Birth Year : 1606
Death Year : 1669
Country : Netherlands
Rembrandt Harmenszohn van Rijn, finest of the Dutch painters and one
of the greatest artists of all time, was born in Leyden, the son of a prosperous
miller. After attending Latin school young Rembrandt studied painting,
first in Leyden and then in Amsterdam under Peter Lastman, from whom he
learned the technique of chiaroscuro-the dramatic use of light and shadow-as
his teacher had learned it in Italy from Caravaggio.
Rembrandt's first studio was in Leyden, but in 1631 he moved to Amsterdam
where he remained permanently. He was soon so busy with commissions for
portraits that he needed many assistants. His work divides fairly distinctly
into three different periods. His early works are sharply drawn and painted
in a varied palette that was to decrease in range and direct proposition
to this growing interest in light and shadow. In the years between 1640
and 1660, his middle period, he had developed a darker style with color
applied in thick blobs, quick lines or dabs, and thinner washes that merge
into a harmonious glow, bursting from a dark background to create rich,
shimmering, and uneven surface effect. After 1660, his technique became
even freer, possessing a jewel-like richness of color, and expressing intense
emotion. Rembrandt was a supreme master in every form of painting: poetic
landscapes; penetrating psychological portraits; religious and mythological
works that reveal a personal approach to Christianity; theatrical or exotic
subjects; and warm still lifes. He was a superb draughtsman and throughout
his life produced drawings and copperplate etchings that are magical in
line and feeling. His genius was recognized very early in Amsterdam and
he was soon very wealthy, but as the years advanced and his interest in
religious subjects increased, he lost sales and commissions. This, combined
with the tragedy of his personal life and extravagant spending and mismanagement
of his funds, made the final years of his life very difficult ones, but
Rembrandt would not pander to public taste and continued to paint as he
wished until his death in 1669. His influence upon all art since his time
is inestimable.
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Rembrandt
van Rijn
Night
Watch, The
Rembrandt
van Rijn
Return
of the Prodigal Son, The
Rembrandt
van Rijn
Return
Of The Prodigal Son, The
Rembrandt
van Rijn
Storm
on the Sea of Galilee
Rembrandt
van Rijn
Return
of the Prodigal Son, The
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