Rembrandt's artistic style. What do Rembrandt van Rijn's paintings hide? Religion and mythology
The great Dutchman Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn was born in 1606 in the city of Leiden. After studying as an apprentice, at the age of 19 he began to work as an independent artist.
In his first biblical compositions, the influence of the Italian Baroque is noticeable: in the sharp contrasts of chiaroscuro and the dynamics of the composition. But Rembrandt soon found his own style in the use of chiaroscuro to express emotions in portraits.
In 1632, the painter moved to Amsterdam and married a rich patrician. During this period he was especially successful, famous and happy. And his works are saturated with rich colors and breathe joy. He paints large religious compositions, many portraits and self-portraits with his beloved wife.
Rembrandt became especially famous as a portrait painter, painting more than a hundred portraits and dozens of self-portraits during his career. It was in depicting himself that the artist boldly experimented in search of special expressiveness of the face.
Rembrandt was the first to solve the problem of boring group portraits by uniting the people depicted in a common action, which gave the faces and figures a natural ease.
The artist was glorified by a group portrait called “The Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Tulp” (1632), which depicts not even rows of pompous faces, but heroes of a fascinating story, as if caught by the artist in the midst of the action.
Researchers consider the crowning glory of Rembrandt’s talent as a portrait painter to be “The Night Watch” (1642), a commissioned portrait of a rifle society. However, the customers did not accept the picture, rejecting the innovative idea, where instead of lined up shooters, a heroic composition on the theme of the liberation struggle was depicted. To the shooters, among whom were nobles, these images seemed alien and politically untimely.
This rejection became the first tragic chord in the artist’s life. And when his beloved wife died, Rembrandt’s work lost its joyful notes. The 1640s became a period of calm biblical motifs, where the artist more and more subtly revealed the shades of the emotional experiences of the heroes. In his graphics, chiaroscuro plays even more gracefully, creating a dramatic atmosphere.
In Danaë (1647), the artist revealed his aesthetic views on female beauty, challenging the Renaissance. His nude Danae is emphatically far from classical ideals, but sensual and warm, like a living woman.
The period of Rembrandt's creative maturity occurred in the 1650s - a time of difficult life trials. His property was sold at auction for debts, but the painter practically did not fulfill orders. He painted portraits of loved ones, ordinary people and old people. Using spots of diffused light, the artist’s special attention was focused on faces with rich, but subtle emotions, and worn-out hands.
Rembrandt interpreted biblical images in his own way, clearly “down-to-earth” religious legends, depriving them of the otherworldly. He often gave the faces of saints the features of specific people who posed for him for paintings.
By the mid-1650s, the painter had become a true master, skillfully conquering light and color for the sake of emotional expressiveness of images. But he lived out his life in poverty and loneliness, having buried his second wife and son. The artist’s latest works are devoted to reflection on the clash of evil with good in the human soul. The final chord was the master’s main masterpiece, “The Return of the Prodigal Son,” written in 1669, the year of the artist’s death. The repentant son, kneeling, expressed the entire tragedy of a person’s life path, and in the image of his father one can see love itself and endless forgiveness.
The attribution of Rembrandt's paintings is made according to the latest research by a group of reputable scientists on his work and is updated in the course of research currently underway. The "Rembrandt Research Project" was founded in 1968 and set itself the goal of verifying the authenticity and ownership of the master's paintings based on a detailed study of each, using the latest art historical and technical advances in this field.
Album layout and translation - Konstantin (koschey)
Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn is one of the world's famous artists. Like many talented artists from the Golden Age, the works exhibit religious motifs. This is a unique master of biblical, mythological themes, portraits, and the presentation of chiaroscuro. Rembrandt Van Rijn's works capture more than just faces. Entire stories are presented here.
The life of a great artist
Rembrandt's biography begins from birth. This happened in 1606 (Dutch city of Leiden), on July 15. The boy's father is a rich miller, his mother is the daughter of a baker. Van Rhein means "From the Rhine" (river). Of 10 children, Van Rijn is the youngest. The brothers and sisters, when they grew up, began to do the same things as their parents. Rembrandt chose to receive an art education (Latin School). After school, he briefly entered the University of Leiden. There is no desire to continue studying because of my passion for painting. There is an opinion among scientists that Van Rijn graduated from university to obtain a deferment from military service.
The creator began learning to draw at the age of 13. The first teacher is Jacob Van Swanenburch. After studying for 3 years, the master preferred Amsterdam, where Peter Lastman became the teacher. 1626 - the artist returned home. After much deliberation, he chose to pursue a career as an artist in the capital, again visiting Amsterdam.
This is the time of his formation as an artist. Then I was attracted to the work of Caravaggio. Numerous portraits of Rembrandt appeared. He depicted family members and painted self-portraits. Close attention is paid to lighting and the transmission of spiritual experiences. The young artist preferred to dress up models: different outfits, beautiful fabrics, conveying textures and colors.
Amsterdam is favorable: the young man quickly becomes famous and receives orders. There is no reason to refuse to improve your skills. The 30s were a period of supreme glory; the path was opened by the significant commissioned work “Anatomy Lesson”. Poses and actions are natural, there is no unnecessary naturalism.
