in

studio

the drawing

attire,

he also appears to be rotund. But the season

was made

is

unknown;

was undoubtedly swaddled

observe that "the true

world.

He

was made

in winter.

in

which

Rembrandt

of clothing to protect himself from

in layers

the penetrating cold and damp.

later to

if it

The British writer Oliver Goldsmith was

Dutchman cuts the strangest figure in the

wears no coat but seven waistcoats and nine pairs of

trousers, so that his

haunches

somewhere under

start

The

his armpits."

One bv-product of the craze for tulips that

inexplicably swept the
1

630s was

this

Dutch nation

in

the

resplendent tulip vase

Probablv fashioned for a

rich burgher,

it is

Delftw are version of a Chinese pagoda Fach

probability

is

that

Rembrandt was

a stocky rather than a fleshy

The tremendous energy he expended

in his

work does not

man.

coincide with

for

its

10 compartments, stacked

elaborate

Rembrandt's personality,

at least as

it

emerges from the scanty

art,

it

appears that he did not suffer

and that he detested interruptions. Baldinucci reports

second hand) that he was "different

in his

people as regards self-control." and that

have granted an audience to the

i*.

like

an

actually a separate

coveted and so costly were some of the bulbs

that a tine

evidence to be found outside his

fools gladly

wedding cake.

\ase holding four blossoms. But so rare, so

the idea of flabbiness.

As

of

first

(at

mental make-up from other

when he worked "he would

monarch

in

the world,

house could be purchased for the

price of onlv three exotic specimens,

kir.ii's

stock

all

of the

tiers

of this vase.

not

who would

have had to return and return again until he had found him no longer

engaged upon the work." Rembrandt could also be abrupt

in

and a

ransom would have beep needed to

dealing with

9>

In

clients.

1654 he became involved

who had

merchant. Diego Andrada.

and given Rembrandt a 75-guilder deposit for

he decided that

result,

painting be reworked

Andrada.

agreed that

it

He

settled,

but

it

a proper likeness and asked that the

would, he

Guild of

There

auction.

no record of

is

Rembrandt was not

Of

outlook on

his

work became not melancholv but

flecting the

mood

of a

they

if

Furthermore,

man who

life

richer,

how

if

the matter was

bowing and

the verge
scraping.

only a small insight into the

far greater relevance are the tragedies in

world that tempered

it.

when he was on

time

at a

in the habit of

Ihe
.he dispute with Senhor Andrada provides
artist.

Luke, and

St.

he would change

likeness,

does appear that even

of bankruptcv.

be willing to submit the work

said,

arrangement. Rembrandt would keep the paint-

like that

sell it at

girl

Andrada saw the

monev be returned. Rembrandt told

not much care for the opinions of any

his fellow artists of the

was a poor

Andrada did not

ing and

he did

in effect, that

committee of

When

it.

or that his

Portuguese merchant.
to a

was not

it

with a Portuguese

in a dispute

ordered a portrait of a voung

and

art

Rembrandt's private

during the

640s. His

deeper and more restrained,

re-

has heard '"Time's winged chariot hurry-

ing near." In the seven vears between 1635 and 1642. death struck at his

family

He

six times.

lost his three infant children, his

van Uvlenburgh.

favorite sister-in-law. Titia

Rembrandt's household: he named

visitor in

born the year she died,

With extraordinary and

of her during her
exactly as he

mous
and

his

Rembrandt made an etching

rendering her sunken, death-haunted eves

own. and

a beautiful posthu-

though to obliterate the memory of her suffering

for this

he used the most precious surface he could

find,

and costly mahogany panel.

This long siege of

illnesses

and deaths cannot have

impact on Rembrandt, although

its

came the worst of

saw them. The following vear he made

portrait of her. as

a rare

had been a frequent

few weeks before her 30th birthday.

painful objectivity

final illness,

his

onlv surviving son Titus,

her honor. Finally, in 1642.

in

calamities, the death of Saskia. a

all

who

his

mother and

against the prodigal stvle of

life

his increasing

of his

first

failed to

have had

age and his reaction

vears in

Amsterdam must

have affected him as well. Nonetheless, he did not remain depressed.

About

a vear after Saskia's death

he was able to produce a drawing called

The Widower, a delightfullv humorous work that shows a man attempting to spoon-feed an infant with the frustration of a plasterer trying to
a hole in a wall that sometimes clamps shut and at other times

fill

some

about. Although
brandt's

own

scholars relate The

situation, the

drawing

reason to suppose that the infant

drawing
his

work
\

is

that

reveals a

it

in cruel

man

is

is

Widower

moves

directly to

not a self-portrait, and there

Titus.

What

is

significant

Remis

no

about the

with the spiritual strength to resume

circumstances

few days before her death. Saskia made

kindliest of feelings

a will,

no doubt with the

toward her husband, that would

great difficulty. According to the

common

later

cause him

law. half of their joint estate

belonged to Rembrandt, while Saskia was permitted to dispose of her half

as

she saw

tit

She

receive the interest

04

left

from

it

it

to Titus, stipulating that her

until Titus

husband should

married or came of age In drawing

up the
cess

she could not have foreseen that Rembrandt's financial suc-

will,

would not continue. Thus, perhaps assuming

that her

husband would

never have trouble providing for their bov. Saskia added a further stipulation:

if

Rembrandt were

Not long

widow

terical
allv

woman

in

his

he to care for an infant? Accordinglv. he hired a

named Geertghe

nurse
the

it

The Widower: with no

light of in

how was

would go not

would go the interest.

Rembrandt was confronted with the
and with

sisters,

after Saskia's death.

problem he made
household,

to remarrv. her half of the estate

one of her

to Titus but to

who was

Dircx.

probablv of peasant stock, and

of a trumpeter. Apparentlv she had a difficult and even hvs-

temperament. Rembrandt made two drawings of a

woman

gener-

thought to be Geertghe. In one. she appears heaw-faced. with an

abstracted look; in the other, her back

turned to the

is

artist.

Geertghe probablv entered Rembrandt's household around 1642; but

she became a burden to him. and after seven vears he dismissed her. She

then brought a lawsuit against him. maintaining that he had promised to

marrv her and had given her a ring

denied the allegation. In

he done

so.

fact,

token of

in

he was

in

his intent.

Rembrandt

Had

no position to remarrv.

he would have been obliged, under the terms of Saskia's

to forfeit the

Although the income was not

large.

will.

voung son's inheritance.

Rembrandt was alreadv in straitened

income he was receiving from

his

circumstances and needed everv guilder he could get. Despite his denial
of anv promise to Geertghe. the Dutch court was unconvinced, and he

was ordered to pav 200 guilders

a vear for her support. In

town of Gouda;

confined to a house of correction in the

1650 she was

there

is

good

reason to believe that Rembrandt was responsible for her commitment.

him from

In anv event, this circumstance did not free

his obligation.

He

continued to pav for her maintenance until her release in 1655.

This self-portrait of Rembrandt

kJome

time

in

the

mid-1 640s Rembrandt had brought

woman named Hendrickje

The daughter of a soldier from

household a second

him

as a

maid.

Stoffels.

From what mav be

discerned

in

served

first

temperament from

Rembrandt's manv drawings

and paintings of Hendrickje. she was a gentle, simple, warm-hearted

dentlv her relationship to

til

soul,

him

model

to wife in

Rembrandt verv soon changed from

all

still

in

references to his craft

characterizations

rare
new

(The

artist,

Cornelia

II.

gave that

name

series

of self-portraits he

made during his

last

decades.

her earlv twenties. Hendrickje

who died in infancy, and two vears later

who survived both Rembrandt and herself.
I

and

to Hendrickje's daughter as well.)

Bv 1648 Rembrandt had more or less reassessed his world and his
The etching he made of himself at that time reveals a man who is
not melancholv. but who knows misfortune: not grim, but charged with
an awesome determination. In his personal life he was sustained bv the

art.

presence of Hendrickje and of Titus,

and

as

other

an

artist

in

whom

he took immense delight,

he was about to enter a new realm of creation that

men have been

work, the

in this

beginning of the

that of

unshaken bv the deaths of Saskia's children Cornelia

in earlier self-

searching analysis

of personality appears

bore him an illegitimate child,

she bore another, a daughter,

42 shows

etching needle. Along with the practical

but name, and she remained with him un-

her death at 37 in 1663. While

at

window, holding an

at his studio

be the companion of an increasinglv troubled man. Evi-

ideallv suited to

servant to

his

Bredevoort, she was 20

vears vounger than the artist and of a far different

Geertghe.

who

into

few-

privileged to discover.

95

D.utchmen of the
landscape pictures.
sensitiye.

own

Many thousands of these works,

simple and

connoisseurs.

So

7th Century were extremeh' fond of

of charm,

full

great

was the yogue

time that landscape,

into sub-specialties.

still

suryrve to delight

for

them

itself a specialty,

Some artists

in their

was diyided

dealt only in scenes of

canals and dunes; others concentrated

Landscapes:

Real and

Romantic

on town

panoramas, marine views, woods, winter pictures or

moonlit ones.

Rembrandt's involvement with landscape

lasted less

than 20 years, from his early 30s to his late 40s. His

outdoor scenes constitute

total production, yet

little

more than

a tenth of his

they reveal the same wide-ranging

quality that marks his

work

in

other

fields.

Some

of

Rembrandt's landscapes are romantic and visionary;

others are wholly

With

realistic.

rare exceptions, he used the

to express his

medium

more imaginative concepts of

of

paint

oil

He

nature.

reserved his realism in landscapes almost entirely for

This pen and

etchings and drawings. Even here, however, he developed

a tree,

"shorthand" style that went beyond mere

reproduction.

Not only

faithful

did he reduce the complexities of

wash draw

combines Rembrandt's
for the

dramatic with

appreciation ot the

.1

nig
c.irh rl.ur

tresh

homeh

charm of his native countryside.

the visible scene, but, through a process of exquisite

selection, he

emphasized what was important

scene, providing the viewer with exactly the material,

none

other, that enables

the artist's world.

96

him

to follow

The passing storm

in that

Rembrandt

hast\

and

is

people with deliberate M\d

affectionate precision

into

drawn w

ith

lolence. the cottages and

97

Six's Bridge,

164?

<a*

View over the Ij from

"n

enlarged,
Ij

c.

Rembrandt's excursions into the open country around

Amsterdam he
river

the Diemerdijk,

is

frequently followed the waterways. Above, slightly

drawing of the early

650s, showing the expanse of the

and the small town of Spaarndam on the

horizon divides the picture almost exactly

effective device for

landscape.

With

far shore.

in half,

emphasizing the overpowering

his

economy of line. Rembrandt

The

an especially
flatness of the

has only to note

the bending of a few reeds in the foreground to evoke the clean

breeze that washes over

all.

Bv

reiving

on blank

areas of his paper

and a few sensitively placed accents, he suggests the lightness of the

air,

while bv leaving untouched the whiteness of the surfaces of a

few crude boards, he

The etching at
famous

instantly

summons up

slightly

reduced from

left,

Six's Bridge,

hour or two while

the idea of sunlight.

its

actual size,

visiting the

the

country estate of his friend Jan

Here again the artist's extraordinary economy of means

These

is

which Rembrandt purportedly produced

are not particular but generic trees,

is

in

an

Six.

apparent.

and the bare rigging of the

boat responds not to any one meteorological condition of the day

but to the eternal winds that Shakespeare called "viewless."

99

II

6 50- 1653

The Windmill, 1641

'

The

100

Omul. 1645

A,

.t first

glance, these three scenes

summing-up of the most

countryside,

still

familiar to travelers in

windmill, a low-lying village

wintertime. Yet each in

its

Rembrandt's complexity

Windmill (opposite,
study

seem no more than a

typical aspects of the

top)

in personality;

standing guard over

is

Dutch

Holland today: a

vista, a placid

farm

in

own way says something about

as

an

artist.

His etching of The

no mere representation but a

the mill becomes a sturdy sentinel

its

owner's fortunes.

The etching

more than a simple view of a

hamlet near Amsterdam called The Omval; but
Rembrandt has hidden two lovers in the dark recesses of
below

it is

ostensibly no

the willow at

left,

and

in

the prominence given the figure

on the riverbank he makes

bond between man and

a point

He reverts to this theme in the

work

that

is

an exception anions

for several reasons. It

is

about the inexorable

nature.

Winter Scene above,

his

one of Rembrandt's

rare ventures

into landscape realism in a painting moreover, he

in tinv

dimensions

it is

shown

actual size

when he was producing canvases

and, unlike most of his

painted landscapes

fully

in a

50 times

more ambitious

made

it

period

as large;

landscapes,

it 1^

signed and dated. In the self-confidence of his maturity,

Rembrandt seemed

to be offering this

testimony of his abilitv to break with

little

his

work

own

as

artistic past

whenever he so chose.

101

w,

'hen Rembrandt wished to

take a romantic approach to

nature, as he did in

most of his

landscape paintings, he pulled

out

all

Stormy

the stops. His

landscape has no real relation to

the Dutch scene; instead

it

tenures skull-eyed ruins.

decaying towers and

tist

general

-shaking vehemence. In this

work Rembrandt was notably

influenced

by the fantastic

panoramic landscapes
predecessor

ot his

lercules Seghers.

One admiring Dutch

contemporary, trying to explain
the broad

sweep ami imaginative

scope of Seghers'
that "it

is

as

wrote

vistas,

ifheweni pregnant

with entire provinces to which he

gave birth with enormous

expanses, strangely
illustrated.

description that

." It

is

sums up

Rembrandt's visionary
landscapes as well however, he
.

abandoned

when

In-

this

type ol painting

was aboui

returned to

it.

102

and never

Stormy Landscape,

105

c.

165

1(14

V
An

Exploration

of Styles

customary and convenient to compartmentalize the lifework of

It is

ists

youth, middle, mature, late

impertinent about
brandt,

whose

some

is

also

This seems particularly true

it.

artistic

legacy

celestial

was so

dark

and

large

The thought

self-explanation or defense.

hence, in

but there

who

in

the case of

left

so few

of encountering the

Rem-

words of

artist

ages

who

pre-

should give pause to anyone

alley,

art-

something colossallv

sumes to make pronouncements about him now.

What follows,

it

should quickly be

said,

is

not an individual judgment

but a consensus. Perhaps without exception, students of Rembrandt

agree that he did indeed have a "middle" or "'transitional" period, and
that this occurred approximately

the

42nd years of his

of the transition

life.

He

is

between 1640 and 1648, the 34th to

also general

the problems he faced and

Rembrandt was an
tradition.

There

artist

agreement

as to the nature

resolved.

of the Baroque; he was born and died in that

could no more have escaped the Baroque than anv

can escape the style of his time. Around

artist

640, however, having explored

and employed the Baroque elements of turbulent motion, dramatic diagonals, curving lines

other means

He found the means

the masters of the Renaissance.

Baroque elements and

was
1

far

at

Dutchman

Himself. Early versions stress

his maturity.

stresses

mature work

the Saviour's serenity.

If

classical ran

never became an outright

too independent of mind, too

7th Century

tain classical devices that

revelation; this

Throughout the 1640s Rem-

tendency to the

together

the end of the decade the classical became pre-

To be sure, Rembrandt

resurrected Christ revealed

moment of

his

feelings

by looking back to the

sometimes mingling, sometimes with one assuming ascendancv

dominant.
A favorite Rembrandt theme was

more profound

in classicism,

brandt's

over the other, until

the excitement of the

and shadow. Rembrandt sought

work of
in his art,

Emmaus. where the

light

of expressing the simpler, quieter,

within himself.

the supper at

and clashing

for that.

much

realist,

classicist;

he

and too much a

But slowly he did come to accept

cer-

he found suited to the calmness and wisdom of

one reads the accounts of Rembrandt's early biographers or looks at

of his early pictures, it seems remarkable that he ever accepted any-

many

What the German artist Joachim von

Amsterdam, wrote about him had some truth

thing from the classical world.

Christ at

Emmaus, 1648

Sandrart,

who knew him

in

105

mm

in

"[Rembrandt] did not hesitate to oppose and contradict our

it:

such

art

tive

as

anatomy and the proportions of the human body

and the usefulness of

judicious pictorial disposition, and the academies

necessary for our

ly

which are so

from

Indeed,

profession."

drawing and

Raphael's

statues,

classical

tended to

His etching of a pot-bellied Nude Seated on a

Works of

Andries Pels had

He chose

human

antithetical

poem

in a

Mound

the goddess-types

to

of

being whose body, seemof the

were no doubt what the Dutch writer

this sort

mind

in

Rembrandt

ferred to

was

custard,

ingly soft as

years

pronounced vein of anti-classicism that sometimes ex-

about 1631 (page 152) reveals a gross

Renaissance.

particular-

earliest

his

Rembrandt had
satire.

rules of

perspec-

published

1681

in

in

which he

re-

thus:

no Greek Venus as his model,

But rather a washerwoman or a treader of peat from a barn

And called this whim

Everything

else to

"imitation of nature."

him was

idle

ornament. Flabby

breasts,

Ill-shaped hands, nay, the traces of the lacings

Of the

corsets

Must be
This

is

on the stomach, of the garters on the

visible, if nature

his nature,

was

to get

legs,

her due.

which would stand no

rules.

No principles ofproportion in the human body.

.embrandt objected not only to the implausible

also to classical pictorial cliches.

abound

and

in rapes,

classical

nude, but

For example, the myths of antiquity

classical painters

could hardly avoid this subject; in

fact they welcomed the opportunity it provided for drama. In conventional rape scenes it was customary for the victims to throw their arms in

Y-shape

own Rape

this

was

is

drew the

Up by the
ing,

and from

annoyed

w Inch has often been regarded

come from

grotesque works ever to

is

what might today be

as

woman

drawing the

this

inspiration for a mythological painting.

Eagle,

cheek with the

at his

wonderfully animated scene of an

that the painting

art-

Ganymede Caught

one of the most

hand. But

revolt-

is

highly likely

called a "put-on."

Michelange-

his

it

Correggio, Rubens and other painters had been able to treat seriousl)

lo,

the

myth

oi

Ganymede, the youthful

the lecherous god Zeus,

in

Olympus; Rembrandt could

prince

who was

so

handsome

the guise of an eagle, flew oil with

not.

lous in the idea of a muscular

in

for

genre drawings of around 1635, The Scream-

struggling with a squalling, kicking brat

ist

his

showed her clutching

one hand while she clawed

One of Rembrandt's

ing Boy.

up a struggle? In

incredible: does not a lady put

of Proserpine of the early 1630s he

Pluto's throat with

other.

To

the air to indicate the dire fate that was overtaking them.

in

Rembrandt

that

him

to

Apparently he found something ridicu-

young hero about

mid-air by a gigantic bird. Rembrandt's

to be sexuall) assaulted

Ganymede

is

not a Greek

hero but the above-mentioned Amsterdam brat, and the entire painting

which onl) the most forthright of Dutch burghers would have wanted
hung permanently in his house is not dramatic but coarsely funny.
Rembrandt's anti-classicism, however, was by no means all-inclusive
it

106

simply reflected the view of a

man who

believed what he saw

in

the

world around him and refused to believe what was manifestly

the context of

least in

silly

aside the elements of classicism that he found ludicrous, there

had been made

at

set
re-

still

He

had a large collection of

prints

after the paintings of

such Renaissance giants

as

mained much that he deeply admired.

that

Rembrandt had

7th Century Holland. After

Ti-

Leonardo, Mantegna, Diirer and (Sandrart's statement to the

tian,

He made

contrary) Raphael.

both close and free copies of these prints

and on several occasions used their motifs

own

in his

in his

own

He

work.

collection (Sandrart again to the contrary) a

of antique statues and busts, which he employed as models

not

had

also

number of

casts

order

in

to echo their unlikely physical perfection, but because of the stimulus

they gave to his

spirit, as in

world were

classical

qualities but

came

and solemnity, of the

qualities of breadth, simplicity

Or

timeless and the true.

the

the Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer

But primarily what the mature Rembrandt took from the

(page 125).

perhaps more accurately, he did not take these

to share them, as have

Western

great

all

artists

from

5th Century to the 20th.

foreshadowing of

clear

toward classicism can be seen

his turn

Rembrandt's Self-Portrait of 1 640 (page

for sale at an

had more than a passing interest

unsuccessfully for

margin that

it

it;

A year

earlier

in

Amsterdam

in the painting

Rembrandt

auction.

he made a hasty pen sketch of

it

and noted

in the

brought the high price of 3,500 guilders. Around the same

peared on the lively

Amsterdam

art

market

his Self-Portrait has great

is

roughly pyramidal,

sill

as

his face

on which Rembrandt

and even of his

He

soon
his

#qhS

*+J^**
'**)
tffi^tfb+^-i*
:

calm and balance. The composition of the

Raphael or Titian might have made

and there are stabilizing horizontal

stone

in the late 1630s.

and Titian's works into

translated the classical spirit of Raphael's

picture

j/'V"

and may even have bid

time he must have seen Titian's so-called Portrait of Ariosto, which ap-

own:

->

he had seen a

by Raphael, painted around 1515,

portrait of Baldassare Castiglione

which had been offered

12).

lines typical of the

rests his

arm, the arm

it,

Renaissance: the
the lines of

itself,

At an

art auction in

this sketch of

Italian

hat.

163 9

Rembrandt made

Baldassare Castiglione. an

diplomat and writer, from a portrait

bv Raphael.

The hurried copv

Rembrandt's increasing

Renaissance painters, whose

Ihe
.he appearance of classical
signal that

would not

classical

in

one

Rembrandt had suddenly taken

painting, however, did not

new

direction in his art and

retrace his steps. His "transitional" period

he alternated between one

ture, the

elements

mood and

was a time when

another. In his most famous pic-

in

the background architecture

can be

seen.

The

painting

is

Amsterdam's busv

scnbbhngon

art

market. His

this sketch indicates that the

Raphael was part of the collection of a

prominent Amsterdam connoisseur.

masterpiece of the Baroque.

Since this celebrated

and since those

that

it

is

who

work

will

always be

have not seen

it

known by

an incorrect

title,

continue to believe, quite logically,

a nocturnal scene, a discussion of

its

name and

seems worthwhile before turning to the painting

itself. Its

its

"darkness"

formal

title is

The Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van
Ruytenburch, and not until late in the 18th Century did it acquire the

name by which
"Watch"

it

are wrong.

is

now known.

The

civic guards

Unfortunately, both "Night" and

who

Rembrandt painted them, become quite

sary for

them

are depicted had, bv the time

pacific;

to defend the ramparts of

it

was no longer neces-

Amsterdam or

to

work he was

occasionally exposed to at the auctions in

Night Watch of 1642 (pages 75, 82-85), only a hint of the

reflects

interest in the Italian

go out on

107

watches bv night or bv day. Their meetings had been diverted chiefly to

social or sporting purposes;

if

thev

destination in the painting,

it

is

shooting contest or to take part

"Night"

even

is

darkened bv

and

dirt

be said to have anv particular

apt than "'Watch."

When

lavers of varnish that

the

was

it

in

end of World War

II

and the pub-

critics

had become so

canvas

to the painting, the

until after the

came from the sun or

was the painting fullv re-

refreshed work, journalists promptlv re-christened

Rembrandt, possiblv more than am' other

had when

work, not

monotonous

his.

and so too

colorist

who

is

it

artist,

"Day Watch.")

the

has suffered from the

The infamous "Rembrandt brown"

ministrations of picture restorers.

is

it

Rembrandt's hand more than 300 vears before. (Upon seeing the

left

their

whether

difficult to tell

it

stored so that the viewer could get an idea of the brightness

it

fields for a

in a parade.

Rembrandt had provided

the illumination

moon. Not

less

word

attached that

lic

mav

perhaps to march into the

worked with

invariably

a low-keved palette.

true that the forceful use of chiaroscuro in his paintings, with

on the mvsterious. evocative

phasis

disturbed certain

Ruskin. the

9th Centurv English art

perb knack for being

wrong

and

critic

in just the right

its

It

em-

of shadow, has always

qualities

and so occasionally has

critics,

is

the widespread impression that he was a

his subject matter.

essavist.

who

John

had a su-

words, remarked that

"it

is

the aim of the best painters to paint the noblest things thev can see bv

Rembrandt to paint the foulest things he could see bv

However even Ruskin. if he had seen a cleaned Rembrandt
panel or canvas, might have directed some of his vitriol at the men who
applied laver upon laver of toned varnish on the artist's pictures. In the
past generation not onlv the Night Watch but manv other Rembrandt

sunlight, but of

rushlight."

paintings have been stripped of their dirtv and discolored overlays

a consequent reappraisal

.here

bv

an understandable,

is

not a good, reason

if

why Rembrandt's

works were so slathered with varnish. As he matured he became

inglv free in his technique, using bold strokes, passages of

heavy impasto applied with the palette

his ringers.

the late
tv.

