RembrandtRembrandt

(1606 – 1969)

Painter & Printmaker

(1606 – 1969)

Painter & Printmaker

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van RijnRembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

Rembrandt Harmenszoon (son of Harmen) van Rijn (of the Rhine) was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden in the Netherlands. He studied with successful artists and began teaching his own art students when he was only 22 years old. He opened his own studio in Amsterdam and became very successful painting portraits. This is how he met his wife, Saskia.

Saskia was from a wealthy family, and when they married, Rembrandt began to enjoy a better life style, buying a large house and collecting works of art. He lived more lavishly than he could afford, went into bankruptcy, and had to sell the house and all of the art he had collected. He & Saskia had 4 children, but only their son Titus survived. Saskia died shortly after titus was born. Rembrandt used his family as models in many paintings.

Portrait of Saskia van Uylenburg (1635)

Titus, as a monk (1660)

Rembrandt’s house in Amsterdam, now a

Rembrandt museum

Over his lifetime, Rembrandt created many self portraits. When seen together, they show him changing from a young man, to a confident successful middle aged man, to a very old man.

A typical portrait (1634)

A typical portrait (1634)

Rembrandt’s maid, Hendrickje, became his commonlaw wife and Titus’ mother. She & Rembrandt had a daughter, Cornelia.

Throughout the 1630s, Rembrandt was very successful as a portrait painter, painting single people as well as groups.

Portrait Jan Six (1654)Six was a wealthy friend of rembrandt

Portrait Jan Six (1654)Six was a wealthy friend of rembrandt

This group of clothmakers hired Rembrandt to paint this group portrait. It would have hung in their clubhouse or office.

The Syndics of the Drapers’ guild (1662)

The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq

also called The Night watch (1942)

This portrait shows a group of musketeers getting ready to go to battle. commisssioned by the musketeer branch of the civil militia, a chunk of it was cut off so that it fit on the right wall. Some of the men were unhappy because they were in the background instead of up front (they had all paid the same amount toward rembrandt’s fee).

The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633)

Besides portraits, rembrandt was known for painting scenes from the bible and mythology–often with his own family as characters in the painting. His use of dramatic light and dark is called Chiaroscuro, a style derived from the painter Caravaggio. His paintings show his deep compassion for mankind, whether he is painting the wealthy or the common man.

This painting was stolen from a museum in 1990 and is still missing.

The Abduction of Europa

(1632)This painting is said to be one of the best examples of baroque painting

The Philosopher in Meditation (1632)

Chiaroscuro!

In addition to painting, rembrandt produced etchings during most of his career – until his bankruptcy in 1656, when he was forced to sell his printing press. He used different techniques of drawing & painting combined with varied amounts of acid to create thick and thin lines in the metal printing plates.

The Hundred Guilder Print (1647-49)

Rembrandt had many students over the years, beginning when he was only 22. Many paintings which were originally thought to be his were later discovered to be done by his students.

The artists’ signature changed over the years. Originally he just signed an “R”, or “RH” (Rembrandt Harmenszoon), then he signed “RHL” the (l being for Leiden, his town of birth) then “RHL-vanRijn”, adding “from the Rhine”, his region. Finally, he went back to just Rembrandt, adding the “D” that wasn’t part of the original spelling of his name. All of this made authenticating his work more difficult for art historians.

This is an example of a painting that was originally thought to be a rembrandt, but later determined to be one of his students’. You can see why it was hard to tell!

Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje, who died in 1663, and his son Titus, who died in 1668. Rembrandt died on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam, and was buried in an unmarked grave there.