1634 - marries Saskia. At the time of their marriage, the young people had good fortunes (Rembrandt was entitled to royalties for paintings, Saskia received an inheritance from her parents). Love truly reigned, there was no talk of calculation. The artist was recognized by patrician circles. A happy time of life begins: mutual, passionate love, material well-being, constant orders. The painter often depicts his young wife.
1635–1640 - Rembrandt's wife gave birth to three children, all of whom died as newborns. 1641 - son Titus appeared. The child survived, but a year later (Saskia’s age was 29 years old) her mother died. Van Rijn's life is a situation from luxury to decline. The beginning is a happy childhood, wealth, recognition. The situation was changing: customers left, poverty-stricken old age. The master's mood is demonstrated by the canvases.
After the death of his beloved, the painter suffered, drawing consoled him. Moral depression, waste (passion - collecting) gradually turned the rich man into a beggar. A significant role in the deterioration of the financial situation was played by the change in the tastes of the public. Carefully detailed light paintings became in demand. The Creator, being an adherent of a different technique (contrasts of light and shadow), refused to compromise his principles. There were fewer orders. In the year of Saskia’s death, the master completed the masterpiece “Night Watch”.
One-year-old Titus is a daddy problem. A nanny appeared - Gertje Dirks. The girl became the artist's mistress. A couple of years later, another nanny was hired - Hendrikje Stoffels. She and Titus opened a company selling art and antiques to help the artist. The idea failed, and the financial situation worsened. The artist sold part of the collection, but it didn’t help much. The master was almost thrown behind bars. The court decided the case was acceptable. Property was sold, debts were paid off. The Creator lived for some time in a house that was no longer owned.
Hendrikje Stoffels gave birth to two children. The first child, a boy, died as an infant. Daughter Carnelia survived her father. Geertje Dirks wanted to condemn the artist: the master violated the marriage contract. The dispute was lost, Dirks was awaiting a correctional home. She stayed there for 5 years, was released, and died a year later.
Until the end of his life, the artist owes a lot to people, but Rembrandt’s work is a prohibition against damaging the painter’s reputation. The master remained a worthy person for the masses of people who appreciated the work of a genius.
Few people know: there is a unique collection, which includes works by Italian artists, engravings, busts, weapons. They are represented by the Rembrandt Museum (Amsterdam).
1663 - Hendrickje died. Some time later (1668), the master buried Titus’s son and bride. The plague killed them. The sad event sharply worsened the master’s state of mind. 1669, October 4 - he himself left the world, forever remaining loved by his loved ones. The burial place is the Dutch church Westerkerk (Amsterdam).
Famous paintings by Rembrandt with titles
self-portrait Rembrandt Category The future great artist Rembrandt was born on July 15, 1606 in a fertile era of flourishing of all areas of spiritual culture in Holland. This is the time when national literature, architecture, painting and theater developed especially rapidly. But no other field of art, during this “golden age,” created so many cultural values recognized at the world level as painting.
The visual arts of Holland matured during the years of the revolution, the liberation struggle and the post-revolutionary upsurge. Obviously, this is why national painting has such a pronounced democratic character. Dutch artists, already in the 17th century, had a rare opportunity to openly express their ideas and attitude to the surrounding reality. Their works are distinguished by bold realism in relation to the depiction of man and his life.
All of Rembrandt's work is imbued with the highest embodiment of Dutch realism, which was unusually close to the soul of the artist himself. His works amaze with their breadth of thematic coverage, which is a rarity in the history of world art.
early years
Previously, Rembrandt spent his childhood in the city of Leiden (Netherlands), where his father kept a mill on the banks of one of the tributaries of the Rhine. Actually, the prefix “Van Rijn” is the painter’s generic nickname, literally meaning “who is from the Rhine.”
After graduating from the Latin gymnasium in 1620, the boy spent about a year at Leiden University. It was there that his drawing abilities first emerged. The young artist began to study with local painter Jacob van Swannenburch. But he soon moved to Amsterdam, where he found a more eminent teacher, Pieter Lastman (1583-1633). Rembrandt's new mentor was a representative of a group of Dutch artists engaged exclusively in depicting ancient and biblical subjects.
Lastman's historical paintings captivated viewers with colorful details of the mise-en-scène from the life of ancient peoples. His personal style was to depict strong emotions on the characters' faces. Because of this, despite the undoubted skill of execution and the ability to create realistic details, all of his paintings are distinguished by their artificiality and theatricality even of real events. Nevertheless, many of the characteristic features of Lastman's painting significantly influenced the development of Rembrandt's style, even though he spent only about six months in his studio.
At the age of nineteen, Rembrandt returned to his native Leiden. Here he begins to practice the art of painting himself. All paintings of the “Leiden” period are distinguished by accuracy, sharp transitions of color and light and a slightly strict, dry manner of painting, which betrays an inexperienced novice artist.
From the very beginning, Rembrandt was attracted to the portrait genre. There were few orders, so the artist practiced tirelessly on himself, his relatives and loved ones. During this time, he painted many self-portraits, depicting himself with various facial expressions: embarrassed, smiling, laughing, irritated. So Rembrandt began to improve his ability to realistically convey the psychological states of his heroes. Almost all early self-portraits are superficial and even rude, which is explained by the artist’s youth and inexperience.