7th and

would make
to

frightened
you.' "

and areas scumbled with

and colors

who wanted

away by

The

attributed

his

probability

to laxness or pervcrsi-

fuse.

According to Houbraken,

look

to

that

at

his

ot

works

is

closely

the colors

Rembrandt was not

about the smell of fresh paint, which

work

so that the intervening space

saying, 'The smell

is

it

critics ot

to have suggested indirectly that his

at a slight distance,

his strokes

studio

his

who

8th Centuries,

was to be observed

tors

knife,

increas-

broken color.

This highlv personal stvle proved a m\ Men to most

Rembrandt himself seems

with

of his genius as a colorist.

critics

pleasant to

at

many

will

all

"visi-

were
bother

concerned

people, but that

he did not care to answer dim questions from his guests.

lo their

credit,

it

should be recorded that there w ere

w ho admired Rembrandt's rough strokes and

writer on

Man's

art.

John I. Num. published

lead. b\

a few early critics

700 an English
dedicated to " \n Old

said so. In

poem

Rembrant":

What

a coarse rugged

ay of Painting's here,

Stroaks upon Stroaks, Dabbs upon Dabbs appeal

08

The Work you'd think was huddled up

But mark how

truly ev'ry Colour

With such Oeconomy

in haste.

placed,

in such a sort,

That they each mutually support.

Rembrant! thy Pencil plays a

This Roughness

One

two

or

is

Part

subtil

contriv'd to hide thy Art.

Rembrandt's era agreed that

theorists of

his paintings, in

rugged Way," would appear more coherent

their "coarse

if

one stepped

back from them, but they noted that a similar coherence could be obtained

As

with varnish.

Rembrandt's death

many

applied to

fortunate

by

more than

for

result,

liberal applications

of his paintings bv dealers and

collectors. Theoreticallv, the

stvle

areas.

he would ultimatelv

full

its

and complex

what

paint

on page
it

80,

some wonderin

it

the freest

achieve. Nonetheless, this masterpiece received

gallonage of Golden

color plate

even more un-

is

contains

it

Rembrandt did not

Glow and

(How

Toner.

brandt's paintings suffered from such applications

the varnishers.

after

Night Watch should not have

been a candidate for such treatment. Although

fully rich

century

of varnish, frequently tinted, were

which shows

must be

severely

may be

Rem-

seen in the

a half-cleaned work.) In fairness to

said that their intention

was

to protect the

"improve" certain of them by making

paintings from dirt as well as to

the strokes and colors blend. Inadvertently, the varnishers also rendered a
great service to the world of

art.

when

In 1911,

Watch was

the Niqbt

still

covered with a thick layer of hardened varnish, an unemployed ship's

cook went

at

it

with a

of apparent madness

was

not.

tacker

But

its

knife.

He seems

bevond the

to have had no reason for this act

fact that

the painting was famous and he

surface coating proved as resistant as glass, and the at-

was unable to cut through

it.

The Night Watch was commissioned by Captain Banning Cocq and

members of his civic guards; that this was the total of Rembrandt's
clients for the work is assumed from the fact that
8 names, added by an
unknown hand after the painting was completed, appear on a shield on
17

the background wall. Doubtless the

in

which each member would be

not of equal prominence;

ior

members of a group

for

which they paid

less

it

guardsmen expected

group portrait

clearly recognizable, although perhaps

was often the

practice for less affluent or jun-

to be represented only by heads or partial figures,

than did those

who were

portrayed

full length.

The guardsmen, most of whom must have been familiar with Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp of a decade earlier, may also have
foreseen that the artist

would not produce

none of them could have been prepared

a standard, static painting.

for the

But

thunderous masterwork

with which thev were confronted.

.he Night

proximatelv

Watch
1

by

is

colossal. In

6 feet

16 other figures added by

already tumultuous scene.

its

original dimensions

and contained not only the

Rembrandt
It

was by

to give

far

it

measured ap-

guardsmen but

more animation

to an

the most revolutionary painting

Rembrandt had yet made, transforming the

trait into

still

traditional

Dutch group por-

a dazzling blaze of light, color and motion, and subordinating

the requirements of orthodox portraiture to a far larger,

more complex

109

but

Rembrandt's hands what was.

unified whole. In

still

monplace

affair

became

filled

drum and musket,

the sound of

after

all,

the thud of ramrods, the barking of a

Cocq

dog, the cries of children. In the forefront Captain Banning

and

with a red sash

black,

drive of the

unformed

still

converging diagonal

his lieutenant in

The

ranks.

on the

lines:

the captain's

left,

and the banner. The

effect

and the lance

line repeated

staff, its

on the viewer

is

by

reinforced

still

higher; and

above by another musket

he

direct;

is

in

foreshortened spontoon in

right, the
it

yellow lead the forward

movement

sense of

the lieutenant's hand, the musket above

on the

com-

with Baroque pictorial splendor, loud with

he had

feels that

best get out of the way.

The powerful
ment, but
in

many

others,

He

point.

shadow

from an

by the

cast

at

is

shadow of the

The

picture

captain's

own

The

sun-god."

hand on the lieutenant's coat might suggest

an apparent angle of about 45 degrees to the

but

left,

captain's extended leg indicates quite a different angle.

was of course composed and painted indoors, not while the

ticular detail

may be

true to nature, that

regulated and manipulated light

move-

a strictly logical view-

"his

critic,

posed for him out of doors, and although

officers

studio

from

esthetic rather than

was, in the phrase of one

that the sun

the

contrast of light and shade heightens the sense of

well to regard Rembrandt's use of light in this painting, as

it is

for his

own

is

opening or

his lighting in

any par-

He

not the case overall.

closing the shutters in his

purpose, which was to create an atmosphere both

dreamlike and dramatic.

The Night Watch

of all

the center of the most persistent and annoving

lies at

Rembrandt myths. As

recently as the tourist season of 1967,

Roval Dutch Airlines featured the painting by their

man

an advertisement inviting travelers to

in

Holland. "See Night

visit

Watch," said the advertisement, "Rembrandt's spectacular

caused him to be] hooted

has been attacked by various

down

critics,

Critics.

But since the

few of Professor

and a few years ago

wrote a word

in dispraise

had a watercolor made of

copy of

London,

it

in

it

was

utterly de-

Rembrandt and His

tale has a phoenixlike capacitv for self-resurrection,

he painting was not poorlv received; no

oil

The mvth

Slive's observations will bear repeating here.

lifetime

'failure' [that

the road to bankruptcy'. "

molished by Professor Seymour Slive of Harvard

KLM

country-

illustrious

it

of

it.

during Rembrandt's

critic

Captain Banning Cocq himself

album, and a contemporary

for his personal

by Gerrit Lundens, now owned by the National Gallery

offers further

was never hidden

in

in

proof of the picture's popularity. The Night Watch

some obscure

location;

it

was

first

hung

klo-

in the

veniersdoelen, the headquarters of the civic guardsmen, and in 1715

was moved to the Amsterdam town

have been found for

no doubt
suits.

it.

hall, as

(Probably on the occasion of

for reasons of space, the painting

The

greatest loss

prominent

was on the

containing three figures,

left,

where

was

cut

a strip

its

Prince ol

10

about two

was removed.) Nor did painting

lor

two smaller works.

all

feet

this

tour

wide,

supposed

Rembrandt

,600 guilders for the Night Watch, and four years

Orange gave him 2.400

and

transferral,

down on

"failure" result in any abrupt withdrawal of patronage;

ceived about

it

a place as could

re-

later the

The fable of the Night Watch may owe

that

it is

ter.

In

1642 Rembrandt was

thereafter he slowlv

One

the

at

height

of his

faet

complex mat-

and

popularitv.

What were

the reasons for his "de-

of them, certainlv. was a change in Dutch tastes in

During the 1640s wealthv

security,

stubborn survival to the

out of public favor, though never to the extent

fell

that romantic biographers suggest.

cline"

its

means of disposing of

a simple and convenient

citizens,

perhaps growing a

trifle soft in

art.

their

developed a fondness for showiness and elegance. They began

and graceful manner that had been

to prefer the bright colors

initiated

such painters as the fashionable Flemish portraitist Anthonv van

who. however

fine

an

artist,

of chiaroscuro dissatisfied

them

what

they devote

some thought

to

kjeveral of Rembrandt's

Dvck

lacked Rembrandt's depth. Rembrandt's use

who seemed

"dark" and

by

too,

and thev turned away from an

was perhaps worse

what thev were looking

that

at.

among them Jacob Backer and

pupils,

artist

demanded

nand Bol. were quick to adapt themselves to the new

Ferdi-

taste for elegant,

highly finished pictures and soon began to receive richer commissions

than their master. There

is

no evidence that Rembrandt ever expressed

the slightest resentment of this; indeed,

studio props to others

not

make

concessions in his

creasingly acute.

On

the financial future

found.

even though

art,

the contrary, while the

lay, his

Not many Dutch

work became

rapport with him. In the late

widowed

Princess of

Orange

Huis ten Bosch ("the house

near

The Hague, he

need for

new vogue

indicated

in-

where

and more pro-

640s,

and patron Constantin Huvgens

when Huvgens was

who might

the woods"), one of the royal residences

list

of

And

years

later,

artists

although he frequently

*:
<*

Bw..

'<

in

\tftsrim

jwtfit

Amsterdam

that

commissioned Rembrandt to paint Nigbt

Watch

(pages 82-85).

was apparentlv m>

it made for his ramik

The opposite page of the
album still intact after more than >()() \ ears
bears the elegantly penned legend, "The
young Captain Banning Cocq ordering his

watercolor cop\ of

album

(below).

Lieutenant. William van Ruvtenburch. to

march the company out."

painters.

mi sSjS&rmm

decorate

some of Rembrandt's pupils,

when Rembrandt died. Huy-

fact in his diary,

Frans Banning Cocq. ranking officer of the

quasi-military traternitv

pleased bv the result that he had a small

in

lro

asked by the

make

many minor

>

But he would

money grew

steadily quieter

included the names of

but not the master himself.

of

did.

to

gens did not bother to note the

made mention

his

he

connoisseurs were willing to accompany him in

that direction; even his early admirer

lost

said that he freely lent his

is

it

who made more money than

Another reason
his

Rembrandt's decline

for

popularity

in

may have been

dedication to Biblical painting. At the outset of his career there had

been a fair,

dwindling, market for religious works. But in the mid- 1640s

if

Rembrandt stood almost alone among Dutch

He

Scriptures.

known works

was primarily a

portrait painter

lical

but

are in that category

about 400 of

many

New Testaments.

his

the

600

of the portraits are of

and anonymous figures

Christ, the disciples, the prophets

mind the Old and

artists in interpreting

who

call

to

Altogether there are about 160 Bib-

80 etchings and more than 600 drawings. There are

paintings, plus

few records of commissions for the Biblical paintings; Rembrandt seems

works to

to have produced these

to

them

sell

although perhaps hoping

satisfy himself,

But Dutch buyers of non-commissioned paintings pre-

later.

spend their money for landscapes and genre scenes.

ferred to

In the auctions of

Rembrandt's possessions

1657 and 1658, a num-

in

went very cheaply. The

works are not known, but the total amount

ber of his paintings were sold. Apparently they

prices obtained for individual

was

realized

Among

pathetically small.

the auctioned paintings was one

described as "one large Descent from the Cross."

work on

that theme, dated 1634,

grad. If the auctioned

work and

Like most

it.

artists,

a now priceless
Museum in Lenin-

Today

Hermitage

the Hermitage painting are one and the

same. Rembrandt must have had

out selling

in the

is

in his studio for

it

he kept some of

23 or 24 years with-

his paintings

on hand

for

extended periods, sometimes as a source of inspiration, sometimes in

order to rework them. But

it

seems unlikely that he would willingly have

held one for nearly a quarter of a century

particularly

when he was

in

need of money.

I n his

religious paintings, during his transition

from youthful exuber-

ance to the calm reflectiveness of middle age, Rembrandt became more

and more concerned with the inner reactions of the individuals he portrayed than with their outward actions.
stories as narrative,

ofManoah,

reveals his

new

monumental,

preoccupation. As

classically

simple painting that clearly

Rembrandt

depicts the scene, an angel

has just appeared to the aged iManoah and his barren wife to

become the

that they will

caught
years,

in

parents of the hero

the painting, the angel

is

departing

Samson;

at

upper

Rembrandt might have painted Manoah and

apparition, their

arms

raised in astonishment.

his

at

left.

the

tell

them

moment

In his earlier

wife staring at the

But here the old couple

kneel in silence, hands quietly clasped in thanksgiving.

closed; they

Biblical

At about the time of the Night Watch he produced the

attracted him.
Sacrifice

was no longer the

It

but their meaning for the individuals involved, that

Their eyes are

do not sec the vanishing angel but are wholly absorbed

in

the meaning, not the manner, of the miracle.

The increasing realization of true

of the 1640s

may have grown

the several deaths

Such

troubles,

art.

12

\n

lost to

work

air ot

embroilment with Geertghe Diroc

led

him

to

become

bitter,

seemed

to

new strength ot faith, sufwarmth and intimacy that had

tenderness, a

Re-creating the world of

been temporarily

Ins family, his

effect,

values in Rembrandt's

out of unhappy personal circumstances:

which might have

have the opposite

fused his

in

human

him, he turned repeatedl) to the theme oi the

Infant Christ; there are a

number of works from

this

time that show the

Holv Family and the Flight into Egypt. He filled his paintings with
homelv details: the Virgin warming her feet at a tiny fire, a cat ready to
snatch at the bowl from which the Child has just been fed. Rembrandt
was able to place the Holy Family
olating any sense of decorum.

in
It

humble Dutch
does

not

perfectly logical to see the Christ Child in the

Amsterdam

carpenter,

where the

might indeed be found,

vi-

seem anachronistic but

home

of a

7th Century

at least in spirit.

.embrandt's deepening perception of

tender aspects of

without

devoutly supposed that the Child

artist

R,
ple,

interiors

can be seen

it,

life,

in

his

and

upon the sim-

his stress

drawings and etchings of

secular subjects as well as in his religious works. In the 1640s he extended

and amplified what he had expressed

things descend from

tan

God

in

The Good Samaritan of 163

and are not to be scorned. The

Good

3: all

Samari-

was another theme to which he often returned: around 1648,

example, he used

it

in

two

street scenes, of

pancake

and particularly

his studies

ter are

known

are

full

paintings and three drawings. His drawings of

of quacks hawking their dubious wares,

sellers,

women

of

and children

to

some 60 of the

lat-

of affection and penetrating observation. His

drawings became wonderfully concise:

Teaching a Child

for

his chalk sketch of

Two Women

Walk (page 52) contains an absolute minimum of

lines

yet perfectly suggests the bent brittleness of a grandmother, the suppleness of a

voung woman, the awkward anxiety of a child. Either adding to

it would have injured it.

the sketch or subtracting from

Although Rembrandt often used chalk

pen and ink became

his favorite

medium

in his early years, in

in

used the pen directly, seldom bothering to

or chalk sketches that other

followed by scholars today

artists

in

make

who think

ly in

connection with painting. His magnificent

55),

which

rightly considered

executed entirely with a brush;

He

many

to look for traces of

drawings

copyists.

a brush alone

a contradiction in terms to those

is

is

strokes. If these are found, the

work of pupils or

Rembrandt often "drew" with

640s

found necessary. Indeed, a guideline

determining the authenticity of the

underdrawing beneath the pen

seem

so.

the preliminary pencil

pen sketches tentatively attributed to Rembrandt

are almost certainly the

the

drawing and remained

a fact that

may

well

of this implement sole-

A Woman

Sleeping (page

among the greatest drawings extant, is

many of its subtleties depend on the

weight of the strokes and the amount of liquid Rembrandt permitted the
brush to carry.
In other drawings

pen strokes, making

ing a

wash with the

Rembrandt frequently combined brushwork and

his sketch first

brush. His

with the

quill or the reed,

economy of

line

were long misunderstood by 18th and 19th Century

owners of
further

his

then apply-

and delicacy of touch

collectors;

some

drawings found them "incomplete," and sometimes had

brushwork added with the idea of "finishing" them. More than

one great Rembrandt drawing has been ruined bv

a collector

who

at-

tempted to "correct" what he supposed had been inadvertence or

laziness

on the

artist's part.

It

should be noted here that none of the

drawings shown on pages 49-60 has been retouched; the reader

may be

11?

how and

interested in conjecturing

attempt to change them.

could "correct"
will

is

A Woman Sleeping,

be able to explain

alley

there

If

to

what extent he personally might

it is

Rembrandt van Rijn

this to

who

indeed someone

for example,

he

believes

hoped

to be

that he

dark

in the celestial

where they meet.

The third

great category of

Rembrandt's achievement

also reflect the transitional nature of his art in the

prints. Three Trees (pages 148-149), remains highly

matic atmosphere and

his etchings

One of his

640s.

Baroque

in

finest

dra-

its

strong contrasts of light and dark. In other

its

a greater breadth of view and an increased calm. Remmuch time working out of doors in the Dutch countryside
Amsterdam a number of his small landscapes (pages 97-103) can

works he displays
brandt spent
near

be correlated with scenes that

exist

still

and he seems to have absorbed

these quieter qualities from the natural world;

Baroque

theatricality does

not accord well with the vast stillness of earth and sky. This calmer manner appears in the etching he did in

Rembrandt

is

completely

645 of

realistic, faithfully

the land and the luminous, breeze-stirred

In

Century French

air.

Rembrandt worked with

his etchings,

all

suggested in an old story, recorded bv

who

art dealer

Here

Six's Bridge (page 98).

recording the broad reach of

Edme

great speed. His pace

Francois Gersaint. an

compiled the

first

brandt's etchings. Gersaint could not. of course, have

is

8th

catalogue of Remknown Rembrandt;

moreover, he had a Gallic predilection for collecting gossip. Perhaps,

then, the story

is

only another of the fables that encrust the

ory. Still, a glance at

been

far

Rembrandt

at his

gether, the Servant

illustration'- lor
I

Rembrandt made

his etching

\\

books written by

as used

by Jan Si\

bis Friends.
as the

frontispiece to Medea, bis long play based

on

ireek

bi-bmd
the

,\n

mj

shows Medea hiding

th. It

altar as Jason

iolden Fleece

whom

betr.n

her love by

woman

Rembrandt chose

to illustrate this scene even

though

it

is

not

pan

iuriousk

ol Six's pla\

ing: the

Countrv-Seat.

came

down

has before been remarked that

to acquaint

One Day when

them

that

Burgomaster immediately ordered

Village and buy some. Rembrandt,

Servants, and that

when

his

who knew

Servant to go into the

they answer anstons [a-coming], arc an

man

the Wager, and Rembrandt,

nished, immediately took

Wager

that he

always had Plates

at

Hand

up one and scratched upon

it

ready var-

the landscape

of the Parlor where they were

The Plate was indeed finished before the Fellow came back, and
brandt

The

won

his

Wager.

Hour
would

returned with the Mustard. Six accepted

who

Window

which appeared from the

as

Mustard was want-

the Slothfulness of Dutch

before thev appear, offered the Burgomaster a

etch a Plate before his

they were there to-

Dinner was ready, and

to Table, thev perceived that

she led to

marr) ing another

they were sitting

It

Intimacy with the Burgomaster Six and that he

lived in great

was frequently
rare occasions

mem-

wrong. '"This Plate." he wrote, "was produced bv an Incident

which deserves to be remembered.

On

artist's

Sixs Bridge indicates that Gersaint may not have

sitting.

Rem-

."
.

darting grace and simplicity ot the lines ol Six's Bridge represent

only one aspect of Rembrandt's work on copper during

this period.

On

other occasions he used strokes so tiny that they can best be seen with a

magnifying

ow

glass;

minute, closel)
time, for
trait

14

he combined

and shadows so

set lines

example

in

literally

thousands of them

rich that they rival those in his

m.n be seen

Thomas

facobsz.

own

in

in several ot his finest

works

Haaru/g (page 1*1) and

masterpiece, fan Six. Reading (page 1*0).

half-shad-

paintings These

in

ot the

the por-

As he experimented with

technique Rembrandt began

his etching

in-

creasingly to use a "dry point" needle (stronger and heavier than the thin

etching needle) with which he scratched directly on his plates, using this
device in combination with the lines etched on the plates by acid.

ying the pressure of his strokes he produced both thin

The

curl or

Bv

and

lines

"burr" of copper raised by the dry point needle was

awav

the plates, not scraped

as in

engraving;

it

var-

thick.
left

on

retained the printing ink.

thus creating strong, velvety accents almost like those of charcoal. In

Rembrandt's

Drawing

Self-Portrait,

Window

at a

(page 95) heavy dry

point lines are particularly noticeable on his sleeve and around the open
throat of his coat.

Often,

when he wished

to create very delicate layers of shading which

could not be produced either bv the etching needle or with dry point,

Rembrandt used the even

thicker engraver's burin as well. All three im-

plements, in what amounts to a whole

his

most celebrated

new

style of etching,

were used

in

Healing the Sick (pages 154-157), which

print. Christ

was probably completed about 1648, although Rembrandt must have

worked on

it

work

the

"Hundred Guilder

so-called

cause of the price one impression reputedly brought

first

state of the

complete

was rapidly worn down

plate.
in

The

in this

work

soft

was

rare in his art

is

combine

to

left

several

Print," be-

survive from the

by the dry point needle

became

ruined by re-working.

finally

in-

The

perhaps unique because he does

moment

not limit himself to a single dramatic

stead chooses

burr

the press, and later impressions

creasingly pale until the plate

theme

Only 10

intermittently for at least several years before that.

impressions of this

in

episodes

the

life

the

in

of Christ but inBiblical

he

text

illustrated.

A, the time of

"Hundred Guilder Print" Rembrandt again took up

the subject of Christ at Emmaus, which he had first painted about 20
years earlier in Leiden. The 1648 Emmaus (page 104) cannot be said to
mark a sharp turning point in his career or the end of his middle period
.t

the

and the beginning of

his maturity;

but

it

does afford an opportunity' to

Rembrandt's etching

was oneoi tour Old

he illustrated

point out, in a single great work, the extent of his development during

The arrangement

the preceding eight or nine years.

the painting has a classical simplicity and

of the four figures in

symmetry

may

that

have come from Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, although

very well
it

in

is

no

Gloriosa

imitative.

The

painting

around the head of Christ

also suggested

very well
ically

by a

how to use:

far

is

classical

restrained, hushed,

is

differs

in the figure

Son of Man. who had known

tleness,

meekness and

representations of

love.

is

divinitv

is

learned

from Raphael or Michelangelo,

in that there

is

\nwcrdam\|c\\

i^h

his

suffering and death;

His
if

Him

He was

not yet

in his

Israel

interested
\\

a^

which

developed the mystical theon. that the stone

David slum;

at

Goliath symbolized the

coming of the Messiah and the

triumph of Jewish

spiritual leadership

who

as the

more human
work had

"mature"

was

intrigued by the Rabbi's work,

capacity to produce so great a

at 42.

one of

home in

quarter,

qualities are gen-

any,

b\

Hebrew theology and probabl)

nothing occult or phvsi-

of Christ. Rembrandt presents

I,

Rabbi Menasseh ben

a piece of architecture that

In art there are few.

Him. The

been attained by Rembrandt

od and

The

the lofty niche above the figure of the Savior, phys-

Rembrandt

superhuman

halo.

Rembrandt had bv then

book, called Piedra

Rembrandt, who made

eventual

both inspired and repelled him.

cally

from a sunburst or

device that

occupying so much of the painting,

speaks aloud. Yet

and the luminescence

for a

David and Goliath

estament scenes that

"The Glorious Rock''

his close friends.

in

way

<

ot

peri-

fruitful years lav ahead.

115

would

require an unreasonable partisan to insist that

Rembrandt produced
his easel.

a masterpiece each time he faced

Not many people would rank

Roman

wife Saskia as the

his portrait

of his

goddess Flora (page 120) as

The

Breadth

of Genius

one of the imperishable monuments of Western Man.

Most museum
forgo

it

for

directors,

if

they could choose, would

Woman Bathing (opposite),

sketch of his mistress Hendrickje.

that in

more than 600

excellence

an intimate

However, the

oil

fact

is

paintings Rembrandt's level of

was exceedingly

hih. and, moreover, that his

range was wonderfully wide.

While

his

fame

rests largely

Biblical paintings,

and everyday
the

first

life.

on

his portraits

and

he also dealt with history, mythology

Not

until early in this

century

when

comprehensive catalogue of his paintings was

completed

panorama

could admirers appreciate the varied

lie

had

set

before them.

It

astonishing to find that the sensuous

was. and

Danac

still is,

(pages 118-

119) and the heroic Julius Chilis (pages 126-129)

came

Rembrandt himself might well

have been surprised

from the hand of one man.

If

his

Rembrandt had an

technique,

think
the

in

Ins

identifying hallmark, aside from

b) this small

personal approach.

by 18 inches

ledid not

terms of historical epochs or of dated "types";

in

for the

"pagan"

Homer

(page 124)

other works as an Old Testament patriarch.

o Rembrandt, humanity was the supreme concern.

did not matter

was

unknown model

appears
I

it

16

ar

the

worldvi ide recognition achieved

where or w hen.

work, onl) about 24

An affectionate

gesture toward Ins faithful

mistress,

it

ma)

a preliminary

also

have served aJ

study tor one

paintings of the Biblical

Bathsheba.
It

Whnhin Batbmg, 1654

ol his

117

embrandt's Danae

painted.

But the most

is

by

far

the most beautiful of the few female nudes he

striking quality of this

work

is its

light,

which

relates

mvth with which the artist was dealing. According to the story,
would
an oracle warned the Greek king Akrisios that his daughter. Danae.
chastity,
bear a son who would kill him. He therefore kept her in enforced
directly to the

the painting by the weeping, fettered cupid at top right.

However, the god Zeus, taking the form of a golden shower, evaded her

symbolized

in

guardian maid servant and entered Danae's bedchamber; from their union
came a son who eventually fulfilled the prophecy. Here Danae raises her hand,

both to shield her eves and to welcome her arriving lover, whose presence
Rembrandt represents in the magnificent, unearthly yellow light pouring
voluptuouslv over her face and body.

r-

..

Portrait afSaskia

embrandt made these two paintings of

Roman
o!

goddess

more than 20
iic

ol sprint;, vines

years.

and flowers,

The picture above,

Flora, the
at

lor

an Interval

which

Ins

posed, reveals the artist in a particularly Baroque

mood. The costume

is

Flora,

over-rich, the pose slightly artificial

ami the flowers more plentiful than are

make the point

work opposite,

./>

that this

is.

really neccss.in to

indeed. Flora. In the later

painted after

Rembrandt had incorporated

Portrait of Hrndrkkje Stoffeh as Flora,

certain classical elements into his art, he took a

restrained approach.

painted in a

Using

monumental

his mistress as his

style,

more

model, he

with a splendid simplicity

and solem nity that are characteristic of most of his

mature work. Although

artists since

it

had been the custom for most

the time of the Renaissance to represent

Flora as a courtesan,

Rembrandt paid no heed

to this

interpretation in either of his paintings.

121

c.

\6*~

The Polish Rtier.c. 1655

Rembrandt ever

titled this

certainly did nor give

it

the

most romantie of all

name by which

Rider. The horseman's dress and

it

has

his paintings,

become known

he almost

The

Polish

equipment suggest that he could have come

from Poland or from any of several Central or Eastern European nations. In

Rembrandt's time, and

for centuries previous, such warrior-knights

lorth to light the infidel Turks,

appealed to

all

Christians.

and

Rembrandt

extremely sympathetic figure; the

had gone

doomed courage deeply

intended to make Ins Rider an

their aura of high,

plainly

face, at

once angelic and bold, sums up

all

young manhood. The horse, which some critics have scorned as .\n
awkward nag. is in fact an example of the perfect mot juste in painting: if
Rembrandt had produced a full-rumpcd. galloping steed in the manner of
is

best in

Rubens, the tremendous appeal of the picture might

at

once have vanished.

that

*1
-

i
I

^^

'

-^

~"V"<

Horner. 1663

LJupremel)

gifted with

both vision and Insight,

Rembrandt often turned, paradoxically,

blindness

.is

that

in his

paintings. Perhaps

one docs not nerd mere

124

discern truth.

to the subject of

what he wished

to say

visual capability to

Both the blind Ho/ncr

(left)

and the

Contemplating the Bust of Homer were painted

The Homer

in

Aristotle

the

last

has been

two decides of Rembrandt's

life.

damaged, probably by

originally the aged poet w

lire

a>-

A ristotle Contemplating the Bust of Horner.

pictured in discourse with a scribe and perhaps also a

student

but

it

has weathered the

sightless eyes, his aimlessly

loss.

The bard's

groping hands, provide

perhaps the most poignant representation of blindness

in the entire history

of art. In The Aristotle

philosopher's thoughtful face

is

andHomer the

another of Rembrandt's

major triumphs, achieving an express iveness

few men could emulate

in

in paint that

words.

125

L,

like the last quartets

Rembrandt
often

less

arc so

of Beethoven, the late works of

complex and profound

that the) are

appreciated than his earlier works of

straightforward

26

power

his

is

particularly true of an

fated

and misunderstood painting commissioned by

Amsterdam

eit\

authorities for the

town

hall: the

now

mutilated Conspiracy of Julius CiviHs. The scene records the

ill-

start of an uprising in

69

D. againsi

Roman domination

Conspiracy* of Julius Civilis

by barbaric tribesmen, the Batavians,

of the

Dutch and whose

name, Julius

Civilis.

chieftain had

(sometimes called Oath of the Batavians), fragment. 166 1-1662

who were ancestors

created a

adopted a Latin

subtle. Tragicallv. his official patrons failed to

Rembrandt, painting

as

though

brushes were dipped in liquid light and fluid shade.

his

work that was monumental and

the painting and rejected

it.

at

the same time

understand

for reasons that are suggested

on the following page.

127

Drawing

single

word never

suffices to interpret a painting, yet in the case

the Conspiracy ofJulius Chilis

With

one word

that in mind, the viewer

1661

for Conspiracy ofJulius Chilis,

"Shakespearean"

need no longer look for a

literal

is

of

fairlv apt.

representation

of history; instead, something of the mysterious ambience of KingLear or

Macbeth comes to mind

slightest

archaic, barbaric,

lordly, wild.

evidence that the two masters arrived independently

remote, strange

,1

There

is

at a

historic conspiracy

time and an emotion more than

a particular event.

every

is

astonishing: he painted

His preparatory sketch for

the work, above, indicates the majesty of his conception. But the

ordered the painting were not prepared for the

why

is

common view of the

past.

Rembrandt's treatment of the

asked

not the

evidence that Rembrandt ever read Shakespeare, but there

the face of Julius Gvilis

result.

was not turned

They may

in profile, to

men who

well have

hide his

empty eye socket. They may also have asked why the Batavians
the Dutch were- proud to have. is ancestors
were not nobly drawn.

hideous,

whom

an) event, the Julius Gvilis

nit

down

its

central

Nation. il
still

28

was removed from the town

the hugecanvas

group
\\iis(

holds aloft

salable,

and

originally
this

96 square

remnant

is

hall.

feet in.size

now the

Rembrandt

In

later

hoping to make

prized possession of the

inn ol Stockholm. There the huge, half-blind B.u.ivtan leader

hi

sword and the oath of rebellion

is

forever

sworn upon

it.

B;"
-.''
*P

V3i** .

r'

-'^

ne of the most breathtaking of Rembrandt's

late

works, the so-called

may have been a commissioned wedding portrait of two

members of Amsterdam's community of Sephardic Jews who allowed

Jewish Bride,

artist to

represent

them

as figures

from the Old Testament

as Isaac

the

and

Rebecca, perhaps, or Ruth and Boaz.

In this painting the artist reveals the
years; the light seems to

come from

immense coloristic power

of his final

within the figures, almost supernaturally

illuminating their faces and garments. In the detail below, Rembrandt's

technique of combining heavy paint and thin glazes

He modeled
depth of as

his

forms with thick impasto

much

as a

pigment suspended

laid

is

particularly apparent.

on with a

palette knife to a

quarter of an inch. Then, using a small

in oil,

amount

of

he repeatedly brushed lightly over the surface,

adding the subtlest depths and variation to

his colors.

VI
Triumphs
and Trials

The manv biographers of Rembrandt, as though thev were all members

of some worldwide union, seem to follow certain rules in dealing with
him. One of these is to announce that in the last two decades of his life
from 1649 to 1669, when he was beset by personal disasters he lifted

his art into

the realm of the soul or

soaring where few.

spirit,

anv. other

if

German.

painters have been able to go. This has been said in Dutch.

Uzbek

English and conceivably

is

quite true.

able words,

it

However,

and,

since "soul"

requires a

in fact,

it

must be

said,

because

it

and "spirit" are essentiallv indefin-

roundabout approach to

arrive at the heart of the

matter.

A beginning can be found

in a

statement bv the English novelist Hen-

ry Fielding. In his preface to Joseph Andrews, Fielding wrote: "It hath

been thought a vast commendation of a painter, to sav

breathe; but surely

it is

much

his figures

seem to

greater and nobler applause, that thev ap-

pear to think."
In the portraits

figures did

Rembrandt made

young man

as a

in

Amsterdam,

seem to breathe, but thev did not vet appear to

think.

his

Most of

these early portraits conveyed an impression of imminent activity rather

than of thought.

The merchant was about to return to

memory or anticipation.

his

warehouse, the

captain to his ship, without

As Rembrandt matured
subjects

and paying

contemporaries

manded

was

disconcerting.

outward

more profound

reality,

The

To some

tradition of the

within

of

Dutch de-

and the idea of subordinating

reality that lies

his

man was

this

difficult

them to grasp.
Rembrandt did not alter or distort the appearances of his subjects in
order to impose on them his own view of what their "souls" or "spirits"

most search ng characterizations.

i

very instant Six seems to

were

be turning his gaze from the world

outside to a realm within himself.

him

like.

He

simplv chose to emphasize certain features that seemed to

quintessential.

portrayed bv other
Portrait of Burgomaster Jan Six,

this

heed to detailed external description.

for

Rembrandt achieved one of his

this

less

a portrayal of

to seek out the

At

the 1630s and 1640s. the nature of his por-

changed; he penetrated deeper, emphasizing the inner state of

his

In his portrait of Jan Six. later

Amsterdam's burgomaster.

in

traiture

654

Among
artists.

his sitters there

A comparison

were

several

of the likenesses

and by Rembrandt confirms that he was

who were

also

made by them

faithful to visual appearances.

But he took

and deeper view, and tempered

a longer

sense of humanity.

Bv

with

it

the time he had attained the height of his

portraiture, his subjects not only

own

his

power

"appeared to think." but also to be

in

lis-

tening to inner voices that seemed to whisper to them from bevond the
region of thought.

Not

all

Dutchmen, by any means, objected to Rembrandt's searching

characterizations.

during

Some of his greatest portraits

when anv

his last decades,

would have known

that the artist

ionable." superficial likeness but

Among those who

are commissions ordered

Amsterdam

sophisticated citizen of

was uninterested

would probe

producing a "fash-

in

beneath the surface.

far

Rembrandt in the 1650s were his friend Jan

Six. later to be Burgomaster of Amsterdam; Ephraim Bonus, a Sephardic phvsician and writer: Nicolaes Bruvningh. a young aristocrat; and
sat for

Arnout Tholiax. Inspector of the Medical Colleges of Amsterdam. Oth-

who

ers

have been tentatively identified

Clement de Jonghe.

and the Spanish poet Miguel

men who commissioned

de Barrios. Perhaps bv no coincidence, the

from Rembrandt during

traits

common, among
gence.

them

It

is

other qualities that radiate from the canvases,

and has moved sober

grapple with

them

Town

people, perhaps to the

those with

whom

crowds before him.

in his

expression in these words:

He

about to go out

is

a reflective,

He listens to their

deals.

secret thoughts

and

interests.

somewhat melancholy

among

smile comes into

his features.

a trace, too. of the sympathetic kindness of the detached b\

is

and

is

not met with

Neumann's words
their

in

anv other portrait

in

which seems

the world."

meanings merged into one nameless thing, that thing begins to

is

who

important dealings and

leader

who

goes to the town

can afford to be

[owever, there are other

men

detached

own, who

are not in that position. Yet the nameless

comes

Man

le

in

but does not quite strike the

close-

makes

this

hall,
it

it

who

is

has

sympathetic

Rembrandt's world, and our

bystander.

"secret" and "otherworldly" are taken together,

only a beginning. Jan Six

too

di-

as all this

approximate what Rembrandt strove successfully to express. But

ty"

the

words, and

And

an otherworldly and penetrating look plavs over

inexhaustible,

and

percep-

Six's

stander. forming altogether a complexity of expression

all art.

Hall: there pass before him. as in a dream,

he regularly

more

vines also their

for him.

sit

arresting in

Neumann,

historian Carl

of thoughts.

full

is

to

one of the most

is

Rembrandt, described

"This man's mind

intelli-

to flights of lyricism in their attempts to

critics

The German an

it.

tive study of

There

in

not likely that he flattered them bv deliberately endowing

portrait of Jan Six (page 132)

his eyes;

por-

mature years appear to have had

thus, but rather that their intelligence led

The

all

his

Rembrandt's paintings were

in

a publisher of prints,

mark

very plain in his painting of

thing "spirituali-

appears

Two

with a dilt Helmet: the sitter for this latter picture

who

believed to have been his brother Adnacn.

in

such

Negroes and
is

followed

men

in his

traditionally
his

lather's

trade as a miller.
In

Rembrandt's view,

stature

was not necessary

or. tor that matter, to

Strange intangible; for

?4

it

it

was

to have

be of any particular

common

to

all

am special worldly
ageto possess the

mankind

le

saw

it

in a

boy

felt

how

in himself;

it

may an

better, indeed,

artist

than bv looking inward and then, by empathy, realizing

His

Above

(page 88), and in the philosopher Aristotle (page 125).

he saw and

from the

self-portraits

late

640s onward are

wholly defined.
meditative
tried to

that

touch

simply the quality

It is

in

never be

great religious leaders, and supremely Christ, have

all

can at

which

may

is

otherworldly, spiritual,

secret,

The artistic means by which Rembrandt

way

it

the hearts of men.

in

sential quality

with this pro-

rich

found and mysterious current. But precisely what

it

others?

in

it

all.

grasp

least partially

his sitters glance

captured or suggested this es-

Of

be described.

or

particular note

do not glance

is

the

the spectator.

at

Their eyes are not furtively averted, but neither do they stare directly

men

outward. These

listening,

sheer
tery,

are of this world and vet not in

they are engrossed

fied,

and

skill in

it

human

Out

expressions.

gift to

his

of the depths of his genius he

shadow

presenting light and

Gravely digni-

convey that

But beyond

have possessed, lay

artists

it.

remembering and

thoughts,

was part of Rembrandt's

painting

which other

chiaroscuro.

own

their

in

unmatched

ability to use

summoned new ways

and half discloses both the tangible and the intangible,

in exactly that re-

I n the self-portraits of Rembrandt's middle and late years (pages

circumstances.

1650

If in

1640

more

particularly to

His look

reflects

mood

the

the look of one

who

aged considerably.

larger. In the

The flesh around

his eyes,

1658

is

is

good

deal of steel in

later,

Rembrandt appears

his chin has softened, there

to have

is

a great

and the eyes themselves seem to have grown

portrait, the eyes are

brandt's expression

man who

of a 44-year-old

has searched himself and found his courage

undiminished. In 1652. only two years

furrow between

his

his face reveals a faintly quizzical expres-

has passed through melancholy times, but there

it is

12, 13)

him and to

displays outright skepticism, not only questioning but

it

also challenging.

it:

of

may be caught.

there are other qualities that relate

sion, in

his

mas-

to create an atmosphere that half conceals

gion where a glimpse of the "soul"

own

by

fact

this technical

notably luminous, and

Rem-

with

good

one of sadness and vulnerability

The impending disaster that he may have sensed in 1650 and

1652 has now overtaken him. By 1658 he has been forced to declare

reason.

himself insolvent, and the

prints

final

and drawings, paintings,

remnants of

curiosities

his collection of treasured

and costumes are

in

the hands

of the auctioneer.

There appears to have been no

single calamitous transaction or loss

that brought about the tragic collapse of

Rembrandt's fortunes. In the

1650s he had fewer commissions than in the 1630s, but he was by no

means without patrons. The

had paying pupils. There
cal

sales of his etchings continued,

may

or historical paintings, but he had

them

Aristotle

some major commissions

Sicily,

still

his Bibli-

among

Contemplating the Bust of Homer. Because of the circula-

tion of his prints, his reputation had

even to

and he

not have been a great market for

where

named Don Antonio

it

become

international, extending

engaged the attention of an

aristocratic collector

Ruffo. In 1652 Ruffo wrote to

Rembrandt from

Messina, commissioning a portrait of "a philosopher," and

in

1654 the

135

Homer w as

painting of Aristotle and

but

known

it is

Rembrandt than
In

all.

it

for

works bv

would seem

delivered.

The

fee

is

not recorded,

was wealthy and willing to pav more

that Rurfo

his Italian

for a

contemporaries.

that a prudent painter

might have prospered on

Rembrandt's income, while even a man of moderatelv expensive

tastes

could have avoided catastrophe. But neither frugality nor moderation in

financial matters

is

much mentioned

connection with Rembrandt. His

in

biographer Baldinucci provides an account, possiblv distorted but prob-

Hoping to increase
Rembrandt "at intolerable

ablv correct in essence, of the artist as businessman.

the sales value of his etchings, savs Baldinucci.

j.^

v_ ^

-> V,

r>

'

prices

"-

them,
(Sf

v
fall* XL_ W _ .i.

^ -

had them bought back

anv

price."'

>ey^

sums

for his

deep

Amsterdam

authorities

compiled

rirst

leaf of this

document

plaster casts of children,

five

one

most arrogant disregard

for the fair claims of his creditors,

insatiable in

more

two

lists

artists,

amassing

drawing and

Rembrandt's

print collection, an

"The trustees of the

will

the hereafter mentioned paper art

together with a good

pan of the

interest to accountants

Pass

Ri|n himself

which he had purchased

He

had bought

it

on."

Curattur obcr brn JtM--

iW

toon gtrtrimii B iMl

an Bmb feaotiffc
BiMMi/tol JUbfBre.e *annbaanaTjn<

'teMMUoMMnbeiirMniMiMpwM>MP>tf Cl iOT ifrM piHilMffcHiyMpB:

i

ia**n enema ScrortJUnoct brratan*.

tMa kr.'rfcjnwn MctMUMfmftib 3ulumW)e
;>* mfcflrarrtinacfr if flBtrtas

rr.ot

St

Dm (rtBra

ankan Ma Baa aw mi treotr tonmfbjw a tiitim onfimcU.

0cliirk twn met* ctn goebe partvc ban
Xanoapfni tnar Actn&n tunon (mm Bnnapm Mb Ran Maaj

)t Urrkopmgr

U uxftn ten bargtK/

urt tn&c 3atrt ais boUcn

it

.200 on account. About

He

ten l>uvCc

ban

Janft <&tljuueinan IPaert m

be fcevfers Urocm mbt Ualbtr (teaet/
batrbtbcrtopmgcbooi Detents getoeeft.
fiarent

7th Centurv

resale but

seems to

art.

handsome millstone of

1639 during

his

but at

house

happv. spendthrift vears with

for 13.000 guilders but

down

had put

onlv

5 vears later, he had not paid even half of the

still

owed 8.470

guild-

house and moving to smaller quarters, but he was obliged to

protect his son's inheritance, which Saskia had entrusted to him. After

his debts

cessio

in

able to place the house in Titus' name, but

remained the same, and he was forced to pledge

When

1656 went to the

bonorum

literally, a

his creditors pressed for

citv council of

bv which

to surrender his possessions to his creditors.

his personal

pavment. Rem-

Amsterdam and

cession of goods

applied for a

he would agree

Such recourse was usually

permitted to merchants and investors on the basis of 'losses

at sea

or

in

trade'

and was considered

less

degrading than a declaration of outright

bankruptcy. Rembrandt's appeal was granted, but the result was merely

form of facesaving. Although technically he was "insolvent," he was

fact

a
in

bankrupt.

legal actions by his creditors dragged on tor several years, and

probably not until 1660 that

Rembrandt was forced

to

move

it

was

out of his

house Meanwhile, however, the Amsterdam Court of Insolvency inven-

were sold

bv a court -appointed bailiff at a

number of auctions in 16 " and 16>"8 Apparentlv the inventory was

made with Rembrandt's full cooperation, he was proud of his collections,
which would creditably have rilled a small museum. There were 161 lots
altogether, including such trivial items as

56

al-

and that he

and lawyers than to students of

toried his possessions, and they

i&>ccrgttboo2t.

he had an

might perhaps have extricated himself from the dilemma bv

selling the

brandt

jfttnfrfr

to

regard either.

balance: he had neglected taxes and interest, and

possessions as securitv.

in

much maneuvering, he was

drawings and sketches of the same

Rembrandt van

collections. Like other

the root of the problem lav the great,

ers.

insolvent

property of Rembrandt van Rijn

sell

his affairs, that

he also occasionallv bought objects for

in this

is

real reasons for his ruin

.he actual mechanics of Rembrandt's insolvency are complex and of

Saskia.

658. a few

sale of

advertisement (below) was circulated that

reads

own

his

But the

plaster head.

works bv other artists, four of his own

painting and one shoe. In

weeks before the hastv

pax-

Baldinucci's tale

poor manager of

(above),

if

The

detailed inventory of his possessions.

and

were simplv that he was

am inutelv

financial trouble,

declared himself insolvent in 1656

artist,

tactic failed.

have been none too successful

in

were delighted to

collectors

works on occasion, most were apparentlv averse to

meeting the figures hoped for bv the

Dutch

Rembrandt,

over Europe wherever he could find

be believed. Rembrandt's

was

When

all

Although a few

It

large
o*

at

\o

J60

six

handkerchiefs "at

the laundry"
insight into

but the

entire

Rembrandt

worth examining

in

an

as

some

list is

artist

so remarkable, and provides such an

and

as a

man

There were about 70 of Rembrandt's own

brieflv as: "14.

One

hares by the same.

One

6.

One small

painting of a

15.

One

well

small painting of

hog by the same.

small picture of a herdsman and animals by the same."

of these paintings

is

it

paintings, identified very

Jerome by Rembrandt.

St.

of his time that

detail.

Only

perhaps 10 of the 70 have been located

.60.

a few

the cen-

in

turies since.

The

inventory also

etchings.

a large quantity of

lists

Merely to read the items involved can cause

lector or curator to gasp in envy:

"2 36.

with the best sketches of Rembrandt.

the works of Rembrandt."

all

the British

Museum,

theque Nationale

The

20th Century col-

One book bound

.

.238.

latter

black leather

in

Yet another book with

presumably referred to a com-

Although there are extensive collections of these

plete set of his etchings.

in

Rembrandt's drawings and

the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Biblio-

and the Morgan Library

in Paris

in

New

York,

it

is

highly doubtful that a complete set can ever be assembled bv any muse-

um

anv

at

price.

Rembrandt's

interest in the

work of some of his contemporaries

manifest in the inventory. Adriaen Brouwer. a painter of low

is

also

life

and

peasant scenes, was represented bv seven pictures and a book of draw-

and there were works bv Rembrandt's teacher Lastman.

ings,

Lievens. Hercules Seghers.

Jan Porcellis.
ing of

follow

whose landscapes Rembrandt admired, and

in marine pictures. There was also a paint-

who specialized

two dogs bv Titus van

in his father's path.

who

Rijn.

as a

vouth must have

(The painting has been

lost,

Apparently he abandoned the profession before

A,mongthe

his

tried to

some

but

surviv-

marked

ing drawings attributed to Titus indicate that he had no

One

his friend

skill.

death at 27.)

today

entries in the inventory that require explanation

is

man bv Abraham Yinck." Vinck. a German,

w orked in Amsterdam early in the 7th Century, when it was a fashion
not only to make death masks, but also quickly to paint portraits of the
deceased. Item 142. "One child pissing." was probably a small statue.
The earthy Netherlander took delight in matters that others found vul"86.

portrait of a

dead

and such statues were occasionally seen

gar,

even

in public squares.

Brussels in 1619: a replica of

it is still

than originals

included

set

there, near the

Rembrandt's collection of sculpture

casts rather

as fountains in

One famous example was

most

up

town

gardens and

in

the city ot

hall.

were probably

statues of the

plaster

Roman emperors Au-

gustus and Tiberius, and numerous busts of other emperors, classical

heroes and philosophers. (Interestingly enough, the busts of the emperors

had been arranged bv Rembrandt, the supposed ignoramus,

in

chronological order in his gallery.) Item 345. with the startling listing

"One

little

child

bv Michelangelo." was probably another

well have been copied from the great Italian's

ture in the

Church of Notre

Dame

in

cast,

Madonna and

and may

Child sculp-

Bruges, commissioned by a

wealthy Flemish family a century and a half earlier.

Rembrandt's collection of Renaissance

art included paintings ascribed

"

Palma Yecchio. Jacopo Bassano and Giorgione. There can

to Raphael.

way

be no

of verifying these ambitious attributions, but he also had an

outstanding collection of prints after Michelangelo. Leonardo. Raphael.

Holbein and Rubens.

Titian.

Although works of

manv

comprise the bulk of the inventory, there are

art

other items that suggest the range of Rembrandt's interests.