But the painter’s first experiments in the field of printed graphics, also dating back to the Leiden period, are much more interesting. There is no information about who Rembrandt studied the art of etching with. However, his early engravings are already distinguished by great skill in execution, as well as a deep understanding of drawing.
Judging by Rembrandt's engravings, he preferred to choose characters for his works from the very bottom of Dutch society. His etchings dedicated to the poor, crippled and vagabonds were so skillful that they attracted public attention to his work. Rembrandt received more orders, students began to come to him, and they began to predict a great future for the artist.
At first, the painter signed his works with a monogram of his own composition “RHL” - Rembrandt Harmen (father’s name) Leiden (hometown). However, after moving to Amsterdam in 1631, he began to sign with one name, like the great masters Raphael and Titiau.
After moving to Amsterdam, the painter entered one of the most successful periods in his work and life. Almost immediately he received a very lucrative order from the Guild of Surgeons. In January 1632, Rembrandt attended a lecture by the eminent physician Nicholas Peters, during which the audience witnessed the autopsy of a thief. Doctors had the right to autopsy the corpses of those criminals who were sentenced to death. This happened extremely rarely, so it was always a real event. This moment was captured by the artist in his famous painting “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicholas Tulp” (1632, Mauritshuis, The Hague).
In the process of creating this work, the author acts as a deep psychologist who managed to subtly notice and convey a complex picture of personal relationships. A group of listeners - young surgeons - is dressed in festive costumes on the canvas. For Holland, the type of portrait depicting a person doing his favorite activity was very common. Such a picture required extensive use of everyday objects - the inclusion in the plot of surrounding elements that characterize the life of the person being portrayed. The most difficult task for the artist was to maintain the predominance of the portrait image over the everyday image; Rembrandt coped with this task brilliantly.
In the eyes of the characters in the picture there is admiration for the lecture they listened to, which demonstrated the surprisingly deep knowledge of the lecturer. The visiting surgeons are tense, comparing the anatomy of the opened arm with what is depicted in the large book lying at his feet. Compared to them, the doctor himself looks very reserved. As befits a true professional, the doctor does not experience fear, timidity, or embarrassment. Dr. Tulp is confident, calm, and not afraid of reality. Even the doctor’s servant, taking the cloak from the visiting surgeon in the background of the picture, is not at all frightened by the spectacle.
The painting helped Rembrandt gain recognition from the Amsterdam public. He began to receive many orders for portraits of noble gentlemen, of which he created more than fifty in just the first two years. The artist's popularity grew along with his wealth.
Rembrandt was a passionate collector. He spent most of the money he earned on purchasing works of art, period costumes and antiques. During the inventory of his property, among the works of his extensive collection were paintings by Rubens, Raphael, Albrecht Durer, Van Dyck, Pieter Bruegel and other masters.
Success and personal happiness
Just two years into his life in Amsterdam, Rembrandt got married. The painter's wife was the daughter of wealthy patricians, Saskia van Uylenborch. The artist loved his wife very much and often created portraits of her in a variety of images: in the usual costume of a Dutch burgher, or in clothes that transformed her into a heroine of biblical or ancient mythology.
In 1634, Rembrandt painted his painting “Flora” (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg), in which Saskia appears as the goddess of all vegetation, Flora. The woman is pregnant, her head is decorated with a wreath, in which tulips are clearly visible, indicating her Dutch origin. Saskia, with a twig in her hands, resembles a fairy-tale princess walking in the forest. It’s amazing how skillfully the fabric of her clothes is painted, making you want to touch the canvas to feel the tenderness of the satin. The picture, despite the cold palette, makes a surprisingly warm impression. The image of young Saskia is very touching and very different from the regal woman she appears to us in the painting painted a year later.
The work “Sofonisba Takes the Cup of Poison” (1634, Prado Museum, Madrid) became one of the early paintings on a historical theme. The woman in the picture looks a lot like Saskia. The plot of the film tells the story of Sophonisba, the daughter of a Carthaginian commander, who lived during the fierce war between Rome and Carthage. Her father marries her to King Syphax, who dies in a battle with Masiniss, who, in turn, wanted to take the queen as his wife. But the Romans prohibit this marriage, and then Masiniss sends a cup of poison to Sophonisba, which the queen drinks without hesitation.
The canvas “Self-portrait with Saskia on her knees” (1635-1636, Art Gallery, Dresden) shows us the artist and his wife, glowing with happiness. Rembrandt, as a groom, dressed in an elegant suit, holds Saskia on his lap, also dressed in an antique dress, bought by the artist from an antique dealer. The artist radiates fun, which is transmitted to the viewer. With one hand he gently holds his companion by the waist, with the other he raises a luxurious glass, as if inviting the viewer to drink to their family happiness, sharing the celebration of his soul. Throughout the work one can feel the tenderness and love of the painter for his wife.
Religion and mythology
At the turn of the 16th-17th centuries, Rembrandt was fascinated by historical painting, which, according to the tradition of that time, included mythological stories of antiquity, as well as biblical subjects. Despite the fact that in many of the artist’s works the influence of his teacher Lastman is clearly visible, his canvases stood out significantly against the general background of the blossoming Dutch painting.
The fact is that Rembrandt was excellent at giving a deeply individual interpretation of each image. Despite the similarity of color, compositional techniques and costumes of his characters with Lastman’s paintings, the artist managed to develop his own unique style, based on the desire to convey the true feelings of the person himself as they could be in reality. Remaining within the framework of traditional mythological and biblical subjects, Rembandt's paintings are devoid of artificiality and theatricality.