"Two

include:

One box

globes.

Thev

of minerals. Forty-seven specimens

full

One hand gun and one

One arbalest. Several rare cups in Venetian
glass. One large lump of white coral. One East Indian basket full of casts
and heads. One drawer in which there is a bird of Paradise and six fans.
of land and sea creatures, and things of that sort.
pistol.

Several walking sticks.

Thirtv-three pieces of ancient hand weapons, arrows,

assegais

staffs,

bows. Thirteen pieces of bamboo wind instruments and

fifes.

and

collec-

One small metal

man and woman. The skins

tion of stags' horns. Five old helmets and shields.

One

cannon.

costumes for an Indian

[pair of]

of a lion and a lioness, with

Rembrandt had
books of various

book

in high

two colored

coats.

One

a verv small library.

German

War

owned no

bv the

at least at the

works except

literarv

first

R,

.embrandt's collections were appraised at

However, onlv about 5.000

heavilv in debt.

still

guilders

The low

falling off of his popularity

one

were

members, fearing

was

that the

in

etched

some

rea-

the plav.

7.000 guilders.

realized in the sales, leaving

mav be

prices

attributed both to the

war with England. But

in

the Guild of St. Luke

-artists in

When

evidently conspired against him.

drawings and etchings

artist

and to an economic depression of the time:

Rembrandt's fellow

instance.

The

more than

the Dutch had lately suffered severe losses in a

at least

Centurv

copv of Medea, an

edition of his friend's opus, but for

son chose to depict an incident that does not occur

him

First

time of the inven-

adaptation bv Jan Six of the celebrated classical drama.

the frontispiece for the

"A

been.

also listed, as are

is

and "Albrecht Diirer's book on proportion

with woodcuts. " Otherwise Rembrandt,

have

subjects"'

edition of The Jenisb

historian Flavius Josephus.

tory, appears to

mav have

without indicating what they

sizes.''

Dutch [German] with military

an old Bible, a

item mentions "Fifteen

a collection of

"paper

art"'

about to go under the hammer. Guild

sudden release ot so voluminous and

rich a

stock might depress the market, arranged for the sale to be hastily held.

Before connoisseurs were aware of

Italian.

fetched the ludicrous

When
in

sum of 600

was placed on the block,

and

it

compelled him to leave

it

guilders.

the sale of Rembrandt's house

1660. he moved, with

mass of prints and drawings

it.

own

French and Rembrandt's

Titus.

final lv

daughter Cornelia, to a modest rented dwelling

dam beyond
rent

it

is

likely that

without

{8

of Amster-

in

mind:

No

to live

after his

doubt the

away from

unhappv

ex-

seems to have been more than willing to withdraw from

However, he certainly was not

friends.

It

is

true that a

abruptly disappeared from his

in a section

Rembrandt chose

the center of the city with another reason

society.

illegitimate

his

the outermost of the city's three great canals.

was cheap, but

periences, he

young

Hendrickje and

life

as the mvth would have him

number of men (including Jar v

after the "disgraceful"'

bankruptcy, but

One was

others remained loyal.

must have had Rembrandt

in

named Jeremias de Decker, who

a poet

mind when he wrote these

As luck or money runs out, though

virtue

So friendship straightway falls with her

I could tell
In

many a

tale

about

may still stand,

nose in the sand.

that.

1666 Rembrandt painted de Decker's portrait

cording to the

not

for

storw but for friendship and the love of

sitter's

be surmised from

lines:

late date,

its

money,

ac-

As may

art.

the painting penetrated to the man's core.

A few of Rembrandt's contemporaries

grasped the

One

artist's intent.

of

them, another poet named Jan van Petersom. studied the picture and
wrote:

"O

Rembrandt, bv vour

.here

were other

you paint de Decker so

zeal

friends

who

his

former pupils, too. remained devoted to him.

er,

who

him bv manv

Alone among Dutch

mature
that

artists,

own

stvle until his

when he

who would,
death. Some of

stood bv Rembrandt and

indeed, assume the guardianship of his daughter

survived

that his soul

."

shines through his face.

after his

One was

Aert de Geld-

years, living well into the

de Gelder continued to paint

death. His respect for

8th Centurv.

in

the master's

Rembrandt was

so great

painted a portrait (possiblv of himself) as late as 40 vears

he chose to picture the

after his apprenticeship,

sitter

with Rembrandt's

"Hundred Guilder Print" in his hand. Although it would be incorrect

Rembrandt was surrounded bv a host of affectionate admirers

to

sav that

manv friends as he wished to have and was

grave unmourned or unremembered.

he had

his final vears.

destined to go to his

Nor

did he

as

again, contrary to

mvth

languish

in

in

not

poverty after his

bankruptcy. Legally he was obliged to turn over to his creditors anv

money he might

from future

receive

sales

of his

but an ingenious

art.

not altogether admirable means was found to circumvent the law.

of Rembrandt's creditors were kindly
his adversity,

and

fumed

art.

dummy

the

it

him

to

of works of art.

The resumption

He

him

in

collected whatever

as

up

as

his creditors

money Rem-

"salary." Moreover. Rembrandt

undimmed actually resumed his purchases

although on a much smaller scale than in the past.

his passion for collecting

silience.

While

as their adviser.

two "dealers"

brandt acquired and passed

loans to

corporation, setting themselves

and hired Rembrandt

in frustration,

men who had made

deserved to be repaid.) In 1658 Hendrickje and

formed

Titus, then 17,

dealers in

who

if

(Some

of collecting was only a small sign of Rembrandt's

also continued to

work

steadfastly at his art. through

re-

all

of

the disasters of the 1650s and through even worse personal losses that

were to follow

in

preoccupation.

It

commissioned

the next decade. Portraiture continued to be a major

seems

portraits

safe to
if

assume that he might have made more

he had been asked, although

imagine him crustily rejecting requests from people

happen to

whom

like.

As

it

it is

whom

also easy to

he did not

developed, most of his paintings were of people

he asked to pose and

In selecting his sitters.

who

probably paid him

Rembrandt showed no

little

or nothing.

interest in faces that

had

some obviously striking quality beauty or ugliness that might appeal

to a modern candid photographer. Instead he sought out individuals in

L39

whom

he could see intimations of the "soul" beneath the

human

the small compass of the

who

artist

man
ist

Rembrandt

face.

God

and

redemption, even history. Another

art-

and expressions that served

his

has ever lived, to express

suffering, endurance, love,

might have chosen to invent

Within

flesh.

more than any

tried,

that he sensed about

all

faces

Rembrandt was too involved with mankind for that. In his

non-commissioned portraits, where preserving a likeness was not an

purpose, but
late

from outward

obligation, he mav. indeed, have departed

ennoble

tualize or

who might have been encountered

types
1

making them

his subjects,

7th Century

or

last

davs of King Saul, in the

in the

Rembrandt crossed the

line

and religious portraiture; the men he encountered

were

invited into his studio

Rubens,

the Bible.

transcendental

week. But he portraved the faces of living men.

In these self-chosen subjects.

ular

realitv to spiri-

timeless,

in

he visualized

also the saints

in painting a series of apostles,

between

in his

had

sec-

the street and

reading of

tried to suggest

them as Michelangelo and Raphael

handsome and phvsicallv powerful beings. But
Rembrandt, who knew his Bible and was his own judge of the qualities
of man, saw the apostles and other saints as ordinary mortals, rugged,
their strength of spirit

had done before him

bv

who had

poor, wrinkled,

idealizing

as

been transfigured bv their religious experiences.

In 1661 alone he painted five portraits of apostles, using

els

Rembrandt was

fascinated by exotic

costumes and personalities. In 163

at a carnival,

dressed

still

India.

shows

His portrayal of

type.

somewhat

built the Taj

R..embrandt's

Shah

riding attire, practicing falconry.

mausoleum

ple,

man who

8th and

appearance, not

Bartholomew,

St.

unattractive, crude

unknown modfor

exam-

bears no resem-

some

a fact that caused

9th Centuries.

Two decades later the

was Shah Jahan who

a

is

ridiculous misunderstandings in the

an Indian miniature painting showing the

in

superhuman

one

in

interested; this time he copied

contemporary Emperor of
Jahan.

and although some are patriarchal

blance to the conventional saintly conception

Negro kettle-drummers on

was

selected,

perhaps

he sketched two elegantly

horseback (above).
artist

8,

he had

Mahal

It

as

intention in this

low degree who has seen the

tion,

pondering

their

customarv attributes

for his wife.

sword

is

Lord and

St.

Peter with his kevs. St. Paul with his

shown holding

was martyred by being flaved

Rembrandt made the

is a man of
who sits rapt in reflecwho are pictured with

plain enough: here

is

Like other saints

this miracle.

Bartholomew

St.

tion that he

work

light of the

a knife, recalling the tradi-

About 100

alive.

years after

painting, an English artist, Charles Phillips, pro-

duced a mezzotint copy of

seems to have doubted

it.

that

Although the copy

is

a faithful one. Phillips

Rembrandt would have painted an

apostle

with such homely features. In any event, he misinterpreted the symbol-

ism of the knife and

re-titled

mezzotint

titled his

Century some scholars became

dissatisfied

In the

his creditors;

end of the misunderstanding. As

Not

until the

artist

might

but even this re-titling was not the

late as

893 an eminent French

advanced the idea that the portrait was not

surgeon.

19th

bankruptcy, would have startled

a chef in 1661. after his

both Rembrandt and

riously

Assassin."

the picture "Rembrandt's Cook." The idea that the

have employed

"The

with that name and thereupon

cook

critic se-

at all

but of

20th Century was the matter of identity

at last

ol a

straightened out.

The freedom

freedom to
rich

costumes

casionally,

140

that

cast

Rembrandt enjoyed with the

them

in

sitters

he chose himself

such roles as he wished and to dress them

was usually not possible

in his

in

commissioned work Oc

however, he was able to find patrons

who were

sufficiently

enlightened and appreciative of his art to allow him a good deal of liber-

This was apparently the case

ty.

in the so-called Jewish Bride (pages

130-

work painted a few years before his death. It appears to be the

wedding portrait of a Sephardic couple; the reciprocal admiration between Rembrandt and members of Amsterdam's Jewish community may
131), a

account for the couple's willingness to be portrayed

is

they were. There

as

man

a deep. Biblical solemnity in the gesture of the

he places

as

his

summing-up of the spiritual, emotional and

physical aspects of marriage. Rembrandt seems to be portraying the couple in the guise of Old Testament figures
perhaps Ruth and Boaz. Isaac
hand on

his wife's breast, a

and Rebecca or Jacob and Rachel.

lations as to the real identity of these figures,

settle

the question,

speaks for

it

itself. It is

would make
one more

combine the worldly and the

to

Rembrandt's

fall

from

fiscal

advance

Critics continue to

but even

new

specu-

one were able to

The double

scant difference.

brilliant

if

portrait

example of Rembrandt's

ability

spiritual.

grace did not preclude a

number of com-

missions from even the most sober of businessmen. In 1661 or 1662.

about 20 years
ined"'

supposed debacle of the Night Watch had "ru-

after the

won

him. according to the myth, he

the Syndics of the Drapers' Guild

in

an important assignment from

modern

terms, roughly equivalent

to the officers of a textile manufacturers' association. In response,

duced what

is

without doubt the greatest of

all

his

group

he pro-

portraits (pages

86-87).

The

Syndics

hind them.

shows the

The

five guild officers

with a servant standing be-

been that

traditional interpretation of the painting has

thev are portrayed in the act of making a financial report to the

ship in the auditorium.

However, recent scholarly research

such public reports were not customary.

who

are

all

looking

one point

at

disturbance in their audience? In

Rembrandt has chosen

appear

fact,

indicates that

do the Syndics

then,

at

someone

The device both

the entering spectator.

in

some

to be responding to

thev are not: there

is

no audience.

to give his group portrait a touch of

having his subjects glance not

at

Why.

member-

drama bv

an imaginary assembly, but

unifies the

mation to the picture without detracting from the

group and adds ani-

brilliant characteriza-

tion of the individuals.

vaminarions of the painting by X-ray show

was moved three times before the

how Rembrandt

He shifted all the

gled to keep the picture in balance.

artist

was

strug-

figures; the servant

satisfied.

The

finished

work

has an unshakable stability, subtly maintained by three dominant horizontals: the

edge of the

table, the level of the

wainscoting. In this framework

heads and the

Rembrandt placed the

businesslike, even calculating, but

still

line of the

faces of the

men

aware not only of the auditor of

ledgers but also of the Auditor of their souls.

After his past experiences with businessmen.

reason to be cool or even

sis

bitter in his painting,

of character transcends

saw decency

as well;

if

all

Rembrandt may have had

but he was not. His analy-

petty feeling. If he discerned self-interest, he

he saw self-righteousness, he also sensed the

tude and boldness that obliges

men

of this century, as well of the

recti-

7th. to

salute the Dutch.

41

or Europeans of Rembrandt's dav, a print

engraving or woodcut
jointly

them

by

filled

work of art and

esthetic

enjoyment and

word

itself,

the

etching,

a need that today

is

met

news photograph.

It

gave

also satisfied their curiosity

about distant places and people;

printed

it

The

Bite

of the Print

was, other than the

means of

7th Century's major

mass communication. Publishers and

issued and circulated quantities of

artists

prints.

themselves

Some took

the form of simple broadsheets; others illustrated books;

others reproduced privately

owned

paintings inaccessible

to public view.

Thus Rembrandt's fame while he

lived

was greater

as

an etcher than as a painter (he did no engravings or

woodcuts).
turned

it

The acknowledged master

into a

wondrously

of the

medium, he

flexible instrument of

his art.

Biblical themes, genre, landscapes, portraits, nudes

these he found suitable for etching.

ot tools as ot technique.

in

all

command

Rembrandt sometimes employed

even the V-shaped engraver's burin

combining

As much

in his etchings,

with the fine etching needle and thicker

it

dry point needle, as

in

the

work

opposite, for richer

Shown

in its actual size, tins detail

from The Three Crosses (page 145}

pro\ ulcs an indication ol

pictorial effects.

Rembrandt's

\l>ovc

all

Rembrandt's great

gift as

an etcher lay

in

preserving a sense of spontaneity while scrupulously

attending to close detail. For him each etching, as the

scholar K.
felt

142

(i.

Boon

skill at

noted, "originated ...

print.'''

in

.\n

etched work w ithout sacrificing

an) intimac) otgcvturcorotl.ici.il

expression

need to make that particular

markedly

enlarging the dimensions ol

the deeply
TbeTb

letail

i ti

r-rr

#I

&3Mtt
x"*^^

I
ft

&

:-X^,

rja v

.--.*

$*

V.

|
'WL

JH^ L^Mtiii

Tbe Three

n etching a plate.

went alone, pulling

"states."

shown

The

in less

third

Rembrandt often made changes

23

was

44

\nd

And

as

he

prints of these variations, called

and fourth

states of

than hall their true

opposite, respectively.
"

Crosses, third state. 16SI

size,

Tbe Three

Rembrandt took

there was

Crosses,

appear abo\ e and

darkness over

his text
all

from

uke

the earth.

the sun w as darkened, and the veil of the temple

rent in the midst." In the third state the

two

thieves

The Three

who were crucified with Christ are clearly seen, as is the

Roman soldier who was overcome with revelation and fell

others.

to his knees in worship. In the foreground are the "rulers"

deepened.

who had come to vilifv

fainting;

hehind her

St.

Christ; to His right

John stands

in a

is

the Virgin,

posture of

desolation.
In the fourth state.

Rembrandt

greatly altered his

composition, burnishing out several figures and adding

But the most

illumination:

significant

change

is

Crosses, fourth state.

in the

now the "darkness overall the earth"

The supernatural

light

has

descending upon Christ

has diminished, and the thief at right can scarcely be

detected in the gloom. Although each state of the print

passionate admirers,

has

its

the

artist's

many

prefer the fourth: here

conception of the meaning of Christ's death

realized with

overwhelming power.

145

is

65:

,-*5ft<-,:

I n his etchings of everyday

life.

Rembrandt moved from

a youthful zest for the comical and picturesque to a

mature

more

interest in the essential characteristics of every

human being. The three etchings on this page were all

made before he was 30. In the Pancake Woman (left) one
can sense

his

amusement

trying to keep a

at the plight

dog from

of the

little girl

stealing the treasure she has

bought. The Quacksalver hawking his nostrums (below,

left)

and The

householder

Ratkiller peddling his services to a

(directly below) are

on two seamv Dutch

Giving of Alms
date from

(top)

648,

types.

trenchant commentaries

The

prints opposite

the

and Jews in a Synagogue (bottom)

when Rembrandt was 42, and reveal his

come to find of greater import:

concern with what he had

the

human qualities of kindness and

humility, and the

reflectiveness of old age.

Pancake Woman, 163 5

The Quacksalver, 1635

ks

Ratkiller. I6.?2

98fr

'~1W.

Giving ofAlms, 1648

Jews in a Synagogue,

o4S

14;

Three Trees. 1643

'

'

*mm

*PM *

'"'"'

>A*
>

fe

'i

.cmbrandt etched the Three Trees

completed the Night Watch, and

it

(opposite, top) a

contains

much

ear after he had

of the Baroque quality of

that painting: at this period of his career he seems to have been particularK
inclined

toward the use of swirling action and

color. Ordinarily the

"action" and "color" would appear to be inappropriate

landscape

in

their

work

is

the

clump of trees, touched with

massed foliage interpenetrating, the etching

is

human activity as well.

twice the actual

artist

size, lovers loll

sketches; a

man

at right a carriage

fishes; in

While the

light

alive

sunshine and storm, and with wind that sends the clouds flying.

teems with

words

connection with

black and white, but in this case they are apt enough.

principal motif of the

shadow,

in

and

with

The scene

In the detail below, reproduced here at

almost concealed

in

the distance farmers

the foreground bushes: an

move about

laden with passengers labors up the

richness the Three Trees does, indeed, rival the

hill.

In

its

the plain; and

pictorial

most accomplished

of Rembrandt's landscape paintings.

yT
-

8m

:
fan Six. Reading. 16+

70

Tbomas facobsz. Haaring, 1656

'an Six, Reading (opposite) and Thomas facobsz. Haaring

+Ja,
are

among the finest of Rembrandt's

etched portraits.

manuscripts, the picture, and the old weapons that stamp

him

as a scholar, writer

Both were, moreover, commissioned works; more often

of Haarinu

paying customers preferred to be depicted

a portrayal.

in paint. In his

is

and wealthy

devoid of such

He was

details,

bailiffof the

collector.

but no

The studv

less

interesting

Amsterdam Court of

study of Six Rembrandt combined genre and portraiture.

Insolvency at the time of Rembrandt's financial collapse.

The sitter's

about him than

The artist must have

the

rendered his face with complete sympathy.

face, lightly etched, tells less

do the minutiae of his surroundings:

it is

liked the old

man

nonetheless, for he

151

Nude Seated on a

n his reaction against the incredibly perfect

Renaissance

art.

Rembrandt undertook

to

mules of

show what

another

Dutchwoman rcalk looked like. In this case he

may have made his point a trifle too strongly and perhaps
naked

unfairly; the

woman maj

not have been merely overfed,

but pregnant too. Curiousl)

Rembrandt's death that

it

critics

was onl)

took him to task lor

left

by garters on

flesh. In

Rembrandt's

the print met with such success that

152

it

own

in

artist to satisfy

the

classical proprieties

The Good Samaritan

lifetime

was soon copied by

demand
w ere

tor

also

(opposite).

\<>unJ. c

realistic

it

The human
is all

Some well-meaning Rembrandt

hand, but the

artist

16^1

Rembrandt's target

not idealized, and the posture of the do\

tried to establish that the

after

creating such figures and lor revealing such details as the

dent

The

figures

arc-

too frankly

partisans have

animal was added by another

as clearK taking a

sw ipe

at

those

pnss\ people w ho preferred to avoid confronting the

embarrassing crudities that existed not only

world but

in their

ow

n as well

in

the Biblical

7"/'!-

Good Samaritan,

1> ;

L-7hown aaual

size

Christ Healing the Sick

(called the

"Hundred

Guilder Print" for the

price

reportedly

it

fetched) combines
several episodes

Matthew

from

19: the

healing of the sick

(right); the Pharisees

arguing

(left);

young man

the rich

(left,

hand

on face)

who

give his

money to the

is

told to

poor.

Rembrandt
conveys
Christ as

beautifullv

conception of

his

among the

people and yet remote

from them by making

Him

slightly taller

than the others

although not heroic

stature

in

and by the

use of gesture. Christ's

hand sums

raised left

up the

of verse

spirit

14 ("Suffer
children.

little
.

to

come

unto me"). His right

hand gentlv "rebukes"

the bald St. Peter
(center),

who

is

attempting to bar the

approach of a

woman

carrying an infant.

The detail on

the

next pages, enlarged

five times,
artist's

shows the

decisive

placement of each
stroke to achieve the

sharpness of
characterization which
helps

make

this the

most famous of all

Rembrandt etchings

Christ with the Sick

around Hun. Receiving

Little

Children (Christ Heating the Sick),

64<S

6 n)

'
t

#>!

-p

t.

L> 3i

>

^>
*;.

^
if
V-

'
*#***

158

VII
The

Last

Full

Measure

In the final

20 years of

his

life,

bludgeoned by tragedies that might

have crushed a weaker man, Rembrandt achieved a power in

The

has never been matched.

last full

measure of

his art that

his creativity

can be

felt

not only in his religious works and in his portraits but also in such re-

markable

lifes

still

many

repelled

as

buy the painting

able to

Ox

The Slaughtered

The

(opposite).

subject once

people; about a century ago, agents of the Louvre were

at auction for the relatively

minor sum of 5,000

no other museums or collectors cared to compete for it.

Today The Slaughtered Ox upsets no one, except perhaps those who
covet it yet cannot purchase it at any price now. The picture has the magfrancs because

combination of realism and mystery that

ical

The

left

side of the

shadow, and

ox

regard

in that

it is

Rembrandt

Life

comments of

revealing to read the

sor Emeritus Jakob Rosenberg of Harvard

artist,

uniquely Rembrandt's.

is

not sharply outlined but subtly blended into

is

in his classic

study of the

and Work. Rosenberg makes the point

brandt always put truth before beauty

"not only the

Profes-

Rem-

that

obvious, visual

truth of the physical world, but also, penetrating and conditioning

spiritual truth."

and nature
into being.
life.

are

as
.

There

combined

Rembrandt, Rosenberg

it.

the

man

writes, conceived of both

"dependent upon the Supreme Force that brought them

They

is

up with the

are tied

no such

creative process of

thing, for him, as nature morte.

in his still-life paintings

earthlv

all

Dead peacocks

with living persons. Rembrandt

is

unwilling to cut off anything from the continuous stream of creation

even a carcass,

as

...

in

his

Slaughtered Ox.

compositions, are not allowed to

finality, since this

Reverencing all of God's creatures.

Because

Rembrandt saw nothing unseemly

in

painting this gorv ox carcass

rather than the

more

usual subjects

The woman
in the background may be the

of

Dutch

still lifes.

butcher's wife.

brandt's

art,

a place? His parents

took

its

is

in

his

anv

their contact with the life process."

itself

but where within

were married

austere theology from

Forms,

definite or to have

"Supreme Force" was so

the question of his religion

certainly a Protestant

in that

The Slaughtered Ox, 1655

would break

his belief in a

become too

in the

central to

merits examination.

He

\\

as

that broad category did he find

Dutch Reformed Church, which

John Calvin. Rembrandt was brought up

church; his four children by Saskia were baptized in

much

Rem-

in his art that reflects Calvinist attitudes

it.

and there

particularly the

view

159

that religion touches everv area of

God. But

fore

to have had

much

Thus, although almost

formed Church,

the

all

The Church Council

than

in painting.

him within the Re-

spiritual affiliation.

1654 there are four

for

Rembrandt, although onlv the

relating to

seem not

emotional, intuitive

in religion

he also had another

Reformed Church

the archives of the

rationality

records place

official

likelv that

it is

svstem

rigid

totally helpless be-

is

who was

appeal for Rembrandt,

and no more inclined to follow a

In

and that man

dogma and his

life,

Calvin's strictness of

entries

mentions him bv name.

first

of Amsterdam, scandalized

at

the arrangement be-

tween Rembrandt and Hendnckje. summoned both of them to account.

Hendrickje was
in

dren (one

of whom

more were

so three

the Council bluntlv put

living, as

with the

whoredom

had

it.

in Hoererij

literally

artist,

and had borne him two illegitimate

died).

Nothing ensued from the

issued, but in these onlv

first

Hendrickje was

chil-

summons,

called. Ulti-

mately she appeared before the Council and was admonished and banned

from the sacraments. The ban was

when

lifted

baptism. In the traditional Calvinist view,

soon

as practicable after birth:

of the seeds of

Whv

she presented her child for

it is

vital to

baptize infants as

unbaptized children are believed to be

full

evil.

was Rembrandt ignored

summons? Probablv the

member of the Re-

after the first

Council discovered that he was not

time a

at that

formed Church, and hence was beyond

its

jurisdiction. In his maturity

Rembrandt had turned away from Calvinism

in a direction that

indi-

is

cated bv his biographer Baldinucci. Himself a Catholic priest in the days

of the Counter Reformation. Baldinucci was disinclined to speak well of

anv form of Protestantism, but

wrote Baldinucci.

brandt,

in this case

"the

professed

[Mennonites], which, though false too.

.

of

Thev do not

elect

humble condition

just people,

and

is

he was

as

men

long as thev arc esteemed by them honorable and

take their

Menno's followers

name and

who

all

good

Simons,

dogmas, sacraments and

the Apostles at His

t>\

Sermon on

Menno

creed from

rejected

interpret the

doing they have suffered

refuse to bear

Rem-

Menisti

vet opposed to that of Calvin.

ceremonies that were not instituted by Christ or

for so

the

educated preachers but employ for such posts

16th Century Dutch theologian

and

of

for the rest they live following their caprice."

The Mennonites

order.

fairly gentle.

religion

the

Mount

literally

deal of persecution.

They

arms or swear an oath: they oppose any infringement by

the state on their freedom of conscience anil have even rejected such materialistic practices as

Rembrandt's time
lent

insurance and the collection ot interest on loans. In

their spiritual concerns centered

on Bible reading,

si-

prayer and the practice of charity. In accordance with Menno's view

they found "the poor in spirit" preferable to "the worldly wise and
learned." and

drew

no

seemed most important

social

to

them

among themselves What

Sermon on the Mount was the

distinctions
in

the

injunction to love tin neighbor. In their theology the emphasis was on

Christ as the healer and teacher of

(

iod ot

men

The simplicity, humility and liberalism

appealed powerfully to

mi

rather than

on the formidable

!alvin.

ot the

Mennonites must have

man of Rembrandt's nature

ami these charac

teristics are at their

is

no evidence

most prominent

and greatest works. There

in his last

that he actually joined the sect:

have approved of

its

members would not

of rich costume and his taste for the romantic,

his love

and thev would have been disturbed even more than the Calvinists by
domestic

But

affairs.

his strongest spiritual affinity in his later years

his

was

with the Mennonites. Beyond that, he seems to have lived on the fringes
of organized religion, reading and interpreting the Bible in his
personal way.

ly

Rembrandt

So-called

almost every book

have essayed

in

this task

more than 800

human

mav have

zarenus Rex

with a

first artist

"portraits" of

them emphasize the

It is

all.

believed that his

Rembrandt seems

(page 104).

to derive his Christ-type from studying the

For centuries painters had been carefully placing on the

Iudaeorum; but

Jesus of Nazareth,
was unthinkable to

classic

deepening

Rembrandt painted from

placard of the Cross above Christ's head the letters

it

il-

bears a notable resemblance to

Emmaus

the Saviour's face in the Christ at

been the

portrait

work

the sitter's face in this

faces of Jews.

own

influence or his

served for

model was a young Jew, whose own

brandt

on the

aspect of the Saviour and are so similar in general appear-

ance that the same model

meaning

who

New.

Christ in the vears between 1648 and 1661. All of

to have

artists

of Christ to

life

conceptions or both. Rembrandt painted no fewer than

1661

illustrations of

for example, focuses

a half-dozen pictures of the

Whether because of the Mennonite

life in

his

have

have confined themselves wholly or largely to one

Old Testament, with only

tender,

all

"illustra-

in all

Old Testament and the New. Most

Testament or the other; the "Raphael Bible,"

lustrate the

most complete

its

Europe and the U.S. Thev contain

the

in

high-

with pictures selected from

Bibles,

and drawings

religious paintings, etchings

been published both

own

so thoroughly did he read the Bible that of

the Western tradition he has been

artists in

tor."

And

Greek or

pictorially

I.

had

they

Iesus

Na-

disregarded

the

N.R.I.

King of the Jews. To the mature Remcontradict the Bible by endowing Christ

Roman

he bizarre hat perched

like a

Italian princeling depicted

the similar creation

at

probably because of a growing tendency to interpret the Bible

(pages 143-145).

and

it is

hkeK

friends o\\ ned thi^

in

As

early as 1653,

mood

when

can be seen

in

In this large etching the emphasis

state

had transformed

ening gloom. Although the work

affirmation

as

one

critic

has put

his original

is
it,

filled

one

in

the

financial disaster

The Three
falls

Crosses

on the dark

it is

above

all

scene into one of black-

with a sense of tremendous

"the Crucifix soars triumphantlv

into the light like the 'Hallelujah' at the

5th

left

tor

of

end of a great Baroque oratorio"

the terrible, final ordeal of Christ that concerns the

artist,

more deeply than in any of his earlier Crucifixion scenes.

The same tragic spirit may be detected in the painting of Batbsheba
(pages 172-173) of 1654
the year in which the Council of the Re-

far

formed Church disciplined Hendrickje.

It

was she who served

as the

161

ere

Remhrandt 's

that he or

drama on the hill of Golgotha and on Christ's suffering. As Rembrandt

worked on his monumental plate, he produced separate states of it. and
by the fourth

commemorative or decorativ e medals u

to retain his tender conception of Christ, but

light of his private calamities.

ionzaga, the

the extreme

the mid- 1650s a somber tone began to emerge in his religious art

began to loom, the new tragic

this

Rembrandt's Three Crimes (page I4>). Such

or a Nordic face.

da)

in

on

Century lead medal, was the inspiration

popular collector's items

R,.embrandt was always

giant cupcake

on the head ofGian Francesco

one

ot his

model
finest

and Rembrandt's rendering resulted

for Bathsheba.

may have

nudes of the Baroque era; Rubens

ing sheer feminine beauty, but no painter equaled

thought and

feeling. In fact

very few nudes,

be particularly thoughtful.

said to

seems not to have a brain

in

surpassed

Venus on her

Botticelli's

in paint-

in expression

it

any period of

in

one of the
it

art,

of

can be

scallop shell

her head; Fragonard's Bathers are wonder-

in

ornamental, but one shudders to think what any of them, could she

fully

no more promise. But

speak, might say; and the odalisques of Ingres give

Rembrandt's Bathsheba broods poignantly on her situation; she

aware of the web of

conflicting impulses, well

fate in

which she

full

is

is

of

caught

and of the tragedy that King David's desire for her will bring.

'iblical figures

brandt in his

them was
that

final

of stature

their hours of

No

cup.

full

He came
drop of

Rem-

than Bathsheba's concerned

what seemed to

trial.

one man, having tasted

drink the

far greater

decade, and

him most about

fascinate

to understand

them

in

way

the

may understand what

gall,

it is

to

vanity was involved in identifying his plight with

was

theirs or in inserting his face in scenes of the Crucifixion. Indeed, this

Dutch piety of the time, perhaps best expressed by the

a reflection of

contemporary theologian Jacobus Revius

famous sonnet containing

in a

these lines:
It

was not

Steeped

in

moved with

Lord Jesus, who

the Jezvs,

Lord,

It is I,

the sadness and

he will be redeemed, but

in his

force:

girl,

He

as

and ask what

guilt, loyalty

with

God's

David -but even

as

ideal,

Any man

what promise, he

9,

is

is

in

sight, tries to find solace in the

still

will

any century can

himself about to betr.n

tilled

much

again apparent. The mighty king,

he wipes a tear from

within him. Saul

Samuel.

the

tear. In

had prophesied. But the painting does more

late religious art

has lost favor in

expressed with over-

is

Saul and David (pages 174-175) the somberness that

Rembrandt's

boil

him

His shoulder, knows that Peter

than merely illustrate the Biblical incident.

In

world, Rembrandt

illuminated bv a candle held

face,

innocence contends with

deny Him, exactly

it

own

of his

the conflict that racks

distance, Christ, looking back over

at

time of trial. In Peter's

up bv a servant

look

doomed man not a condemned one,

doomed to break and to reveal his human

Peter he portrays a tragically

for

powering

frailties

You

that to You.

great insight in the world of the Scriptures. In his Denial of

St.

weakness

crucified

who have done

it is I

oi

of

who

music of young

madness and violence

his eye,

wears the trappings

majesty; in the words ol

"There was not among the children of

Israel a

goodlier per

son than he: from his shoulder and upward he was higher than any of the
people." Yet Saul's end
blacks ot the

Rembrandt
tears

is

not

far off,

and he

shadows so portend, and

partially isolates Saul

in

will die a suicide.

a

superbh

stroke

by the curtain with which he dries

20th Century psychiatrist might well find

The deep

prescieni

in this a pictorial

gestion that the king's illness was schizophrenia: the "evil

spirit''

Ins

sug
that

possessed Saul caused him to vacillate between gentle, repentant lucidity

and furious, uncontrolled lunacy.

Not

allot

ed with

162

Rembrandt's

gloom

In

late religious paintings,

however, are permeat-

1656, the year he was forced into bankruptcy, he

produced one of the most tranquil of

The

Sons of Joseph.

but an interesting point

the half-blind patriarch

works

all his

Jacob Blessing the

shown and discussed on pages 169-171,

remains to be made about it. The bed in which

painting

is

askew;

startlingly

lies is

footposts and head-

its

board have no relation to each other. Obviously Rembrandt, whose

observation of realitv and accuracy of line can scarcely be faulted, simplv

when he

did not care about visual truth

cerned with darkening the foreground

the quiet

communion

human

of his

this

is

was con-

order to throw his emphasis on

was the

figures. It

action, not the fact of a bed, that engrossed him.

drawing" when

similarlv ignored "proper

He

painted this work.

in

them

suited

it

the privilege of genius; absolute mastery

is

fact

of their inter-

Other great
to

have

artists

do

But

so.

required before one can

effectivelv take leave of literalism.

Rembrandt's
portraits

One

this

is

the so-called Polish Rider (pages 122-123).

a portrait. Biblical or historv painting, or genre scene.

must be categorized, perhaps "romance"

this

The

chant.

was a commissioned

Christian warriors; in the

mav have been making

rider

heavily

is

war hammer

Rembrandt

armed

but

as

an

able to "infidels"

be carried

far,

he

far as

carries a

was

artist

it is

its

the artist

it

known,

in his entire

Amsterdam merthat he epitomizes

rode east to do battle

RemThe

also possible that

bow, arrows, a sword, a dagger and

also heavilv

look of vulnerability.

armed, and he too was vulner-

not understand him. This conjecture cannot

worth noting that

last

1658,

in

when

"downfall"

his

of his precious possessions, he

In the print, a statue of a hero has

place has been taken

was

lertainly his

collector,
Aristotle

Don Antonio

who

Ruffo,

in

The

Sicil-

1652 had

Contemplating the Bust of Horner (page 125),

other paintings from

Alexander the Great and &

pedes-

its

would endure.

independent attitude toward patrons persisted.

commissioned the

two

been toppled from

bv the bird of self-resurrection. Perhaps

defiantlv saying that he too

nobleman and

acquired

is

tell

If

etching called The Phoenix which also seems to be a personal

comment.
but

still

is

in his sensitive face there is a

who could

but

it

is

hard to

a personal statement in the picture.

was completed by the auction of the

made an

men

7th Century

Turks and Tartars. But

brandt

ian

As

portrait of an

usual interpretation of the Polish Rider

against the infidel

tal,

the word.

It is

one of onlv two equestrian paintings bv Rembrandt

is

career; the other

all

is

his

in his last years.

is

of these

whether

by

late religious paintings are rivaled in their nobility

and bv a few secular works that he undertook

Homer

intriguing series of letters passed

Rembrandt

in

1661 and 1663

an

(page 124). Concerning these works, an

between the

and the

Sicilian

artist,

and

although Rembrandt's part of the correspondence has unhappilv vanished,

what remains

attests to his

continued ruggedness of

spirit.

Ruffo

objected to both paintings, complaining that the Alexander was onlv a

head, which had been enlarged
ure.

Rembrandt fought

to paint the picture again

The

Sicilian also

ished.
critics,

found

on four

sides to

make

it

back, informing RufTb that he

if

a half-length fig-

would be

willing

Ruffo would pav an additional 500 guilders.

fault

with the Homer,

This was a charge that was often to be

in his

view,

it

was unfin-

made bv Rembrandt's

later

and, according to his biographer Houbraken. he had long since

165

formulated a crushing reply to

A
,

achieved his intention bv

>

it,

one that has a

Rembrandt noted,

painting,

own terms.

his

made

Homer

it

he made them on

between painter and patron

669, the year Rembrandt died, Ruffo

ring.

for RufTb: the nature of

likelv that

is

In anv event, the relationship

scarcely suffered. In

>

not known, but

is

modern

it."

Eventually Rembrandt did add to the

the changes he

particularly

completed when the master has

"is

with a handsome order for

came through

89 of his etchings, which Rembrandt

select-

ed and shipped himself.

.here

to

was

in

Baroque town

.ySM5
-

i'

- "'

V-"

-*

;rt,:

commission he undertook

hall

today

the Royal Palace

thought to the decoration of

the

would be

But

ry.

Roman

in

Rembrandt's daj was the construction of a

new town

hall.

The old center of

n in the

as a

complex

withdrawal

ol dilapidated buildings

houses that stood nearh\

hall

that

he new

in

Rembrandt was one of man)

its

artists

work

asked to

decoration, hut his

ot

as

one

name

1940s

has been renamed Djakarta, and

it

large

below the vaulted

enough

to

is

now

the

nation of Indonesia.)

Amsterdam town

accommodate

hall there are eight lu-

Each of these semi-circular spaces

ceiling.

monumental

painting.

It

was decided

is

to

who must

at that

sidered the foremost painter in Holland, and

time have been con-

who

presumably might

have been expected to produce large-scale masterpieces rivaling those

offering, the Conspiracy ofJulius Civilis,

replaced In

Dutch revere him

to this day the

give the commission to one man.

1655

as in a strong!) classical st) le

paint pictures tor

overwhelm-

the writings of the

town

depicted on the gold medal (below)

commemorates the dedication

new

In the south gallery of the

nettes

row of gabled

also sketched a

and

in

themselves poetically as "Batavians." and gave the

in the

capital of the

with

no unity of design or construction.

(Saenredam

mentioned

Low

the

Batavia to the capital of their East Indian colonies. (Since the Dutch

drawing above by

the architectural painter Pieter Saenredam.

now

of their histo-

led a valiant uprising against the

his exploits are

historian Tacitus

ly referred to

Amsterdam during

government, show

is

of their greatest forebears. In Rembrandt's dav Netherlanders occasional-

The most ambitious architectural

undertaking

one point Julius

at

power of Rome

ing

what

Roman Empire for most

of the

allies

appropriate. Julius

the Batavians. that had settled during

tribe,

the First Century in the Rhine delta, in the area of

They were

gave

fathers

city

huge south gallery and concluded that

its

scenes depicting the revolt of Julius Civilis

Countries.

closer

the 1650s, after the completion of Amsterdam's great

was the leader of a Germanic

happy outcome to

a less

home. Late

one of his students.

as

produced by Rubens

for

Marie

Amsterdam

officials

chose?

Medici of France several decades ear-

de'

Luxembourg Palace

for the

lier

And who was

Paris.

in

The trumpets

the

man

the

sound, the lights blaze up. and

he steps forth: Flinck.

Govacrt Flinck
of

is

by no means to be discounted; he had been

Rembrandt and was

once ranked above

good

may seem

artist. It

was the

his master, but that

would not have been given any opportunity

town

hall

had

it

\\

as

Rembrandt

to paint anything tor the

in

1660.

The huge

several artists, including other pu-

pils

of Rembrandt, while the master himself was assigned to paint the

first

of the lunettes. Even this was not necessaril) an honor; the series

called for a nocturnal scene,

manner
b\

s feet.

lathers.

same

and

this

was deemed

1662 Rembrandt delivered

In

Civilis (pages

164

case. Indeed.

not been for Flmck's untimely death

commission was then divided among

a pupil

astonishing that he

The

his colossal Conspiracy of Julius

126-129), the largest painting he ever

But the work

subject,

suitable to his "dark"

next year

which

it

still

in all its

was replaced by
remains

made

rough!)

glorious s.u agery did not please the

in

the

20
citj

second-rate painting on the

town

hall,

by Rembrandt's pupil

Juriaen Ovens.

To Rembrandt, who by

had beeome indifferent

that time

was perhaps not a crushing blow.

to public opinion, the affair

was,

It

rather, a tragedy for art.

By grim
on the

coincidence,

it

happened

Rembrandt was

that while

Julius Chilis his beloved mistress Hendrickje

wife Saskia had fallen

ill

It

will

and was described by him

feet

and

as "sick in

went

work

at

just as his

women were

both

likely that

is

victims of tuberculosis. In 1661 Hendrickje

ill

was planning another

years before while he

huge masterpiece, the Night Watch.

fell

make

to a notary to

appearance though

her

on her

still

active."

The importance

He

calculable.

Rembrandt

of Hendrickje to

was

in his late years

had never been a successful manager of

his affairs;

in-

was

it

who protected him from his creditors after his bankruptcy and prohome in which he could work undisturbed. She served repeatedly

she

vided a
as his

model

his last, loving portrait of her,

have sensed that

life

was beginning to

slip

an of great and simple heart. She died

in

made

in

when he must

660,

away from

her, reveals a

1663, and in her will she

wom-

pathetic estate to her daughter Cornelia, with the stipulation that

child should die, her possessions should

The will

go to

And

little girl.

that

the

if

Saskia's son Titus, then 22.

also speaks directly to the artist; she "friendly asks

to take care of her

her

left

Rembrandt"

was Hendrickje, one of the noblest

souls ever to serve a troubled genius.

No

lo loss,

He no

art.

however great, could prevent Rembrandt from pursuing

longer produced etchings, and his

been made

last

his

drawings seem to have

about the time of Hendrickje's death. Paint became

at

preferred medium, glowing with the

richest colors

his

he had ever used,

as

evidenced in the Jewish Bride (pages 130-13 1). In his self-portraits he unflinchingly recorded

the slow

approach of

own

his

death.

one

In

extraordinary picture he turns to face the viewer, laughing as he had

laughed long ago

in his earliest

man who

old

has seen through

Rembrandt was

still

now

etched studies of himself. But

laugh that grips the heart, so wonderfully does

all

it

is

it

the vanities of the world.

occasionally visited in his studio by

men

of rank

and renown. Cosimo de' Medici, scion of a family that had patronized
for

200

work The
that

on Rembrandt

years, called

1667. C.

in

Medici, could find no kinder

words

Young,

F.

for

about the

and bigotry."

One

in his

art

famous

young Cosimo than

he was "vain, weak, tyrannical, entirely wanting

in superstition

express the feeling of an

in brains

and sunk

can imagine him mincing foolishlv

workshop. Not surprisingly, he seems to have found

artist's

among the

nothing that interested him

paintings

Rembrandt had

at

hand,

although he apparently did purchase (perhaps from a dealer) a Self-Portrait that

is

Another

now in
visitor

the Uffizi in Florence.

was Gerard de

his portrait painted

resse

had become

blind,

book crammed with

once had a
at that

found

in

an

1665.

artist

Some

from Liege,
years

he took to theorizing about

rules

later,

art,

who

when

had
Lai-

and produced a

and regulations. "I do not want to denv that

special preference for [Rembrandt's]

time
it

Lairesse,

by Rembrandt

manner," he wrote, "but

had hardly begun to understand the

necessary to recant

my

infallible rules

error and to repudiate

his.

."

of

art.

Lairesse

165

Rembrandt

also noted that because

noble rank and refined

failed to associate

taste, his subjects

with people of

were sadly bourgeois.

"The infallible rules of art" to which Lairesse referred were the result
of the wave of rationalism that swept through Europe late in the 7th
Century and culminated in the "Age of Reason" of the 18th. In art, the
1

French Academie Rovale de Peinture

home

head, the

apply reason to
as art

in

all

matters

did not reach

about

de Sculpture was the fountain-

et

of the law and the prophets.

its

even those
peak

until well after

700, however, the precepts generated

very high esteem.

It

The French tendency

Rembrandt's death. By

in the

Academie were held

was even thought possible that

signed numerical grades, and in

to

that are often unreasoning, such

artists

could be as-

708 a theorist closely associated with

the Academie, Roger de Piles, did exactly that. In a celebrated treatise

de

called Balance des Peintres,

He

ers."

Piles

graded 57 of "the best-known paint-

established four categories

expression

and

in each

composition, drawing, color

and

he awarded a grade, from zero to an impossibly

perfect 20.

B,'ecause de

Piles'

grading has considerable interest as a reflection of

authoritative critical judgments at a time

brandt was

still

fresh,

NAME
Andrea

Rem-

of

in part:

DRAWING

COLOR

10

10

12

16

COMPOSITION
del Sarto

memory

the

worth reproducing here

it is

Albrecht Diirer

when

XPRESSION

Le Brun

16

16

16

Correggio

13

13

15

12

Giorgione

18

Holbein

10

16

13

Leonardo

15

16

14

Michelangelo

17

Caravaggio

16

Veronese

15

10

16

Poussin

15

17

15

Raphael

17

18

12

18

Rembrandt

15

17

12

Rubens

18

13

17

17

Tintoretto

15

14

16

Titian

12

15

18

15

10

17

13

Van Dyck

In this abbreviated table

it

well, except for his miserable

will

be noted that Rembrandt

grade of 6

in

drawing:

his

fares quite

broken outlines

counted heavily against him. But overall, de Piles rated Rembrandt 10th
in his list

of 57, and spared him the ghastly flunking grades given to Mi-

chelangelo and Leonardo

by

in color,

and the unmentionable grade received

laravaggio in expression.

(
It

de

Piles' tabic

seems amusing today,

it

should

in fairness

be pointed

out that he and other rationalists were following the trend of their time

De

Piles

so.

Other important

had

high regard for Rembrandt, and

critics

in

in his

other w ritings said

the half-ccnuir\ alter Rembrandt's death

almost invariably had kind words for him. although these were constant-

66

tempered bv regrets that he did not use enough

ly

follow "the infallible

seems to have thought ot

The

tortion.

it

only

in

human

expression of the

the portrait of Jan Six (page 112).

give that painting a grade of only

Is

John Milton

The
at

modern viewer who would

expression?

2 in

meant nothing to Rem-

"Age of Reason"

two other towering

dawned.

fully

figures of the

England and Blaise Pascal

in

it.

worth looking once more

is

it

there a

brandt; he was in his grave before the

ry.

con-

Rembrandt achieved

involves immeasurable quali-

it

critiques of the rationalists of course

interesting to note that

word but
taeial

drawing and composition.

point need not be labored, but perhaps

is

tailed to

Piles used the

spirit, as

that include but transcend color,

The

and

terms ot pose and dramatic

can never be given an arithmetical rank:

ties

De

concerned the matter of "expression."

critics

light

The cardinal point ignored by Rembrandt's

rules."'

France, also had

in

It

7th Centu-

little-

use for rationalism as a means of achieving the most important of

God

aims: an understanding of

denounced

cal,

thought and ordered

classical

in his efforts to

heart has

sand things.
This. then,

reasons,
... It
is

is

God

felt

by the

We feel

his

own

death he had a few

Hendrickje. he saw

it

in Titus.

premonition. Titus died

His

1663,

in

it

last portrait

same

the

at

in his art.

appointments with

final

he had been given to witness the onset of

Just as

reason.

by the reason." Rem-

had arrived

conclusion and. without recourse to words, had stated

Before

"the
thou-

in a

it

God, and not the

heart, not

an intellectual,

scarcely

philosopher Pas-

in his Pensees that

which reason does not know.

the heart which experiences

faith:

brandt, although

the evil devices of Satan

The French

observed

reject reason,

all

Regained Milton

his Paradise

lotfic as

corrupt the truth of Christ.

although he did not

its

and man. In

doom

of his son

God.

his

Saskia and

in

full

is

of sad

than seven months after he had

less

married; a daughter was born to him posthumously. Otherwise, there re-

mained only Rembrandt's

far-off Java.

She had two

illegitimate daughter Cornelia,

children,

and

as the true

who went

to

daughter of her mag-

\\

o decades before

his death.

Westerkerk, where he w

nificent

mother she named them Rembrandt and Hendrickje.

Octobers. 166V
built in

Dutch

me

179),

of Rembrandt's

and

it

Rembrandt
peace.

But

has served

paintings

last

many

biographers as a convenient endpiece; in

God

has returned figuratively to

in fact

wandered very

far

there

is

the Prodigal Son (pages 177-

is

some question

all

made an angry

what

his last illness was,

in

the Westerkerk near his

slumber he

lies

last

home

part of the city. After his death there

Simeon

preoccupied him since

second chapter of Luke,

Light of the world, and
say.