In the paintings of the historical series, Rembrandt's talent as a storyteller, his desire to show the inconsistency and duality of human nature, which, according to the master, lie the motives of any action, are unusually clearly revealed.
The artist’s work was greatly influenced by the philosophy of Pascal, who believed that “man is something beautiful that contains truth, on the one hand, and on the other hand, is a vessel of uncertainty and error, contradicting himself.”
The painting “The Descent from the Cross” (1634, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) was one of a series of paintings on the theme of the Passion of Christ, commissioned from Rembrandt by Prince Frederick Hendrik of Orange. On the canvas we see how at night relatives and friends remove the body of the crucified Jesus from the cross. The powerful play of chiaroscuro creates a very strong dramatic effect. The characters' faces are agitated and pale. The only source of light pulls out the figure of the tortured Christ from the twilight. The origin of the light is unclear - either it comes from somewhere above, or it comes from the Lord himself. The Virgin Mary is depicted as a simple woman. The face of the Mother of God is also illuminated with light. Her figure is located on the right, on both sides of her there are people who help Mary stay on her feet; her condition speaks of deepest sorrow. A luxurious cloth is spread on the ground, on which the body of Christ will now be laid.
Rembrandt deliberately depicted all participants in this action as ordinary people in order to emphasize that the death of the Son of God is a universal grief. This painting, one of five commissioned by the prince, was later repeated by the artist, but on a larger scale.
The theme of the murder and resurrection of Christ continues in the canvas “The Unbelief of St. Thomas” (1634, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow). This depicts the episode when the resurrected Jesus appears to the apostles and shows his wounds. The disciples of Christ tell about the miracle of Thomas, who, in disbelief, declares: “Unless I see in my hands the marks of the nails, and put my finger into the marks of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” A few days later, Jesus again appears to the apostles, with whom Thomas was also. Christ approached him and offered to do what Thomas demanded as proof - to put his fingers into the wounds. Frightened Thomas fulfills the request and acknowledges the Lord with shame.
The painting is painted in dark colors, and only the central part of the composition is illuminated by the bright light emitted by the figure of Jesus. The extraordinary play of light and shadow inherent in the master’s paintings conveys the internal dynamics of the episode and its exciting character.
The next work dedicated to the biblical plot was the painting “Belshazzar’s Feast” (1635, National Gallery, London). The painting depicts a classic story related to the reign and death of Belshazzar, the last Babylonian king responsible for the fall of Babylon (according to the Book of Daniel).
When Babylon was besieged, it stored a sufficient amount of food supplies with which the inhabitants would not have to worry about food for a long time. But the king of Babylon, Belshazzar, unexpectedly decides to arrange a luxurious feast for a completely insignificant occasion, inviting almost a thousand nobles and courtiers to it. The picture shows the climax of the story, when, in the midst of the feast, a hand appears behind the king’s back, writing certain words. The king, whose figure is located in the center of the composition and occupies almost all of its space, turns around to understand what is happening. To his right, one of the feasting ladies crouched in fear, as if pouring wine from a precious vessel onto herself.
According to the Gospel, the court sages of King Belshazzar were unable to read the magic inscription. Then the Babylonian ruler invites the prophet Daniel, who deciphered the letters. The text on the palace wall read: “God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. You are weighed, and your weight is not great. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Persians and Medes.” According to the biblical narrative, that same night, the Chaldean king Belshazzar was killed.
The painting “The Sacrifice of Abraham” (1635, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg) continued the series of scenes from the holy book. The canvas is shrouded in twilight, only three fragments are caught in the light: the body of young Isaac with his hands tied behind his back, bending over, awaiting the fatal blow; the face of Abraham, pale with grief and horror, realizing that he was about to, at the command of God, slay his own son; and the figure of an angel, as if bursting into a composition of clouds to save the heroes from the horror that was happening.
Throughout his entire career, when depicting a person, Rembrandt was attracted by the spectacular in its expression feelings of fear, pain, states of joy, grief, indignation, surprise - everything that is visible to the naked eye, and not internal experiences hidden deep inside.
This is especially noticeable in large, multi-figure works, such as, for example, the painting “The Blinding of Samson” (1636, Städel Art Institute, Frankfurt am Main). The canvas is based on one of the dramatic episodes of biblical legends.
The mighty Samson falls into the hands of his enemies due to the betrayal of his beloved - the beautiful and treacherous Delilah, who betrayed Samson for a reward. The attackers blind him by plunging daggers into his eyes. Samson’s heroic body, highlighted by a shining bright light, bent over in pain. The dynamic composition of the work is saturated with color contrasts of darkness and bright light emitted by the figure of a strong man, creating a feeling of anxiety and horror. Everything around is mixed up in a fierce struggle, and in the background Delilah is seen rapidly running away.
According to recent research, another painting by the master, “Danae,” is closely related to the painting “The Blinding of Samson.” Analysis of the canvases showed an absolutely identical structure, perhaps both of them were cut from one piece. The works are connected not only by the base and size, but also by the compositional structure, which gives the works monumentality due to the fact that the figures on them are depicted in full growth. There is also a version that the artist gave both of these works to Konstantin Heytens, the secretary of Prince Friedrich Hendrik, thanks to whom Rembrandt had many orders.