"Lord,

in

now

Iettest

in

standing,

Rembrandt

it

was

in

hi*,

son

itu-.

and

it

artist

ever

life,

appears that he

it

whose grave
in his

his

in

is

in

long

another

studio an unfin-

The theme was one

that

had

There was surely something pro-

the story of the old man. described in the

who had lived

who could then

long enough to see Christ, the

cast

up

thou thy servant depart

his eves to

Heaven and

in peace.'"

16"

'>>

on

which was

the new
parish church.

also shelters the

works, matched chro-

Amsterdam, and

was found

in the Temple.

his earliest days.

foundly moving to him

Rembrandt's time
classical style,

near Hendrickje, not Saskia.

ished painting:

["he church,

He died in 669 at the age of

no one can say. He was buried on October 8

or a bitter statement.

63

whether the

his

nologically against the repeated tragedies of his

never

Still

as buried

and has found everlasting

as to

from God. In a review of

Remhrandt

made this drawing ot Amsterdam

tombs of

his wife.

Ifa

particular area of

Rembrandt's painting

singled out for greatness,

Although

his maturity.

it is

and

Century.

was
as

critics until fairlv

to be

the Biblical pictures of

their existence

known, these works were not

artists

in

is

was of course

really "discovered"

near the end of the

Among the reasons for the belated

a sociological one: with the

by

A Man

and

His Faith

9th

revelation

growing concept of man

an individual rather than as a faceless and

inconsequential unit of society, Rembrandt's expression

of this idea

two

centuries earlier took

on

new and

modern dimension of meaning.

In his late religious works, regardless of their themes,

humanitv

lies

always

at

the core.

was not

It

as stock

characters suitable for painting that Saul the king or

Bathsheba the beautiful adulteress or the prophetic Jacob

captured Rembrandt's imagination.
these people

conceived

known

felt

It

was

rather

and endured that moved him.

of Biblical figures in

what

He

terms of individuals

In rhis detail

to him, Hawed, fallible or suffering as the case

the

from Jacob Blessing

Sons of Joseph, the fingers

of

Joseph attempt to direct the

happened to

be,

and he painted them thus. For

Rembrandt the Old Testament was not "history

shade," as John ("akin called

it.

luminous hand of his aged

in

the

mere record of ancient

warnings, admonitions and demonstrations of an

implacable

rod. In the artist's

beginning chapter of

view the Scripture was the

a narrative

of man's situation, a

dramatic and continuing narrative

saw himseli and

68

his

in

contemporaries

which Rembrandt

as

ital

participants.

father,

hut they prove as powerless as

those of
a

man who

sunbeam. The

tries to

move

Biblical

significance of the subtle interplay

ot

hands

is

made

elear

following pages

Jacob Blessing the Sons

just-ph. dct.nl

<>f

on the

\/^

J*-

&-'-W'

y^i

,^lkr-

170

he story of Jacob Blessing the Sons ofJoseph

JLhe

is

told in Genesis 48. Joseph brings his sons

simply

Manasseh

and Ephraim to be blessed by their dying grandfather,

the almost sightless Jacob. According to hitherto

immutable custom, Jacob should have used

hand to

bless the first-born bov.

patriarch, enlightened

his right

Manasseh. Instead the

by God, places

his

hand on the

head of the younger boy, the fair-haired Ephraim. who.

he foresees, will be greater than

his

brother and whose

"seed shall become a multitude of nations." In the

Scriptural text Joseph

is

described as "displeased" with

move Jacob's right hand

toward Manasseh's head and even remonstrates with
his father's act;

he

tries to

Jacob. But in the painting Joseph does not

really

determined

make a

effort to shift the blessing. It

he had decided that

it

was not

for

man

is

as

if

to intervene in

mysteries beyond his comprehension: indeed, he wears

an

air

of submission and even approval of what

taking place. His wife Asenath

in this

incident in the Bible

who

is

is

not mentioned

watches the scene with a

tender smile. Rembrandt added her to create the

atmosphere of a warm family group, and he chose as

his predominant colors harmonies of yellows and reds

which he often used

message
the

in his

Old Testament seems

of the words of the New:

Jacob Blessing the Sons ofJoseph,

656

mature

years.

in this lofty pictorialization

The artist's

of a storv from

to be a direct expression

"Thy Will be done."

Batbsheba, 1654

le story ol

Rembrandt,

David and Bathsheba (II Samuel.

who

painted

it

in

greatest portrayal of it in 1654. In this conception,

hath and holds

had a particular fascination for

the 1630s and 1640s, slowly shaping his thoughts for his

Bathsheba has just completed her

her hand the newly arrived letter from

to his palace. In her face

and

in

the melancholy

tilt

King David, summoning her

of her head (X-rays reveal that

Rembrandt made changes in position before achieving precisely the attitude he sought)
summed up the emotions that course through her. There is a sense of loyalty to her

are

absent husband, Uriah; balancing this

king; ami overriding both
her.

is

is

her physical desire to share the bed of the great

her anticipation ol the

doom

Meanwhile the servant, who knows nothing and

turmoil, goes

on methodically drying her

must surely overtake

that

senses nothing ol Bathsheba's

mistress' feet.

lendrickje was the

model

for

Bathsheba; coincidentally, she bore Rembrandt an illegitimate daughter during the year
the painting

was completed.
,

172

^"-

?!3lf,

^JL

&

fe \

^0

*2*3

_v-^'

SjuI and David,

I n his late vears Rembrandt's religious paintings were often charged with a
deep sense of gloom and of awe
powerful of them

at the helplessness

before God. He

in

of

men

no sense slackened

but turned to tragic themes perhaps because of his

even the most

in his religious faith

own experiences. His Saul

and David shows the old king half-mad with grief because the Lord has
withdrawn His favor from him and bestowed it on voung David, the shepherd
boy who had become

Saul's armor-bearer and whose harp-plaving soothed the

when the "evil spirit" was upon him. In the eve of the weeping Saul
(detail, opposite) mav be seen the inner struggle that racks him. Love for David

king

contending with wrath, and we sense that soon the conflict will erupt in a
mad attempt at murder. Dark shadows and somber colors intensify the mood
is

of impending explosion:

on

it

his javelin, will clench,

seems that

and he

David even to the wall with

it" (I

in

another instant Saul's hand, relaxed

will hurl the

Samuel.

weapon with

intent to "smite

8).

175

c.

16*8

David and I

Lsinthe caseol several of Rembrandt's untitled

paintings, the subjec

debated b)

s<

holars

suggested, the

the

oi
( )t

likeliest

is

work above continues

number
thai

it

to be

of ideas that have been

represents the incident

in

Samuel,

which King David

in

(right)

sends

Bathsheba's soldier-husband Uriah (foreground) to certain

death on the battlefield.

foreknowledge oi

Ins

Ins fate.

dov

ncast look betraying

'riab, c

665

Return oftbt Prodigal Son,

There can be no doubt, however, about the subject

treated above

the return of the Prodigal Son (Luke.

This painting constitutes Rembrandt's

final

the Christian idea of forgiveness and mercy.

prodigal kneels, his father's expression

1

5).

gentle,

and

his

embrace

(detail,

is

166^

consummately

next pages) symbolizes

statement on

Rembrandt's hope

As the

voyagers on the ocean of the world.

for the safe return of all lost

and troubled

177

s>

J'ft'

*i

;.'"''

>

Ov

"^
/

Mb

4-

afe"

fesr
r

se
.-LS^
1

'

'

^-dt

'

**n
'

'

'

*s?

'<*

Bfc-*

-.

**

<

VV

i*4te&"

>?^
i^>

.V*S

A
*
-

APPENDIX

Beilona. 16??

The

brilliance unveiled

T.

he restoration ot Rembrandt's paintings has dispelled

the centuries-old notion that he painted only

in

somber

torus This photograph shows a hall -cleaned portrait of

Saskia, the

young Rembrandt's bride-to-be, dressed

Beilona, the

ol dirt ,ind

h\ well

Roman

goddess of war. The uncleaned

murk) amber

half has a

by

ai least

meaning

the painting

however,

that

The

east

two

left

caused b\ the accumulation

layers ol tinted varnish applied

9th Century picture restorers to protect

right h all 'cleat K

demonstrates,

Rembrandt's original work included natural

skin tones, brilliant whites and co<

ISO

as

il

greys.

in

The delicate task of lifting Beilona' s veil ol

1947 to The Metropolitan Museum of Art

varnish
in

make

City. First, restorers anal} /cd the coating's chemical

up and selected

a solvent

fell

New York

potent enough to dissolve

it

without injuring the paint beneath. Then, using cotton

swabs, they applied the solvent to the canvas
at a

time.

When

the entire

cam

.is

centimeter

had been cleaned,

signature and date, which had been nearl) im isible

lower

left

corner,

were checked, and the

authenticity had been

doubted

bv

some

proved a genuine early Rembrandt.

picture,
critics,

in

the

w hose
as

Copper plate

The
In

lost

956 the

art

world was stunned by the news that a

the copper plates in 1938 from Alvin-Beaumont. a French

collector

which had been presumed missing

gallerv in

century, had suddenly reappeared

for a quarter of a

in

the possession of a

lawyer from Greenville. North Carolina.

including the one

shown above

The 75

Carolina iWuseum of Art

plates are

in Raleigh.

known

plates,

(an original print from

which appears on page 147) went on display

European

1648

recovered

fabulous cache of Rembrandt's original etching plates,

dozen other

for etching: Giving of Alms,

in

the North

Fewer than

to exist,

all

a half-

held in

collections.

Robert Lee Humber. the owner, had secretlv purchased

who had
1

last

exhibited

them

in a

New York

930. Although most of the plates are

worn and

have been reworked since Rembrandt's time, they are

highly prized as collector's items.

the purchase price

halt a million dollars

in

rinallv

It

in a

New York warehouse

was not mere coincidence, however,

broke silence

Rembrandt's

birth.

not reveal

nor did he explain why he

concealed his treasure

years.

Humber did

1930 the collection was insured

in

95"6

for

that he

the 350th anniversan

oi

for

<

APPI-'NDIX

Chronology:

Rembrandt's Era

Artists of

1650

1550

1700

LEIDEN

AMSTERDAM
CLAESJANS2 VISS
JAN PYN

<t

4-1631

LASTM VN

PIETEfl

JACOB VAN >WANFNBL~RGH

1550-c 1612

I c

US H IAS 1590/91
IHOM\SDF kt>SKR

JANLIEVENS

1660

REMBRANDT H\R AENSZOON VAN RUN

JACOB BACKER .08-1651
WII.I.EM VAN Dl VEI Dl THE ELDER

KLEVE
GOVAERT

VVILLEM K

Hi

CORNELISKETEL

15-

JAN BRLEGHEL

1619-1688

J*

1628/2!

VESMAES
IN VAN

\I)RI

JAN

630-1677

1)1

:6-l6

-1712
\| ANDERHEYDFN 16}
ME lp.DFRI HOBBEMA 16! B-1709
Til I S VAN RUN 1641 166

FRAN'S

I-

\l

IS

IIRDI MOLYN

CHAR1

159

ITALY
LODOVICOCARRA

597-1665

OH/\\N|s\ IRSPROSK
IETERCLAESZ

EUSTACHF

!%l

1661

159

62

PALI M(OKI
Ills
(.1

M
I

\l

s|

Rl
i(-|

GL 'RCTNO

1618

VAN HONTHORsjl

RIT
\

\N BAKl

Rl

III

SAI

,RI

()

\N

kill

Rl

VH

1567 1641

I)

EM AN

Willi

CARFI EAR

mis

PAULS!
I'll

UK

Ml

HI

SAM!

II

RIRFRA

1588 1652

62"

JUAN

I6X

R I'-

C.I

\NIICMX.SIK\I
1)1

1)1

V DIM

\l

1622-16*0

Nl.l \NI)

PI II R

<** 1664

I59

R\RT010MI fSTIBANMUKIIIO

*t

161

DIEGO VFLASQUEZ

ll
1

R(|N\

FRANCISCO DE ZURBtlRAN

1617 1602

HOOCH

C
(

|AN VI

DORDRI

>

MOR

i,

15!

,LTA I5f-

JL!

Dl

>".,

Nl

1541-1614

FRANCISCO f
\

ORTONA
N/ORIRN

IN

I'*

R?ORC

II

1581 -164

1591-1666

SIORI

1581 1641

PI FTIRO |)\(

<
I

ln

>

Nl

GFRARI)

MIC

RIJNI 1575-1642

BFRNAI DOSTROZZ1

1564-1651

1)1 \

1557-1602

GLIDO

16'

DRICKTERBRI C.GHI N n

DM k
DM

DOME NJICHINO
I

c 1619-1690

Bl(

FIR 16161655

BRUN

555-161')

1612-1695

LE

s|

1674

l6l>:

1607-1677

ANNIBUEC
CCI 1560 1609
ORAZIOGEN1 FSC HI c 1565-c. 1640
MICHELANGEK Ml RISI D\C \RIU

II

AGOSTINOCSRRijc

II 1661

SALOMONS \\ Rl > !D AIL I6<hi iis-(i

JANMOLFNAER 1600/ 10 1668
ADRIAFNVAN on ADF 1610-1684
GF KM bir( kimni

IRK

PIFRRF MIGNAI

91-1610

CNF

MATHIEULENAtt

on 16)1
;,

Jv 1682

HAM

PHILIPPE DEI

58!

ETER SAFNREDAM

\KR\II\M

593-1652

AUDI IORRMN

CI

III

592 -1

DE LA TOUR

1584 1612

ASVANOEVELDI

1593-1641

COLAS POUSSIN 1594 1665

M ILLEMCLAESZ HEDA
I

FNAIN

lojuiSI

HE XLESSEGHFRS
ES

1588-1

c-

1590-1649

JACQUES CA1.LOT

580-1666

JAN P0RCII

1610

1611-1 6>1

SIVON VOUET

JAN

HAARI M
HFNDRICKGOL IJ/ll.

FY

\NT )INE LENAIN

1<

1593 1678

FRANCE

Jj-1707

I6H-I69:

1)1

rOBJORDAENS

GABRIF1 METSL 1629-166-

ANTHOh II VAN BORSSOM

\NDEV LDE THE YOUNGER

1577-1641

1579-1657

ANTHONY VAN DYCI 1599-1641

ADRIAFN BROLW R 1605 06-1638
DAVID I1NIFRS EHE YOUNGER

568- 162

MYDERS

FRAN'S

1622 169!

JACOB V \N RLTSDAEL

PETER P UL RUBENS

1622-c 166-

LAMBERT DOOMIR c 1623-1700

1624-16
JAN VAN Dl CAPPELLE

II

IMCK 161'-I660

Fl

FLANDERS

1616-1680

16*5-161

GOUDA

KO INCk

1626-1679

FRAN VAN MIERIS

1603/04-1677

GERRIT LL DENS

161 2-c 16

KI3M675

sink

Jan

600-165

WOi

1606-1685/84

1674
X

66?

AERTVANDERNvEFR

\\

HFEM

160;

GERRIT DOl

SISKIN DF VI IFGFR

PHI MPS

1-I6?8

HARM EN VAN STFF NWIJCK

)|

FERDINAND

1596 1656

JAN DAVIDSZ DE

1583-1663

HEN DhlCK VAN UYLENBUR jH '84/89 -c

HFNC RICKAVERCAMP 158 1634
NIC

NVANGOYEN

in

R\1 \N1

\I)\M

(.IIDIR 1645

SHI M
I

IO\<

571 I6l(

HIM \ON

SV*.|)R VRI

Im

!*>

|55(>

Rembrandt' i

on

art grouped chronologically according to count ry

The bunds

co rrespond to the

lite

>/>.;//>

of tbt artists

Bibliography
Note Since there
:

is

-Paperback

such a wealth of literature on Rembrandt, this

is

a selected

of material that the editors believe would

list

be of most interest to the reader.

Smith Meridian Books. 1960.

REMBRAS.DI-11H VNDWORKS

White. Christopher. Rembrandt and

Bauch. Kurt. Rembrandt Gemdlde
ings

Walter de Gruvter

& Co

catalogue raisonne of Rembrandt's paint-

1964

his

world 'new edition)

readable biography emphasizing the

artist

he Viking Press.

work

liferatha than his

Berlin. 1966.

Benesch. Otto. Rembrandt Biographical and Critical Study. Translated bv James

Emmons.

Editions d'Art. Albert Skira. Geneva. 1957.

kND HISIORK

The Drawings of Rembrandt (6 vols.) Phaidon Press. London. 1954-1957.

Rembrandt as a Draughtsman Phaidon Press. London. 1960.

Boon. K
1963

Rembrandt The Complete

Etchings.

Town Hall of Amsterdam. Haentjens Dekker

Gumbert. Utrecht. 1959.
Friednch. Carl J., The Age of the Baroque. 1610-1660 Harper & Brothers 19>"2

Rembrandt LJ.C Boucher. The Hague. 1961

Translation and discussion of Rembrandt's brief correspondence with the secretary of the Prince of Orange about the Passion series he painted for the
Prmce. These are the only known letters bv Rembrandt.
Goldscheider. Ludvvig. Rembrandt. Phaidon Press, London. 1960.
Hind. Arthur M..

Methuen and

Letters b\

London. 1923 Reprinted

in

Benn Limited. London.

rnest

&

Noble. Inc.

Part One. second edition

196

P.irt

Two. 1964
Renier. (j J

The Dutch Saturn

Mien

L nw

Ltd

in

London. 1944.

ranslated b\ Simon Watson

Zumthor. Paul. Daily Life in Rembrandt's Holland
Taylor The Macmillan Company. 196 3 First rate social history
I

ART -HISIORK

VL

Bu KGROUND

iiber

Bcrgstrom. lngvar. Dutch

Still-Life

Painting in the Seventeenth Century

ed by Christina Hedstrom and Gerald

ry sources.

Landsberger. Franz. Rembrandt. The Jews and the Bible Translated bv Felix

Gerson.

one volume. Da Capo

Rembrandt (1575-1 721) Mar

The Hague. 1906. Indispensable compilation of the documenta-

Hofstede de Groot. Cornells. Die Urkunden

The Jewish

Munz. Ludwig. The

Catalogue of Rembrandt's Etchings (2 vols), second edition

Co.. Ltd..

1967 Rembrandt. Harvard University Press. 1932

tinus Nijhotf.

&

Geyl, Pieter. The Setberlands in the Seventeenth Century. Barnes

Press. 1966.

Gerson. H., Seven

Publication Society of America. 1946.

Etchings of

Rembrandt

(2

vols

Phaidon

thorough treatment of
Fnedlander.

Press.

London.

1952.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rim Ham N Abrams. 1954.

Life and Work (revised edition). Phaidon Press.
London. 964. The best monograph on Rembrandt's art and achievement.
1

of Rembrandt with a Selection of Drawings by His

and Followers (2 vols.).* Dover Publications. Inc.. 1965.
Rembrandt and His Critics: 1610-1710 Martinus Ni|hotf. The Hague, 1953
"The Young Rembrandt." Allen Memorial Art Bulletin. XX, 1963.
Valentiner. VV. R., Die Handzeichnungen Rembrandts (Klassiker der Kunst) <2

Seymour. Drawings

Pupils

Deutsche Verlagsanstalt. Stuttgart. 1925. Not complete.

raisonne of Rembrandt's drawings

catalogue

he third volume was never published

Rembrandt and His Pupils. * The North Carolina Museum of Art. 1956
Rembrandt and Spinoza. Phaidon Press. London. 1957.
Visser t Hooft. VV. A.. Rembrandt and the Gospel* Translated bv K Gregor

this

avlor

phase of Dutch

homas Yoseloff

ranslat-

Inc..

1956.

Lumsden,

art.

Max J On An and Connoisseurship

.

Beacon Press I960.

Lev mane. Jean. Dutch Painting Translated bv Stuart Gilbert Editions d'Art
bert Skira.

Rosenberg. Jakob. Rembrandt

vols.).

& Co

Boxer C. R The Dutch Seaborne Empire. 1600-1800 Hutchinson

London. 196?
Fremantle Katharine. The Baroque

Abraham. The Paintings of Rembrandt Phaidon-Verlag, Vienna. 1936.

Clark. Kenneth. Rembrandt and the Italian Renaissance New York University

Slive.

B\< kl,KIIL\[)

Thames and Hudson. London.

Bredius.

Press.

\1

Al-

Geneva. 1956.

E. S.,

The Art of Etching

Dover

Publications. Inc.. 1962

Nicolson. Benedict. Hendrick Terbrugghen Percy Lund. Humphries

Co

rJ

London. 1958
Rosenberg. Jakob Great Draughtsmen from Pisanello

to Picasso.

Harvard Univer-

1959.

sity Press.

Rosenberg. Jakob, Seymour Slive and E. H. Ter Kuile, Dutch Art and Architec-

1600 to 1H00 The Pelican History of Art Series. Penguin Books. 1966.
Seymour. "Realism and Symbolism in Seventeenth Century Dutch Paint"
ing
Daedalus. The Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

ture:
Slive.

Summer.

962.

Stechow Wolfgang, Dutch Landscape Painting of the Seventeenth Century

don Press, London. 1966 An excellent, comprehensive surxev
.

Van

Gelder.

J.

Dutch Drawings and Prints Harrv

Abrams.

Inc..

1959

Phai-

Picture Credits
The

si

sources for the illustrations in this book appear below. Credits for pictures

in

from

left to

right are separated by semicolons,

tispiece

\SI

91

1SDPVPERS

gen, Rotterdam photo. 93

John R. Freeman bv

of the Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement Bv courtesy of the Trustees

of the British Museum. London. 100 Robert
Crandall Bibliotheque
Nationale, Pans. 101 Robert Lackenbach from Black
102, 103

Derek

maeldegalene photo

12

The

New

Frick Collection,

DC.

York.

photo; Erich Lessing from

courtesy of the Trustees of the British

courtesy of the Trustees of the

Eric

Schaal. 11

Dresden.

Erich Lessing from Magnum;

13 National Gallery of Art. Washington.
Magnum Henry Ely. Aix-en- Provence;

Star.

Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Brunswick photo.

Baves

National Gallery. London photo.

chapteri 16 Foto Blauel 20 Maps by Rafael Palacios. 21 Courtesy Leiden
University. 22 Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum. Brunswick photo. 23 Hem
dc Bouter. 25 Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam Giraudon. 26. 21 Campongara 28 National Gallery. London photo Ri|ksmuseum. Amsterdam
-Scala.
33 Harry- RedL Marzan Staat(3) 29 Flarry Redl
35 Foto Blauel.
Museen.
Gemaeldegalerie photo.
(HMMFR2 36 Ri|ksmuseum. Amsterdam. 40 The Metropolitan Museum of
Art photo University of Oxford. Ashmolean Museum. 43 Hein de
30.

Erich Lessing from Magnum. Ill Rijksmuse Hein de Bouter. National Gallery. London
photo. 118. 119 Karel Neubert; Dmitri Kessel. 120 Eric Schaal. 121
TheMetropolitan Museum of Art photo. 122, 123 The Frick Collection.
New York. 124 Scala. 125 The Metropolitan Museum of Art photo. 126,
127 National Museum. Stockholm photo. 128, 129 Staatliche Graphische

chapters 104

34,

Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam.
Derek Baves. 53 The Pierpont

50

land.

Blauel

51

Walter

Morgan

of Birmingham.

52

Steinkopf.

ton

Foto

Fogg Art

150-153

Robert Crandall.
Cliche Musees Nationaux.
S.

Ri|ksmuseum. Amster-

161
Bv courtesy of the Trustees of
Museum. London 164 Teylers Museum, Haarlem photo GemMusea. Amsterdam photo. 167 Gemeente Musea. Amsterdam photo.

eente

169-171

Robert

Lackenbach from Black

Nationaux; Eric Schaal. 174, 175

S. Crandall.

the British

Robert

dam. 154-157
chapter? 158

Museum

30. 131

Crandall. 148. 149

Staatliche

71

Kunstsammlungen. Weimar photo. 69 Robert Morphoto; John R. Freeman by courtesy ol the

Ri|ksmuseum. Amsterdam.
Trustees of the British Museum. London. 73
74
Ri|ksmuscum. Amsterdam. 75-77
Scala. 78-80
Hein de Bouter.
r.tns
l.ils Museum.
Ri|ksmuseum. Amsterdam.
laarlcm. 82-87
8
chvpiik* 88
kin/ Zinram. 90 Courtesy the New York Public Library. Fron68

credit

Erich
57 Eric

15

chives.

Library photo. 54

132
Lichtbeeldeninstituut. Amsterdam photo. 136
Municipal ArAmsterdam John R. Freeman bv courtesy of the Trustees of the
140
British Museum. London.
John R. Freeman by courtesy of the Trustees
143
Eric Schaal
Robert S. Crandall.
of the British Museum. London
144, 145
The Metropolitan Museum of Art photos. 146 Rijksmuseum.
Amsterdam Ri|ksmuseum. Amsterdam; By courtesy of the Trustees of
the British Museum. London. 147
Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam Robert S.

chapter

Eng-

Derek Baves.
Lessing from Magnum. 55 Derek Baves. 56
Derek Baves by permission of the Trustees of the Chatsworth
Schaaf ^8
Settlement. S9
Derek Baves
60- Staatliche Museen. Berlin photo. 62. 63
ciivfiik
Kryn Taconis. 66 No

107

14.

Sammlung, Munich photo; National Museum, Stockholm photo.

John R. Freeman bv courtesy of the Trustees of the British MuLondon 47 National Gallery, London photo. 49 Heinz Zinram

courtesy the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University

Ri|ksmuseum. Amsterdam.

Bouter 44
seum.

Scala.

um. Amsterdam.

32.

Berlin.

liche

S.

Ge-

14, 15

Heinz Zinram.

Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam on loan from the

Roval Society of Antiquarians. Amsterdam. 95
Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam. 97
Erich Lessing from Magnum. 98. 99
Derek Baves by permission

Bv permission of the Trustees of the Chatsworth Settlement

Museum. London 8 John R Freeman bv

Scala. 10
British Museum, London (4). 9

top to bottom by dashes.

from Historische Beschrjvinghe van Amsterdam. Jacob van Meurs. 1663.

Amsterdam (2). 92 Museum Bovmans van Beunin-

Ri|ksmuseum.

Heinz Zinram

imkodlctorv fssm 6

from

177 Dmitri
Museum of Art

172.

Star.

Mauritshuis.

Karel Neubert.

Kessel.

Metropolitan

photo. 181

178,

79 Karel

Cliche
photo.

Humber.

Museum

Musees
176

180 The

Neubert.

Bruce Roberts from

lumette courtesy of Dr. and Mrs. Robert Lee

Carolina on loan to North Carolina

173

The Hague

Rapho Guil-

Greenville. North

of Art. Raleigh. North Carolina.

Acknowledgments
For their help

in

the production ot this

book the author and

thank the following people and institutions: Fedja

jeen,

West

Museum
du

Auer

anil
ices

Berlin. Director

ouvre; Baroness

Museum

arolina

Irwin

Vienna; Catherine Belenger, Sen.

\n/elevvski.

Petit Palais. Paris. Harriet

ross,

he Metropolitan

Musee

The North

Bier. Director

Musee du

Adeline (..nan. Conservateur du

Cooper, Deanna

Mu-

Georg kuglcr. Kunsthistonsches

Madame

Staatliche

des Relations Exterieures,

Bentmck. Switzerland Justus

ol Art.

editors wish to

Museum

of

Dc Graefl Oegstgeest; Department of Prints and Drawhi

ings
British Museum
Department ot Prints and Drawings, The National
i.illerv
Sv K i.me dOngnv Chargee du Sen ice de Documentation de Photographies au Cabinet des Dessins, Musee du Louvre. Miss Y M De Vri), Associate
vn. Prut JonkheerJ
I

Professor
ol

Fine

trechi

Arts

niversit)

Stockholm;

Pontus Grate, Deput) Keeper. National

Madame Guynei

Pechadre,

Conservateur,

Museum
Service

Musee du Louvre; H
Hamel Municipal Museum, Amsterdam. Historisch Museum de Waag, Amsterdam; Dr and Mrs Robert Lee
lumber North (arolina. Caroline Karpinski. Assistant (.urator. Print Room,
["he Metropolitan Museum ol \rt. \\ ilhclm Kohler. Staatliche Museen. West
iphique

IK4

Berlin; T. Koot, General Secretary. Miss B. Stokhuvzcn. Miss C Vicrvcvzer.

Ri|ksmuseum. Amsterdam; Director Walter Koschatzky and Renate Antonio,

Graphische Sammlung Albertina. Vienna;

Lutsenburg Maas,

Municipal Archives, The Hague.

brary, Leiden,

Hans Heinrich

Richter,

Archives,

I niversity

Director.

Li-

Fodor, Amsterdam.

Deutsche Fotothek. Dresden. Rijksprentenkabinet,

sterdam. Haldor Soehner.

Munich. State

Museum

Am-

Staatsgemaeldesammlungen,

Bayerische

Haarlem. State Archives.

he Hague. Stichtmg Licht-

Amsterdam Th. H.J.D. Van Beerendonk, Curator, Museum

"Het Rembrandt-Huis." Amsterdam; J. H Van Borssum Buisman. Curator.
he
laarlcm A. Van Der Yaart, Administrator. Mauritshuis.
ev lei's Stichting,
Hague.
II Van Eeghen, Municipal Archives, Amsterdam; Jonkheer Six Van
Hillegom, Amsterdam. Miss \ J \ isser, Miss B R.M De Necve. Museum Bo)
beeldeninstituut,

mans van Beuningen. Rotterdam. D v ollcng.i. Frans Hals-Museum. Haarlem.

he North
II
Wijnman, Amsterdam; Ben 1. Williams, General ("urator.
(arolina Museum ot Art. Leon Wilson, VssociatC ditor in Charge. Publications
I

Department.

he Metropolitan

Museum

ol

\rt

Index
Numerals

in italics indicate a picture of the subject mentioned. Unless otherwise identified, all listed art works are by

Dimensions are given in

AcLcademie Rovale de Peinture

et

de

Sculpture. 166

Adam and Eve

brandt

(Durer). 10 x

en-

7'A.

etching. 43
traits.

-.

etching.

70. 7/

tion of landscape. 99. 101

Alvin-Beaumont. 181

89

America. Dutch trade in. 91

Amsterdam. 61-62; allegory
auctions

107; commission for

in.

and rejection of Rembrandt's

Conspiracy of Julius

126-129. 164-165;

hall.

engraving

Civilis for

62-6

of.

etchings

of countryside around.

14;

map. 20. old and new town

hall. 164; Rembrandt's life and
in.

25. 46-47. 61.62.

7.

89,93. 13 3-1 34; Rembrandt's

town house, now Rembrandt

1

art. 74.

..

Biblical

112.1 36-1 37; auctions

Tbe (Thomas de

Kevser). 51

74

Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp. Tbe.

66. x 85'/, oil on canvas. 63-64.
75-77

brandt

Rembrandt's time. 23-24. 46.

prints of Rembrandt's work at dif-

sentation of .40. 112-113, 161-

in

ferent stages sold

in.

42-43

brandt's etchings

in,

42, 45.

traits in

Amsterdam.

Group of Spectators. 6 \*
Angel and

x 10.

tbe Prophet

Balaam. Tbe.

(I.astman).

3)4

Tbe
on

Fish.

7"/i, oil

29
57

56,

portrait of. 92

Anti-classicism.

Rembrandt's ten-

dency toward. 106-107

Contemplating the Bust of

x 51

I,

Museum

brandt's time. 2

for.

tions. 112,

classical prints

Humber's

136-137. 138

Sleeping.

with sepia wash. 46. 55.

collection of

traits

Rem-

9. 38-'s>.

Oriental dress

142

light.

allot.

etchings.

44

70.

Roger de

in

illus-

40

;\

'

ers.

25. 26. 30.

3 3.

39.

anae. 6'1" x 6'6". oil

in

D. hi J and Uriah, JO

Martyrdom

oil

on

canvas,

Castiglione. Baldassare. Rembrandt's

45

"6

de Decker. Jercmias, 139

de Gelder,

De

Vert,

'9

Groate Scbouhurgb der Seder-

sketch from Raphael's portrait of.

lantscbe KunstsebUders,

Baldinucci. Filippo: commentaries on

/07

Houbraken.

65. 91. 136. 139

for. 39.

Art criticism: comparison between

Rembrandt

by. 19. 39, 65, 93.

36.

160

Catalogue of Rembrandt's paintings.

Baroque an: Bathsbeba. one

ot finest

in

etchings of 1640s. 114; Sight

new use

Cross. 67: difficulties in identifying

Watch

mastery

Rembrandt's drawings. 48; grading

of best-known painters bv Roger

.V? -85,

Rem-

brandt

Piles.

166; high regard for

nudes

ot.

162;

in

Caravaggio's

art.

30; classical and Baroque elements

in

Rembrandt's

art.

20- 121;

in

a masterpiece

107. 109-111; in portrait

Oriental dress. 10. 65:

a

master

of,

Rem-

105; in Self-

of, 25, SO;

74;

Huvgens

traits b\

23

Lesson
The.

portrait by.

47

'

Rembrandt's

of, 25.41, 108. 111.

Rembrandt's Sight Wattb,

Christ See Jesus Christ

Emmaus.

b\

rhomas Anatomy

de Kevser

Chiaroscuro: Caravaggio's powerful

Christ at

of Dr Seba-

the. 22
Chalk drawings, by Rembrandt.

in

book

de Kevser. Hendrik. statue b\

Catholic Church, art patronage b\

treatment of Descent from tbe

de Jonghe. Clement,

16

Diirer's and Rembrandt's Adam

and Eve. 70-71 comparison between Rubens' and Rembrandt's

Rem-

brandt's representation oi

Baldassare Castiglione (Raphael). 107

passion

Sun-

on canvas.

David, Biblical character,

Rem-

inventory

sale of

in

and wash.

L -n

54-35; influence on Dutch paint-

of St. Matthew, JO-

Le. treatise b\

166

Piles.

elements derived from,

brandt's Blinding of Samson.

Rembrandt's

tration of story of.

Balance des Pemtres.

Stormy Sky

,J

in

65

68-69. 118-119

Caravaggio, Michelangelo Mensi da

Dirck van. 39

his ass.

10.

97

Jacques: glass goblet en-

toward. 89. 159-160

Balaam and

'

of.

140; selt-portrait

Rembrandt's collec36-1 38; Rembrandt's

112.

brandt's plates. 45. 181

de

Corporation portraits See Group por-

Costumes Rembrandt's love

Calvinism, 22; Rembrandt's attitude

Amsterdam.

Rem

5.

on, 42.

plates extant. 45, /#/

138. 159. 165, 16"

on Rembrandt's

Ba
>aburen.

and

work

artists

graved after print by, 92. influence

x 8, sepia

9'/t

Backer. Jacob. Rembrandt's pupil

sculpture collected bv Rembrandt.

6'4* \

Cornelia. Rembrandt's daughter 95,

64-65

of.

Civilis,

164-165

34

Burin, etching tool. 42; use bv

brandt

Three

in

on canvas. 40, 126-129.

Cottages before a

Rem-

rationalism

in.

frans Hals'

4^~

Copper plate
Rembrandt

Church of Notre

vas (Hals). 78-79

18

life in

and. 166. 167. See also Dutch art

Art collecting:

of tbe Civic Guards of St Hadrian

at Haarlem. 6'9" x 10'. oil on can-

on canvas,
paid bv

on Dutch

influence

Wife

/.

Blinding of

lO'l", oil

Madonna

in

Conspiracy ofJulius

Buckingham Palace. London. Rembrandt's The Shipbuilder and His

140

(Phillips),

Watcb

78-79;

portrait.

Crosses.

Dame, 137
portrait of.

oil

125. 135-136; price

Metropolitan

66

Ashkenazic Jews. 93

Tbe

for

Banning

Anatomy

in

Tulp. 64. 75 i

group

Bruvningh. Nicolaes. Rembrandt .s

Rembrandt's time. 22

Ascension, in Passion series.

A Woman

25

Homer. 56H

society

Auction of Rembrandt's collec-

Architectural motifs. Rembrandt's

studies of.

Bruges. Michelangelo's

Assembly of Officers and Subalterns

Rembrandt's

Anslo. Cornells Claesz

Dutch

Rem-

and Child

Artist, position of. in

Dr

Brouwcr. Adnaen. paintings by, in

Rembrandt's art collection. 37

Rembrandt's later years. 140141 Ruffo and Rembrandt.

paintings

of Captain Frans

Samson. 14-35;

Rembrandt's

use ot 41-42: restora-

in

Ri/ytenburch Sec Sight

collection of
1

Lesson of Dr

on Rembrandt's

Rembrandt

tion of

34

Museum,

brandt's etchings.

163-164;

10.

trait of.

familv album. ///

in

critics

Composition

British

for.

of

in detail

Cocq and Lieutenant Willeni van

640.

and. 180

Homer. 124
1

S iht Watch

108. 166,

ot.

Company

Night Watch, commission

Assassin,

Animal drawings.

tion of. in

of

in Self-Portrait

Anatomy

in

changes

Blindness. Rembrandt's representa-

Bonus. Fphraim. Rembrandt's por-

use

collec-

on canvas, 34-35. 68

oil

16s":

Tulp. 64

of Jewish types for representation

Rembrandt. 47. 67-68; in Netherlands at Rembrandt's time. 22-23

in

tions.

64-

40

and

commis-

135-136. 163-164

Angel and Tobias and tbe

107;

hall,

Sight Watch
Color:

tion of Rembrandt's etchings. 1 3 7

Blinding of Samson. The. 7'9" x 9'9".

34:

in

and. 109. 110: watercolor copy of

163. 168. 175; Rembrandt's use

Bibhotheque Nauonale. Pans,

elements

Sight Wattb, 73;

understanding and repre-

67

classu.il

Cocq. Frans Banning

Rem-

of Biblical characters. 93. 140, 16

105.

in

Bol. Ferdinand. 70.

in

Art

ings.

57

107

Rembrandt's etch115: Rembrandt's predilec-

Bibles. 161

110; Huvgens' relations with

toward patrons.

Aristotle

Rem-

62. 64.

sion for and reaction of.

Andrada. Diego. 94

oak.

Conspiracy of Julius Civilis for

An

black chalk. 56

Son theme. 66; Rembrandt

Prodigal

ers in. 23; prices paid for paintings

109; Rembrandt's attitude

Elephant, in tbe Background a

paintings illustrating. 112.

larity ot

Rembrandt's work 105-106.

Rembrandt's attitude tow

popu-

in

tion for. in Leiden period. 40.

Frederick Henry' of Orange. 66-67.

on canvas.

x 73)4, oil

Si

in

themes 25; decline

etch4-

/ ;

5,

Rembrandt's understand-

ing of. 66.

Classicism

Amsterdam. 107; interest in genre

scenes in Dutch market. 25; paintings sold at Dutch country fairs.
22; participation of Dutch burgh-

Amsterdam town

75
Lesson of Dr. Sebastiaen

Egbertsz

181; auction of Rembrandt's collections.

second state 45,

Christianity,

on canvas. 180

x 38)1. oil

Bernini. Gianlorenzo.

Art patronage: commissions for por-

Museum. 69. 69-70. 136. 38

Anatomv lessons, as theme in Dutch

50

Hundred

Guilder Print " 1034 x 15'!

on canvas.

ing,

brandt's etching plates bv

whb

tbe SiA- (Christ

Little Children), called

x 55/4. oil

161-162. 172-17}

Bellona.

115, 161

around Him. Receiving

tbe Sick

140

55%

Beggars. Rembrandt's etchings ot 44

RemHumber.

7 almg

trayal of.

1'

on canvas. I64X 104

Baroque quality of. 148-149

Barrios. Miguel de.
34
Bartholomew. St.. Rembrandt s porTrees.

Batbsheba.

Rembrandt's drawing.

Art market: acquisition of

90;

of.

of burghers. 23

artistic interests

Anatomy

Rem-

brandt's technique and. 108-109:

satire of. in

success

Rembrandt's earlv por-

Rembrandt's representa-

Alexander tbe Great. 163

town

in

L.mmauv 26

C.hrnt at

Portrail with Saskia. 66. Three

half-centurv after his

in

death, 166-167; Rembrandt's art

graving. 70. 71

Adam and Eve,

Rembrandt.

inches; height precedes width.

1629. 39

35;

10

de

Piles.

Roger, grad:

by, 166.

IS

on Rembrandt's

45
Descartes, Rs

dl

:;

Index (continued)

Descent from the Cross, of 163

Genre

and Rembrandt's treatment of sub-

Dou.

Drapers' Guild. Rembrandt's group

portrait of Syndics of. 86-87. 141

Edme

Rem-

of drawings by

Francois.

14

Rem-

by pupil. 68.

1| River,

Good Samaritan. The.

etching,

Six's

Rembrandt.

book by Houbraken.
Group portraiture: in Dutch

of.

Rembrandt's Anatomy
Lesson of Dr. Tulp. 63-64. 75-77-

25. 26, 30, 33. 39. changes in tastes

in.

hobby

"lass engraving, a

form

as art

popu-

scapes, popularity of, 96;

of

tiles tor

productivity of

group

of. in

trons of

brandt's relations with. 159, 160

Guild of

Dutch Republic See Netherlands

86-87

the Drapers' Guild.

painters. 23

portraits. 72

St.

first state.

Company,

Neth-

role in

Laarlem. Frans Hals' group por-

-has. Nicolaes, portraits by,

63

Adam

on

FIshcimer.

influence

Last-

St.

See Christ at

115; use by printmakers

technique

Entombme n t

of,
,

Danae

66. 67

ir/vr\ least.

ence on Rembrandt

40

Rem-

Etching, 42. copper plate for

brandt's Giving of Alms, 181

ferent "states" in

dif-

Rembrandt's

point needle and burin used by

work

in,

42-45,

ii

leopatra),

ielding

Flight
I

red chalk

quoted
Egypt, i 16?;

Homer, 42

66 67,

10

186

de. See

de kc\

ser,

Klovcniersdoclcn. headquarters ol

lor

321

i,

oil

on canvas.

Party, 12

prints ol

Don Antonio

jady Governors of the Old Men's

Home

13

Lairesse,
I

decoration ol

lundred
II,

aJmg

<

luygens, Constantin, 46 47

biograph)

of, 19;

in hierarchical

artists.

96, 112.

lands' prosperity

quoted. 9|

in,

Rembrandt's an

order ol

an adaptation

Siv's play

Rembrandt's etching

Cosimo

for

14

de'. visit to

Rem-

Medusa, by Rubens. 68
Menasseh ben Israel. Rembrandt's
Rembrandt's illustrations
book by, / / S
Mennonitcv Rembrandt'- affiliation
for

S,

Metropolitan

Museum

New York

Aristotle

restoration

Michelangelo,

at the.

Rem-

nous. 17-38,

map. 21

ol \rt.

The.

Contemplat-

work on

Bellona.

\.\r\.

Militia companies, in

group por-

tr.utv "2. Frans Hals' painting,

69

Rembrandt's Night H

82 85, 107, 109,

Milton, John 167
Money Changer. The. 12 .\ 16
73,

collection.

'7

24

on canvas,

Monogram

i,

oil

38-39,41
Rembrandt. 21. 24

12,

ol

Morgan ihr.irv New x <.rk collet

Hon ol Rembrandt's etchingI

social Condi

''2. historj of,

19.

Rembrandt's apprentice

~
;

Peter on Dutch an market.

Mund)

'

Miereveld, Michiel

School. Leiden. Rembrandt's

Laughton, Charles,
eiden appearance and

de Keyset's

Rembrandt III. on Nether

.ltin

education

auto

portrait of, 4~. loss ol rapport

ith

180

brandt's apprenticeship with, 2?.

in

Ihristian,

166

de, 16?

and the I ah. The, 29; influence

on Rembrandt. 26. JO, 38; Rem

'brist

46

canvas. 30-31

Medea. Jan

of,

Lastman, Pietet Angel and Tobias

ol

tht Siek

lu) gens,

with a Turban. A, 65
Marten Soolmans and his wife, 64
Martyrdom of St. Matthew (Caravaggio). 10'9'4"x II '9", oil on

"' 103, 99, 101. 114

owned

iuildet Print " Set

andscapes

Dutch

plates

58

ink.

34

ing the Bust of Hornet, acquisition

S'6"

paintings, 25; popularity with

4?. 181

In
I

Gerard

brandt's interest
I

Rembrandt's original
pupil,

Haarlem (I lals),
on canvas. 80. 81

at

8'2',oil

Rembrandt's etchings,

homas, 8
lumber. Robert Lee. collection
ln\ ing

with, 160-161

42 4!
I

pen and

'.

friend, 93;

Amsterdam's d\ ic guards. Night

Watch in the. 10

Hoogh, Pieterde. 91
Houbraken, Arnold biograph) ol
Rembrandt by, 19; on Rembrandt.
quoted. 43, 92. 108: on sale of

Amsterdam t<>w n hall, 164

rt d( rn k
lenn ol ( )range
engraving ol 66, Huygensas
ecretan to, 47 paintings owned
!x patronage ol Rembrandt,
In
I

Thomas
Thomas

Rutin, 163-164

engra\ ing, 28

i<>r

124. acquisition bv

Govaen Rembrandt's

70; selection ol

lent)

mm

linck,

9Kx

of.

\ 5

brandt's studio. 165

Cornells. 23

Keyser,

bv

37

with a Gilt Helmet.

of,

""

Female Slide with j Snake (probably

<

..etel.

10

Seated at a Table Covered with

Books. A. 7

Medici.

Ke

25. 38

Rembrandt's love

representation

Netherlands' trade 90 "I

.ist

Famil)

lol)

I,

Ruffo's acquisition ol

Rembrandt's etchings, 164

in.

Child, sculpture

frontispiece of,

Honthorst, Gerrit van. $9; Supper

Rembrandt's landscapes, 96,

14-

14'

Chilis

lobbema, (Meindert, 24

Rembrandt. II?. 142. number of

etchings l>\ Rembrandt, 20. 4?.

etch-

Julius Chilis See Conspiracy of Julius

Holland. 22

etchings. 42-43, 142. 144-145, 161;

Rembrandt

2'i x 5K,

Man
Man
Man

Historical themes. Lastman's influ-

23

\ %, etching.

copy of Rem-

oil

Vadonna and

Danae. 68-69

in

Lundens. Gerrit.

Michelangelo.

Judas Returning the Thirty Pieces of

Silver. Huygens' admiration for. 47

112

Polander. The. 2

M-

on

Rembrandt's rep-

Jews in a Synagogue.

Blinding of

style: in

Samson, 68.

Rotter-

in.

oil

Jewish types. 93. 140, 161

at

group

68-69; Rembrandt's

High Baroque

dr\

in.

ing, first state,

Descent from the Cross

in

Home

a master of

65

resentation of Biblical figures as

72

portraits

<>t

rasmus. Desiderius, statue

of,

.-

pen and

5'h x 8, bistre

Three

145

with. 115. 141

Lady Gov-

10.

brush. 57

brandt's Night Watch.

Jews. 92-93; Rembrandt's relations

Hermitage. Leningrad: Rembrandt's

14

42

dam

Haarlem. 80. 81
of,

43; Rembrandt's technique,

18;

life of.

Night Watch,

of. in

Rembrandt's Slaughtered Ox. 1 59

Countries. See Netherlands

canvas. 130. 131, 141. 165

in-

39;

Low

54-1 57; Descent

Jewish Bride. 47

Haarlem. 78-79;

Old Aden's

ernors of the

Emmaus

Engraving: process lor printing

at

problems. 24; lack of

formation on

Hadrian

financial

the Cross, 67;

Crosses.

and

Subalterns of the Civic Guards of

man. 25 influence on Rembrandt.

26 Tobias and the Angel. 28
-.Num. John. 108-109

Emmaus.

from

78-79

of.

Money Changer.

Louvre Museum. Pans, acquisition of

648. 104. 115.161: Christ Heal-

ing the Sick.

company

Lopez. Alphonso. 40

Emmaus.
Emmaus.

1629. 39; Christ at

trait of militia

44,45

Luke. 138

Hals. Frans: Assembly of Officers

use

Little

tion and representation of. 113.

H,

economy, 90-91

erlands'

Elevation of the Cross. 66

114, 150

Jesus Christ. Rembrandt's concep-

officers

as pa-

IL.isi India

Study of a Youth Pulling at a

pen and brown
'At x 7 15

Rope.

Lion Resting.

Jeremiah, 42

115. 161; Christ at

Life

33

x 7%. etching,

9/i

41

art.

The,

See also Chiaroscuro

Jacobszoon. Lambert. 62

mem-

and Art of Albrecht Direr.

book by Panofskv. 7

Life

treatment bv Caravaggisti painters.

169. 170-171

bers of. in Rembrandt's Syndics of

Dutch Reformed Church. Rem-

acob Blessing the Sons of Joseph,

5'9" x 6'9", oil on canvas. 163.

fan Six, Reading,

Guilds: group portraiture of

decoration. 91

Dutch

109-111

112; land-

at

Hermitage Museum. 68, 12

Liebermann. Max. 69
Lievens. Jan: Huvgens' relations

lighting in
I

in

Night Watch, 73, 82-8). 107.

72; lack of interest

of.

in religious paintings.

larity

unconventional treatment

brandt's short stay at the. 24

Leningrad. Rembrandt's works

wash. 50

,-

Rembrandt's Syndics. 86-8'. 141

17th Century. 92; group portrait

in

of.