This guess is also confirmed by the artist’s letters, in which he informs Heytens that he has completed two paintings, which, as a sign of gratitude, he would like to present to him. Their plot is not indicated, but most likely the author had these works in mind.
Such thorough research of the canvas “Danae” (1636, State Hermitage, St. Petersburg) is not accidental; this painting has become one of the master’s best creations, and besides this, also a hymn to his love for Saskia. Rembrandt dated the painting to 1636, but connoisseurs of his work attribute the work to a later period. This is due to the fact that the early period of the master’s work was not yet characterized by the strength and depth with which this work was written. In the laboratories of the State Hermitage, thorough X-ray studies were carried out, which dispelled all doubts: the canvas was indeed painted in the 1630s, however, in subsequent decades it was subject to significant author's revision.
The composition of the canvas is based on the plot of an ancient Greek myth. The Argive king, Danae's father, imprisoned his daughter in a tower. But the supreme god Zeus, who was in love with Danae, nevertheless penetrated her, taking on the guise of golden rain. With a mixed feeling of timidity and joy (the duality of human nature), Danae strives towards the golden radiance. Rembrandt did not depict the ideal female body in the painting, as was common among other artists. His Danae is far from the ideals of perfect beauty, but pay attention to her face, how much hope and inspiration there is in it, it is full of love and faith. Her pose is unusually feminine, and her gestures are filled with awe.
Continuing the theme of active discussions going on about the painting, it should be noted that Danae’s face bears little resemblance to the well-known appearance of Saskia. The fluoroscopy performed also resolved this mystery. The fact is that the canvas was not intended for sale; for a long time it was kept in the artist’s personal studio, until his complete bankruptcy, after which all his belongings were confiscated and sold.
Rembrandt constantly returned to his favorite work, rewriting it in accordance with a new level of professional pictorial vision or depending on his state of mind and mood. Rewriting Danae's facial features, he either gave him the characteristic features of Gertje Dirks, a servant who lived in his house after the death of his wife, or gave him a resemblance to Hendrikjo Stoffels. As a result, the heroine’s face is a combination of features of women close to the artist. But the resemblance to Saskia, his first love, still stands out much more clearly.
The fate of the painting was not simple, even after Rembrandt’s death. After the sale of the artist’s property, it changed through a number of private owners, until 1772, when it was purchased by Catherine II. Subsequently, she was placed in the hall of the State Hermitage, where she was attacked by a maniac in 1985, who stabbed the canvas twice and doused it with acid. Fortunately, the restorers still saved the masterpiece, preserving it for the audience.
During the early period of his work, Rembrandt paid virtually no attention to the landscape. Only years later, under the heavy burden of life’s circumstances, the artist turned his gaze to nature and the consolation that it can give to a person. However, in 1638 the painter created the beautiful painting “Landscape with a Stone Bridge” (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). The canvas is filled with the struggle of light and shadow, the emotionality of the composition and color scheme and overall dynamics.
As if squeezing through thick clouds, a stream of bright sunlight streams onto the two trees depicted in the central part of the picture. Everything else is people in a boat, hurrying home, frightened by the beginning of a thunderstorm, the bridge over the river is immersed in twilight. In the only fragment of the plot, illuminated by the sun, the outlines of a rickety old fence, leaves and a person passing by are visible.
Unrecognized master
Sadly, the time of fame and material prosperity for Rembrandt did not last long. The work of the great master was very different from the works of fashionable Dutch artists. And as you know, it is fashion that dictates its tastes to the bourgeoisie, which at that time was the most numerous and successful class in Holland. Rembrandt did not want to indulge any fashion trends; he clearly saw his path in art, filled with deeply individual traits. The main theme of the painter’s work has always been man, his external life and hidden desires, life without fantasies and artificiality, such as it is.
The realistic style of the artist’s work confused his contemporaries with its naked truth. This led to an inevitable conflict between the master and bourgeois society. The first major clash between Rembrandt and public opinion occurred due to a large order for a group portrait of the Amsterdam rifle company, led by Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenberg and Captain Frans Banning Kok, on which the artist worked for about two years.
The large-scale work “Performance of the Shooters of the Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock” (or “Night Watch”, Riksmuseum, Amsterdam), completed by the master in 1642, depicts a memorable historical event, presumably the participation of the Amsterdam shooters in the ceremonial meeting of the French Queen Marie de' Medici in 1639.
The painting depicts Captain Cock's company emerging from a dark space into a foreground flooded with bright light. Each character is busy with his grandfather, this gives the impression that the episode was snatched by chance. The arrows in the picture are cleaning and disassembling their peaks, someone is giving orders, actively gesticulating, the standard-bearer is unrolling a colorful cloth. On the right side of the picture is an elderly man beating a drum; a dog barks at his feet. These heterogeneous actions, creating a slight sense of chaos, filled with noise and dynamics, leave a very vivid impression.
The overall color scheme of the canvas is quite dark, diluted only by two bright yellow spots: in the center on the right - the figure of a short man - Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenberg, and on the right - a little girl in a yellow dress. The arrows are depicted mixed with passers-by, which gives the impression of some kind of confusion. Only Captain Kok, leaning on his cane, talks with someone absolutely calmly.