Rem-

37:

of.

Light: in Danae. 118-119. hidden

Frans Hals' interpretation

81

Rem-

78-

Dutch

79. 80.

brandt and. 47

72;

art.

Diirer. Albrecht. 70. 71

Caravaggio's influence on.

140

Italian art: chiaroscuro in. 41

Leiden. University

brandt's art collection. 137

Medea. 114

Indian miniature. Rembrandt's copy

ists,

15

Is-

Piedra Gloriosa. 115; for

rael's

the

Great Theater of Netherlandish Art-

by

as used

Dry -point needle,

37-46

as artist in.

the work of. 40; Rembrandt's

work with. 38; works bv. in Rem-

books: David and

Goliath for Menasseh ben

28

Rem-

with. 46. 47; Esther's Feast possibly

Illustrations of

I S3

66. 113.

first state.

Rembrandt's landscape.

in

98-99

8'/ie.

Goudt. Hendnck. Tobias and

Angel.

113-114

10'/s

work

24-25;

in.

birth. 21

Goldsmith. Oliver. 93

brandt's techniques in 1640s.

art:

Rembrandt's Blinding of Samson

for. 68; Rembrandt's letters to.
67-68

12

Rembrandt's
brandt's

Goethe. Johann Wolfgang von, 66

brandt. 20: Rembrandt's drawing

class in sketch

25.

art.

Gonzaga. Gian Francesco, in commemorative lead medal. 161

Drawing: difficulties in identifying

Rembrandt's drawings. 2 48

number

Dutch

of. in

Giving of Alms. 6~/u x 5M, etching.

first state. 147; copper plate for. 181

46

Gerrit.

Henry

of Orange obtained through. 66

scenes: etchings. 146-147;

popularity

ship and education

for

Passion series for Frederick

Gersaint.

67

Dircx. Geertghe. 95

Rembrandt's assignment

the Eagle.

106"

x 26X. oil

ject.

Up by

lanymede Caught

3.

on wood. 16.
66; comparison between Rubens'
36%

23

Mythological themes Danaf,

I

is

\9,

Mora two

versions

of,

120. 121

of,

Rembrandt's treatment

68-69. 106

Panofsky,

rem. quoted.

71

13. 141. 142. 168. apprentice

Pascal. Blaise. 167

ship

Passion series. 66-67.

Rembrandt

39

passion lor

in

an

eiden, 24-25;

Boy. The. 106

I""

65, 91

NaJaturahsm:
2

in

Caravaggio's

Dutch burgher

25; love of

with. 67-68

art.

of

Phocmx.

nature. 96

Negroes, Rembrandt's drawings and

paintings of. 92. 154. 140

8x6. pen and brown wash with

red

Netherlands:

Rem-

position in

artist's

brandt's time. 22-2!

conspiracy of

lubus Gvilis. 164. craze for tulips

93

in,

economic and

social condi-

tions in 17th Centurv. 89-92; maps.

20;

Polish Rider. The. 39

Rem-

political situation in

Portrait of a Boy. 24

7th Centurv painters.

Portrait of. Iriosto

Carl.

/ / /

copv

for

Rembrandt's fortunes,
price paid tor. 23

North Carolina
leigh, display

figure:

double

of,

of Rembrandt's origi45.

in.

162. 172-173;

art.

Danac. 118-119.

Nude Seated

in

etching,

Mound.

6'

106. 152

first state.

ath ol the Batavians See Con-

Orange. House

7'..

of.

of,

Rembrandt's commissions
Amsterdam. 62. 63. 64. 133,
9-140 See also Group por-

141

traiture-

Printing: etchings and engravings,

from different "states" of

91

59-160;

rise of, in the

Nether-

uacksalver. The.

'.

etching,

Dutch

Dutch bur-

in acquisition of. 22, 2?

in

the

Rubens'. 67.

etching,

first

10. 111. 13 >: color.

brandt's treatment

of,

Rembrandt's personal
108-109. 130
Pancake

25. 41,

Woman. 4H

second

state.

146

Rem-

41-42. 108:
style

314,

and

tion ol earliest painting. 21

Mound.

146. Phoenix.

06.

163:

1 he.

Prodigal Son. 66. Quacksalver.

Tbe, 146; Ratkillcr. The. 146.

The, 44: of Saskia 94: sell-

136-138. Lastman's

influence on. 25,

work

spiritual affinit)

60- 161. misfortunes

gram

of.

145; Three Trees.

in life of,

monoWatcb

ing technique and personal

in self-portraits. 8. 21. 9

Rembrandt

and

Critics,

book

bv

Sine. 110

Rosenberg. 159

at a

Window,

etching, second state.

\ 514,
1

61. 62. 89. 9

3,

.1

13 3-1 34, analysis

63. 105-106, 108. 112-

the

Bust of Homer, 125, 135-1 ; (>

Batbsbeba, 16 1-162. 172-173;
Bcllona. 1X0. Blinding oj

Emmaus.

maus. 1648. 104. 115, l6l

spiracy

Man

Civilis,

18

19;

Seat-

Con-

1633

the Cross, of

139. Denial

of.

62; Descent from

Esther's Feast. 40;

16. 66,

67

Ganymede

Caught Up by the I agie, 106

Homer. 124. 163-164; Jacob
Blessing the Sons ofJoseph, 163,

S6;

sketch

169. 170-171; leremiah. 42.

Bride, 130, 131, 141, 165;

Judas Returning the Tbirt\

4"

of Silver,

91. 140. copv of Raphael's

1652, 13,

Batdassare Castiglione, 107;

Helmet.

David and Uriah, 176

of St Peter.

I2X. copv of Indian miniature

Stormy Sky

at

Julius Civitis, 40. 126-

o,f

de Decker, portrait

21

7,

1629. 39; Christ

129. 1(,4 165; Danac, 68-69.

Sleeping. 46. 55, 115;

Conspiracy of Julius

Sam-

14-35, 68. Christ at

son. The.

3v

Elephant, in the Back-

ot-

-rait.

35

34.

Man

witb a Gib

Marten Soolmans

Sunlight. 97; father's portrait. 40.

and Oopien Coppit, 64. Monet

Char,

Female Nude witb a Snake

laes Ruts. f

in

-"

(probably Cleopatra), S9; Life

Study of a Youth Pulling

Rope. 50;

Rembrandt van Rqn. Amsterdam,

life and work in.
7. 25, 46-47,
of his art

An

tages before a

and Work, book bv

Rembrandt Drawing
i,

drawings

of

ofDl

Lesson

40. Aristotle Contemplating the

19,23-24 45,

number

Anatomy

63-64 75-77; \ngcl

Prophet Balaam. The.

in

ground a Group of Spectators,

tor,

Religious themes. See Biblical themes

42. 95,

A Woman

ward. 24. 66. 89. 159-161

Life

of.

Tulp. The.

111-112; prices

of,

148-149;

Woman by

paintings: Alexander tbe

Great. 163

stv le,

180. Rubens' influence on. 54. 6

58;

Religion. Rembrandt's attitude to-

3.

14.

Windmill. The. 100;

the Stoic. 4 3

ith sect.

21, 24, Nigbt

114.

151; Three Crosses. \42. 143-

life

Mennon-

with Saskia. 65, 94-95;

a Window, 1648. 95

Thomas Jacobsz Haaring,

Leiden, earlv

37-46; marriage and

in,

at

115; Six's Bridge. 98. 114.

ed at a Tahle Covered witb Books.

etching,

Woman.

Rest on the Plight into Egypt,

relations with. 46. 47. identifica-

Rembrandt

Rembrandt's land-

in

Rembrandt

Painting techniques: chiaroscuro.

114;

for,

mother's portraits. 40. 44.

Huygens'

136, 138.

of, 69, 70.

tude toward. 24. 66. 89. 159-161

Rembrandt's Descent
Crosi compared with

on wooden panels or small

copper plates 40
;

108.

self-portraits,

productivity of Dutch painters.

of.

Houbraken's description
house acquisition and sale

restoration of works of, 108. 109.

\ 454,

Rembrandt and His

Rembrandt's mastery

89. 110. 112. 159; religion, atti-

scapes. 69. 96. 101

ghers

23

106

painting by, 10'

from

72. interest of

66- 67

paid for works

Realism:

art

of. 19;

possible reasons lor decline

Reading. The. drawing, 46

108

44 45

he

152; Omval, The, 100, Pancake

113. physical appearance as show n

state. 14(>

42.

Nude Seated on

critics for

108-109; personality and character traits. 19. 89. 92. 93-94.

12-

Ratkillcr. The.

Ovens. Junaen. 165

Polander.

165. high regard of

Rembrandt and.

R,iMpe of Proserpine,

's

Rembrandt's collection

in

Hen

14,

Synagogue 14'

Medea, frontispiece

39.

SO; lews in a

Little

insolvency,

most revolutionary painting produced bv 109-1 |0; number of

works bv. 20-21, 48. 112: paint-

Rembrandt's etchings, 42-43,

144-145

Raphael. Rembrandt's sketch of

group portraits

drickje, relationship with, 95, 160,

popularity

Orlers.Jan. 19

Painting

financial

14 157; Flight into Egypt

115. 153; Jan Six. Reading,

17-18, 69. 94. 112-113.

22. Huygens'

of,

final

22. 65, 90. 111. 135-1 37.

ites,

146

aint. Rembrandt's handling

3-

court. 66
art.

14-115, 142. 143-

life of,

5,

1653,2* Giving oj \hm 147

1X1 Good Samaritan, The. 66,

Drawing

services tor. 46. 47. popular dis-

Oriental

44. film on

inventory and sale ol possessions

etching, sec-

approval of Frederick Henr\

48 draw ing

14. education. 24. etching tech1

Sick ("1 bind red Guilder Print"),

of,

etchings Adam and

70-7'I; Christ Heating the

identifying

techniques used by, 45-46,

Woman at

Young

of. 18, 112,

3-135.

art in, 7, 13

lands. 2 2

red and black chalk. 51

Omval. The. 8\ \
ond state. 100

idower, The.

productivity of Dutch painters, 23;

Seated in an Armchair.

\ 6.

Carrying a Child

Rembrandt's

Prints:

,,.

spiracy ofJulius Gvilis

Man

64-65; number

costumes.

Walk.

S4

Toilet,

Rembrandt

34: Classicism
.

%">'.

to

tt

portraits. 16 50. 6. X. Sell-Portrait.

Protestantism:

sub|ects. 95, 134;

techniques, 42. 43

a
Old

portraits.

Ho

Studies

influences on, 26, 30, 34, 44. 107.

in

Batbsbeba one of finest

Nude Scared on

produced bv Rembrandt. 112.

of Art. Ra-

conditions and

Rembrandt's

on a Mound. 106. 152

'

on canvas.

oil

..

5<s

Portrait painting: characterization ol

10;

reception

nudes of Baroque

6'/u,

i,

in

20.

Museum

nal etching plates

in

oil

Cocq album.

downturn

painting marked

Nude

of, 2

nique, 42-45,

Stoffels as

3954, oil

notion that completion of

Hendrickie

ol

Portrait of the Painter in

canvas. 73,82-85, 107-108.

109-1

on canvas. 132,

oil

i.

drawings

on canvas, 120
Old Age,
3334 x 27
oil on cam as.
669.
14-15

34

Nigbt Watch. ll'954"x 14'4'".

'on

Portrait

Woman

94. 95.

Downstairs,

58-39. 140; death

Of, 9.

167, difficulties

Portrait of Saskia as Flora, 49

Nieolaes Ruts. 6!

in art of, 34, 95.

love

121

art

Neumann.

mani 107

,,l

catalogue of paint-

30. 34,

Flora, 39

8; slavery and. 92. See also

Dutch

on

oil

Portrait of Burgomaster fan Six.

court. 66: scarcity of information

Diemerdijk, 98 99,

birth

3;

Caravaggio's influence on,

and 47. 105-106, 121

Portrait of a Scholar. 6

154

of

20

View ovei

cerning. 18-20. 13
.

possible

Teaching a Child

S2, 113.

ings of. 116. characterization

Women

bio

woman

of

Geertghe Dircv 95; I \~o

of a Baby witb a Bout, -V

2(i

Bible, illustration of. 161

21

XX

canvas,

44'. \ 40'

life

oil

drawings

62 63

of,

graphical data, difficulties con-

Rem-

in

brandt's art collection.

brandt's lifetime. 20. 22. popular

i.,

on canvas, 122. 12!. 163

disapproval of Frederick Henry's

on

59

question

rean

S.

portrait in

It

attire, 9
Studies of Heads
and Figures 49, rowerofWesterkerk Amsterdam, 167; two

\m

39. art school held in

best-know n paintings In

115

Porcelhs. Jan. works by,

140

chalk.

The. etching, 163

Israel.

36.

ings bv

Picdra Gloriosa, book In iMenasseh

ben

Nesxro kettle-drummers on horseback.

140

Phillips. Charles

sterdam and pupils, 68, 70. III.

135, 139 authenticity ol paint

Andries, 106

Pels

tor,

Rembrandt's interpretation

connection

in

s<

studio

Huvgcns

letters to

89

of art criticism.

at

bair, SI;

Reading.

Saskia. silverpoint. 60.

66 6". Polish Rider. 122-

12C 165

urn Resting

Negro kettle-drummers on
40 Old Man Seated

back.

111; Passion
series.

Portrait of a Scholar. 6

m an

of Burgomaster fan Six.

Th

6C

Portrait

horse-

satire

tit

ofHendrick)

121

Portrait

Portrait

12.

4.

Index (continued)

Flora, 120-. Portrait of the Painter

Saul and David, 5 %

of Proserpine,

canvas. 9

162.

3.

Sculpture, 22; Rembrandt's collec-

humous

tion of,

in

Saskia. post-

Saul and

portrait of. 94;

Hendrickje. Rembrandt's

Stoffels.

Rembrandt. 102; Tobias and the

works b\\ in Rem-

and death

mistress: illness

of, 17,

Batbsbeba. 161-162,

34

van Rijn. Cornelia, Rembrandt's

72-

mother.

death

Rem-

94; as

of,

brandt's model, 24, 40, 46; por-

etching of 1628 and 1631,

trait of,

39, 165;

father.

of, 40
Harmen, Rembrandt's
21 possible model for The

quired bv

summoning bv Church Council

Money

Changer. 38; Rembrandt's

Portrait, 1658. 12. 135; Self-

in

of Dutch Reformed Church. 160;

Portrait. c.1660, IS: Self- Portrait

Elevation of the Cross. 67; draw-

David, 93. 162,

in

74- 1 7 5

Scholar

Angel. 28;

His Study. 25; Self-Portrait.

brandt's art collection,

Young Man. 1629.9.40,42.

as a

number

46;

of, 7, 2

Costume with a Dog. 1631,

mouthed,

c.1660. 13; Self-Portrait with

Rembrandt bareheaded

c.
6 3 5, / /, 66 Shipbuilder
and His Wife, The, 64-65; Simeon

shoulder

from

light

Rembrandt

in the Temple, 167; Slaughtered

second

Ox, The, 118, 159; Small

cap. laughing. 2 x

Self-

1656-1658, 12; Stoning

Portrait.

state. 8;

second

in a

etching

54,

Rembrandt

state. 8.

of St. Stephen. 21. 2f, 26-27. 38;

cap.

Stormy Landscape, The,

bust in outline, 2 x

69, 102,

over his

etching

x 3,

>

open-mouthed and

Rembrandt's
1

Bathing. 117

on wood,

21, 25.26-27.

van

Ri|n.

drawing

/i,

death

meeting with Rembrandt and mar-

model
model

Portrait with Saskia,

Bathing. 117

Renaissance

chiaroscuro

brandt's collection

6354 x 51

95,

62

Rembrandt's land

Polish Rider. 122.

death

of. 17,

7%

32V

oil

on canvas.

16,

Tobias

13,

on canvas.

Rembrandt's

and Rubens' treatment

oi Descent

/torn tbe Cross, 67; influence

Rembrandt

Portrait,

on

canvas,

'4. 6<\ represen-

of,

tation nl apostles by, 140

Vntonio commission to

Rembrandt

x 9Vn, oil

for

Content

Iristotlc

/!//>/ /

Homer,

136; and Rembrandt. 161

164

Ruskin, John quoted, 108

ill

on canvas.
c.1660, 4^

Tobit

on

Six Jan

Wanoab,

oj

Bartholomew

St Paul in

by, 114.

iiiiuinpLition. 4

brandt, I". 20, H, 105

,

white parchmi

Six's

Rem

Sandrart, [oat him von on

Saskia, 7

106

first state.

60

60

',,.

98,

\ 8
I

',.

on

S mour

14

with a Bottle.

on

52,

Rembrandt

\nthoin

to

Ws

in,

3.

portrait by,
\

.in (

leldei

be typeface employed in this book

Winter Scene. 6

165

Widower. The. drawing, 94, 95

5'V>, \ 854,

\ 9Vi, oil

\,.

100

etching.

on can-

101
Bathing 24

\ 1854, oil

on

canvas, 117

Woman
Woman

39

rise in

popu-

66
u

lenry ol Orange's

by tbe Stove, etching. 4!

Curving
!

a Child Downstairs,

pen and bistre

I)

IN

Y,
Loung, C.

Man

Young

Candle
oil

754,

\\

ash.

ighting a Pipe

from a

rerbrugghen), 23 1x21

on cam

Young
ine goblet en

i> called /anum.

altei Anion fmson. the Dutch
who popularized it in Leifaig in tbe late 17 tb Century The fact was first
however, by Nicholas Kis, a Hungarian working in Amsterdam m the 1680s

Company,

rest India

VVcsterkerk. Amsterdam, 167

Windmill. The.

III. engraving copied

from Frederick

10

Vinck, Abraham.

on

gallery, Florence, self-

larity of,

l*KI\

the Diemerdijk.

from

Ij

pen and bistre ink with

wash. 98-99

Vinckboons, David, 22

red chalk

\ 5Vtt,

,,.

Var
an Dyck,

59
I

the

Uytenbogaert, Jan. 92

etching.

\ 26)4, oil

Rembrandt's

x 954,

bistre

1' Yu, oil

44

gio's influence on, 26.

xxxxxx

88

Utrecht, school ot painting. Caravag

typefounder
cut,

5'At x

s8

canvas, 158,
Slive

Teaching a Child

portrait by

Slaughtered Ox, Tbe, >7

silverpoim on
nl

Budge.

Titia.

94

Vermeer, Jan. 24, 91

Woman

'ffi/i

Burgomaster fin Six. 132, (4;

Rembrandt's illustration lor Medea

Ho

Rembrandt's wife

van Uvlenburgh.

vas,

Sacrifice

van Uvlenburgh, Saskia. Sec van

rough grayish paper.

150. Portrait of

14,

with. 62; Rembrandt's meeting

View over

Angel Seghers).

the

x 454, pen and bistre. 52

Walk. 4

fan Six, Reading, etched

portrait,

and

Rem-

Rembrandt's mother
7 'Ax

Angel (Goudt),

the

Two Women

Temple, 167
1

and

and Anna.

3"/i6

Silverpoim technique, 60, 65

Simons. Menno,

Rem-

brandt's apprenticeship with, 25

dochter. See van Ri]n. Cornelia.

on copper. 28

Sephardk Jews. 92 93
Shipbuilder and 1 lis Wife, Tbe, 64-65

m the

39

van Zuvtbrouck, Cornelia Willems-

Two h\groes. 34
Two Studies of a Baby

Old Age. 1669. 14-15

Simeon

creditors.

van Swanenburgh, Jacob.

Tromp. Maartcn. 90

Portrait oj the Painter

>'

oil

I0'/s, oil

panel. 36, 40,

\t

arrange-

circumvent Rembrandt's

to

sister-in-law,

etching.

7",x 10",.. etching, 28

12.

13; Se!/
3 7,

8' x 10"'i.

12. 135; Self-

143-145

10 /i6, engraving. 28
Tobias

13.

on panel.

oil

67; painting by,

in financial

Rijn, Saskia,

and fourth

148-149

14,

94;

with niece Saskia. 65

Tobias and the Angel (F.lsheimer).

Portrait, study, c.1660, 12V.

Rubens. Peter Paul

plating tbe

Three Trees,

14,

135;

on canvas,

5'A.

etching.

state (pp. 143,145). 142,

s5. Large Self- Portrait. 1652.

x 39%. oil

23

Don

\i5; Self-Portrait of 1658. 50

59

Rotterdam. Desiderius Erasmus'

Rutin

7'A*

17"/i.

third state (p. 144)

5, / /

of,

brandt's business arrangement

Haaring,

Jacobsz.

Three Crosses, 5 'At, x

//. 66;

van Uvlenburgh. Hendrick:

34

etching, second state, 114, 151

5,

12. 89. 107.

27"At, oil

1658, 1954
I

Thomas

135, Small Self-Portrait. 1656-

121

Rosenberg. Jakob, quoted,

32

dle.

15; Self- Portrait. 1650,

44'/u x

Rembrandt's

scapes, 69, 96, 102. in

statue.

34 u
1

Lighting a Pipe from a Can-

Tholinx. Arnout,

1648, etching. 42.

Self- Portrait.

79

c.

on canvas.

oil

I-.

on canvas.

oil

on canvas. 167. /77,

Romanticism

Man

on canvas,

Self-Portrait. 1640. 40'/ x

Resurrection in Passion series. 66

Return of the Prodigal Son. 8'6" x

Kevins, jacobus,

oil

Portrait with Saskia.

90

Sir William, quoted.

Terbrugghen. Hendrick. 39; Youmr

10.65. Vl.Self-Portraitasa

Rembrandt's color and. 80; varnish applied on. 108-109

78-

Te,
.emple.

Self-

Window.

Young Man. 1629. 7% x 5'A. oil

on canvas. 9, 40, 42, 44; Self-

Restoration of Rembrandt's paintings:

\ 22'/ u

1631. 24'/u

44

6'7", oil

at a

an Oriental Costume with a Dog,

Rem-

7-138

13

of,

41

in.

and. 105, 107.

Rest on tbe Flight into Egypt, The.

etching,

Drawing

etching, 95. 115; Self-Portrait in

art:

Rembrandt

drawing, 93;

attire,

Portrait.

van Rijn. Titus. Rembrandt's son:

ments

studio

in

94-95

will of.

8; self-portrait in

Woman

c.

66; posthumous portrait

Stephen,

Negroes. 134;

Danae, 68-69;

for

Saskia, etching. 60, 94; in Self-

The, 86-76, 141. Tobh and Anna.

Two

and

etchings, 65, 69; in Flora, 120; as

137; role

Winter Scene. 101;

as

for paintings, drawings,

8: in Stoning of St.

3 6. 40, 44;

69;

of.

180;

riage. 65; in Bellona,

first state,
3

94; illness

of. 17,

103 Syndics of the Drapers' Guild,

;

46

of, 40,

Syndics of the Drapers' Guild. The,

6'3" x 9'2", oil on canvas. 86-87. 141

staring,

44; Rembrandt's etching

van Ri|n. Saskia. Rembrandt's wife:

7

Sylvius. Jan Cornells. 92

in a

etching

1 'A.

Stormy Landscape. The. 20'/; x 29'/;, oil

on panel, 69, 102. 103
Studies of Heads and Figures. SV> x 9,
pen and bistre with wash and red
chalk. 49
Supper Party (Honthorst), 54'/l x 80'/i6,
oil on canvas. 32-33

in sharp

right, looking

bust. 2

Woman

oil

as if shouting, bust.

27 x 2'A,

121

in Flora,

Stoning of St. Stephen. 15'A t x 48

etching second state. 8.

65. 93; Self-Portrait, Study.

Saskia,

in

Rem-

brandt bareheaded and open-

in

relationship with. 95,

ac-

Cosimo de'Medici. 165;

Descent from the Cross and in

ings.

65;

173;

44; Self-Portrait in an Oriental

10,

37

Rembrandt:

Self-Portraits bv

1640. 12. 89, 107, \15, SelfPortrait, 1650, 13. \15. Self-

St

brother.

Rem-

brandt's interpretation of, 158. 159

order of

genres of paintings. 25;

Seghers, Hercules, 24; influence on

graved bv. 92

van Petersom, Jan, 139

van Ri|n. Adnaen. Rembrandt's

Still lifes: in hierarchical

Manoah. 112; St.

Bartholomew, 140: St Paul
;

Rembrandt's land-

Steen, Jan, 18

themes

Scriptures. See Biblical

Sacrifice of

in

scape painting. 98-99

ProdigalSon. 167, 177, 178-179;

contemplation, 41

Spaarndam,

on

74-1 75

Screaming Boy, The, drawing, 106

06; Return of the

x 64/i, oil

Old Age, 1669, 14-15: Rape

'

as

Woman

at llei

pen and

Toilet, 954

ash. 54

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