Rembrandt's idea to depict a group of people united by a single impulse of civic feelings, alas, remained misunderstood and not accepted by Amsterdam society. The shooters who paid for the order to get on the canvas were unhappy that there were completely strangers in the picture. And they were even more outraged by the fact that the faces of some customers were obscured by other figures.
This painting became a turning point in the artist’s life. While Rembrandt was painting, his beloved wife Saskia, who was only thirty years old, died of tuberculosis. Perhaps this event also influenced the artist, who depicted on the canvas a little girl whose face somewhat resembles the artist’s young wife.
The large and controversial public outcry about The Night Watch undermined Rembrandt's popularity, which has only begun to decline since then. The number of orders decreased, students left. A very difficult period began in the master’s life.
Confused and upset, Rembrandt began to seek solitude and solace in nature. As a result, the master became very interested in the landscape, which he had not previously attached importance to. The artist’s state of mind can be assessed by the views that he chose for his canvases - these were not spectacular views at all, but quiet, modest, secluded corners.
In addition to painting, engravings and drawings, executed by a master with no less talent than his paintings, occupy a significant place in Rembrandt’s enormous heritage. The artist created engravings using the etching technique. The essence of the technique is to scratch a pattern with a needle on a metal board coated with varnish, which is finally treated with acids. Then, the varnish is removed from the board and the lines burned into the metal with acid are filled with paint. After this, prints are made from the board on damp paper under pressure. Both the engraving method and the resulting impression are called etching. In total, the master created about three hundred etching engravings, which belong to the world's greatest achievements in the field of graphics. Also, about one and a half thousand drawings by the artist have survived to this day.
An example of Rembrandt’s magnificent graphics is his bright symbolic etching “Three Trees” (1643, collection of J. de Bruyn). On the left side of the engraving there are numerous vertical lines, creating the impression of rain pouring in rapid streams. The right and central parts of the etching are not dotted with strokes, which makes the sky and the entire space of the composition seem radiant, spacious, and open. This is how the artist depicted the symbolic struggle and the inevitable victory of light over darkness. Purified and as if revived nature creates a life-affirming and optimistic mood. The three trees towering on the right side of the composition seem to be the axis of this world, the life-giving principle - everything that is around is so fully and clearly embodied in them: in the thick trunks - the power of the patient earth; in the fluttering of leaves on the branches - the free aspiration of air.
Despite his passion for engraving, Rembrandt never stopped improving his painting style. In the 40s, his artistic techniques became even more diverse, the compositional structure was bolder, the coloring became richer and more temperamental, with bright tones of red, brown, and gold prevailing in it. The predominant themes are still biblical and gospel stories, revealing simple human qualities: maternal and marital love, suffering, mercy, kindness. An example is the painting “The Holy Family and Angels” (1645, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg), it is imbued with such amazing tenderness, love, in which the divine and earthly are intertwined.
The Virgin Mary, who was reading a book, pauses to adjust the veil on the Baby, to shield Him from the extremely bright light. Our Lady's gesture is filled with endless love and care. Jesus sleeps sweetly, his face, as always, illuminated by divine radiance. Maria's husband is working in the background of the picture. This episode from the life of a young family might seem banal if it were not for the angels soaring in the heavens.
In 1647, Rembandt created a dramatic painting with pronounced eroticism, “Susanna and the Elders” (State Museum, Berlin). Susanna heads to the bathhouse located in her garden, when suddenly two elders come out of hiding and begin to persuade the girl to share a bed with them. They threaten Susanna that otherwise they will bear false witness that Susanna committed adultery with another man. The girl categorically refuses. Frightened, she tries to cover her nakedness with a blanket, but one of the villains tears it off, continuing to persistently persuade her. The red shoes left by Susanna near the bathhouse are obviously a symbol of the eroticism of 17th-century Dutch art.
Another work on a biblical subject is the canvas “Supper at Emmaus” (Louvre, Paris), painted by the master in 1648. The plot of the picture is classic - the meeting of the risen Christ with his disciples. But in Rembrandt’s version, the painting carries a deep psychological meaning. Jesus sits in the center of the table in a tavern, flooded with warm light, His gaze is calm and focused. We practically do not see the faces of the apostles accompanying Christ - one of them has his back turned, the second is practically indistinguishable. But the artist draws in detail the face of the waiter - a young man serving the guests a meal. The boy is meek, in all his posture there is care and reverence for the dear Guest. Thus, the artist emphasizes that for a random person meeting Christ is much more important than for those who knew Him during his lifetime, because the Lord chooses His followers among anyone.
The work “Christ Healing the Rich” (1649, collection of J. de Bruyn), which has a second title - “The One Hundred Guilder Leaf,” is also imbued with unconditional love for humanity. Here we see Christ standing in an abandoned room, immersed in twilight. He is surrounded by many strangers - old people, children, beggars, cripples. Pain, doubt, need, faith are reflected in the slightly shaded faces of the characters. The master perfectly conveys the play of light and shadow. The etching was popular; there is information that its prints were sold at a very good price.
In 1653, Rembrandt, fulfilling an order from the wealthy collector A. Ruffo, created the canvas “Aristotle in front of a bust of Homer” (Metropolitan Museum, New York). The painting stood out sharply against the general background of painting in Holland. Artists of that time, in accordance with fashion, painted in light colors, with light, smooth, even, almost transparent strokes. Therefore, the work of the master, who loved rich colors, rich textures, and color contrasts, was poorly received by the public. Unwilling to change his individual style and having lost support and demand, the painter lived on the verge of ruin.
In addition to his lack of creative demand, Rembrandt had many problems in his personal life. After the death of his wife, the artist became infatuated with the nanny of his young son Titus, Gertje Dirks; this relationship ended in a big scandal, after which Geertie left the painter’s house forever.
After a while, Rembrandt again found himself at the center of public outrage. In 1649, the artist became infatuated with a twenty-five-year-old servant, Hendrikje Stoffels, who lived in his house. The painter was in no hurry to legitimize their relationship so as not to lose the right to dispose of the inheritance of his late wife, which he wanted to preserve for his son Titus. In response, the Amsterdam church council excommunicated Hendrickje from evening communion, demanding an end to the shameful extramarital affair. But the woman did not abandon Rembrandt and even gave birth to his daughter Cornelia.
The artist dedicated several of his paintings to his new lover, including: “Portrait of Hendrikjo Stoffels” and “Young Woman Bathing in a Stream.”
In the painting “A Young Woman Bathing in a Stream” (1654, National Gallery, London), the heroine is depicted in a light dress flowing freely from her shoulders. She carefully enters the river, lifting the hem of her dress above her knees. The naked parts of her body are depicted with great skill. A quiet, tender smile plays on the young woman’s face. Hendrikjo looks as if he is unaware that he is a model for his own husband at this moment. She's not tense, but she's not caught off guard either. Facial features are calm and relaxed.
In the same 1654, Rembrandt painted “Bathsheba with a Letter from King David” (Louvre, Paris), which is considered one of the artist’s most beautiful paintings. The work is based on a plot from the Old Testament, which tells how one day the ruler of Israel, David, saw a girl bathing from the roof of his palace: “And he saw from the roof a naked woman; and that woman was extraordinarily beautiful. And David sent to find out who this woman was? And they answered him: This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Urni the Hepian. And David sent servants to take her...” (Second Book of Samuel). The subject chosen by Rembrandt tells us a story of blood crime, adultery and divine wrath. Bathsheba received a letter from David, she holds it in her hands, anticipating future guilt (the inconsistency of a person). The heroine’s beautiful body is literally saturated, flooded with light, and the inevitability of fate is felt in the composition and color scheme of the canvas.
Having no more orders and having lost almost all his students, the artist, as in his youth, began to paint a lot of his relatives, neighbors, and acquaintances. During this period, many paintings were created dedicated to older people who had enough free time to pose for many hours.
One of these works is “Portrait of an Old Man in Red” (1652, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg). Old age in Rembrandt’s interpretation is not at all the withering of life, but a worthy completion. The appearance of the hero, with a face covered with numerous wrinkles, testifies to wisdom and rich experience. All events in life leave their mark: some are wounds on the heart, others are wrinkles on the face. The calm eyes of the old man reflect the eternal memory of everything he saw in his life, what he experienced, what he grieved about, what he rejoiced about. And his large calloused hands testify to how much he did before leaving.
The painting “Portrait of an Elderly Woman” (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg), painted in the same year, shows us the heroine humbly folding her hands in her lap. Her gaze shows weariness from everyday worries.
Rembrandt loved to work thoughtfully, patiently and meticulously, sometimes spending two to three months on his works, endlessly reworking them, applying dense, pigment-rich paints again and again. Rembrandt rubbed paint into the ground, achieving the effect of deep space, and sculpted the faces and hands of the characters in relief from a rather thick paint mass. As one of the artist’s biographers, Arnold Houbraken, wrote: “some of his heroes could literally be “taken by the nose” - the colors were applied so thickly.”
In 1656, Rembrandt was declared bankrupt, and two years later his house, like all his property, was sold for next to nothing. In 1660, the painter had to settle in a quarter of poor artists on the far outskirts of Amsterdam. Only his grown-up son Titus, who opened his own business selling works of art, saved him from starvation. Rembrandt and his new wife helped him as best they could.
Rembrandt's rare still lifes obviously belonged to the periods of his dark thoughts, since almost all of them clearly presented the theme of the sad doom of the plant and animal world, in which the artist saw associations with human life.
The canvas “Cut up Bull Carcass” (1655, Louvre, Paris) serves as an excellent example of such a sad still life. The picture is filled with dead silence; there is no hint of life or dynamics in it. In an empty room, a butchered bull carcass is suspended from the ceiling. Perhaps just yesterday this unsuspecting animal was grazing on a green meadow, and today it is irrevocably deprived of life. Everything living on earth has its term, which will come sooner or later anyway.
During the same period, the painting “The Polish Horseman” (1655, Frick Collection, New York) was created. The figure of the horseman, like the painting itself, has caused a lot of controversy, including regarding the authorship of the work. The young man's clothes, a hat trimmed with fur, and a caftan give him a certain theatricality that was not characteristic of Rembrandt's painting style. The costume is more like an oriental one and has nothing to do with Polish. Then where does this name come from? Apparently, the work was subsequently purchased by the Poles. But there is one “but”: in 1654 in Amsterdam the pamphlet “The Polish Horseman” was published, defending the sect to which, according to numerous testimonies, the artist belonged. The horse is depicted very clumsily, which in no way fits with the fact that Rembrandt himself could paint the animal like that.
The austere composition “The Blessing of Jacob” (full title: “Jacob blesses Joseph’s sons Manasseh and Ephraim”, 1656, Picture Gallery, Kassel) presents a solemn event - the blessing of the elder Jacob forks. The canvas is painted in Rembrandt's typical style - with wide, bold strokes and bright, rich colors. The image of Jacob is full of greatness and dignity. Raising himself slightly on the bed, with a slight gesture he touches his granddaughter’s head. Both children fell silent near the bed in trembling delight. Next to the patriarch stands his wife, watching the scene with awe. The red velvet blanket in the foreground unusually enlivens the canvas and adds notes of solemnity and significance to it.
Late period of creativity
Having lost his home, property, his richest collection of world paintings, Rembrandt painted people close and dear to his heart - his son and Hendrikjo, who help and support him in difficult times of his life.
One of the best works is the touching “Portrait of the Son of Titus Reading” (circa 1656, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna). Before us is the living embodiment of youth, freshness and enthusiasm. The boy lives in his own world of books, fantasies and amazing dreams. Sparkling sunbeams run across the face of Titus, who is enthusiastically reading, and a smile plays on his lips. The boy's facial features and red curls resemble his mother Saskia.
With a great feeling of warmth and tenderness, the artist paints “Portrait of Hendrikjo Stoffels” (circa 1656, State Museum, Berlin). After ruin, the painter could finally be legally married to his beloved. They got married sometime in the 1660s, since in numerous documents dating back to this period, Hendrikjo is already mentioned as Rembrandt's wife.
In the portrait, a young, pretty woman stands in home clothes near the window opening. Her gaze is directed forward, perhaps she is waiting for her beloved, who is about to come. The canvas perfectly reflects the eternal female lot: expectations, farewells, meeting relatives and caring for them.
The canvas “Evangelist Matthew and the Angel” (1661, Louvre, Paris) shows us Matthew, as interpreted by Rembrandt. Here he appears before us as a strong, courageous man with extensive life experience. Now, having grown old, he sits at the table and writes down the Gospel from the words of an angel. The work clearly reflects the author's philosophical message - a person, being born, goes through torment, he works, rejoices, suffers, his face becomes covered with wrinkles, his body fades, after which death comes.
The way the Angel gently and caringly placed his hand on the old man’s shoulder reflects the artist’s thought about how important it is for all of us in old age to feel near us a loved one who will take care of us.
In 1660, Rembrandt finally received a new large order from the Amsterdam cloth workshop. The artist paints a wonderful group portrait of the elders of the cloth workshop, called “The Syndics” (Amsterdam, Riksmuseum). Characterizing his heroes, the painter focuses on their professional modesty and honesty. Five syndics and a servant (whose subordinate role is not felt at all in the canvas) look at the viewer with an attentive gaze. The faces of the characters express conscientiousness, decency, and intelligence.
The French painter, art historian and writer Eugene Fromapgen perfectly described Rembrandt’s ability to create extraordinary landscape compositions: “they are busy, although they do not move, they are talking, although they do not move their lips. No one is posing, everyone is living.”
The strict black and white attire of the heroes is diluted with the golden-brown colors of the panels and the red tablecloth. On the table in front of them lies an open book - the workshop Charter, containing the quality standards for the work of clothiers in Amsterdam. The book was clearly included in the portrait at the request of the painting’s customers, however, the author managed to avoid the feeling of a contrived plot, full of depth and content.
According to surviving evidence, this picture, like the sensational “Night Watch” in its time, caused a lot of discussion and controversy. X-ray examination showed that the canvas underwent two major reworkings - in 1661 and 1662. The exact reasons why the work was redone have not reached us.
The fate of the great artist became sadder over the years. The demonstrative non-recognition of creativity, the constantly deteriorating financial situation and the death of two of his closest people (Hendrickjo died in 1663, and in 1668 the artist lost his only son Titus) greatly influenced the artist’s state of mind. However, Rembrandt never once doubted the correctness of his own path.
Despite the trials, the loss of relatives, bankruptcy, a decrease in the number of students and the number of orders, and an extremely poor financial situation, he continued to create, creating more and more new masterpieces of truly realistic art.
Rembrandt's late works are devoid of movement, noise, and effects. The subjects are calm, as if at that very second, snatched by the artist from the lives of the heroes, the world around them froze, everything froze in anticipation of the fateful moment. Such paintings include the painting “David and Uriah” (circa 1665, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg), which depicts a man emerging from a tent with a letter lying in his bosom. The letter contains a death sentence for David, who, knowing this in advance, looks into his eyes humbly and silently.
The greatest masterpieces created before death
The painting “The Jewish Bride” (circa 1666, Riksmuseum, Amsterdam) is one of the master’s greatest masterpieces. The canvas caused a lot of controversy. Some believed that the painting depicted one of the biblical married couples: Rebecca and Isaac, Rachel and Jacob, or Ruth and Boaz; others saw here the artist’s son Titus and his bride Magdalena Val Leia, others believed that this was a portrait of the painter’s contemporaries, the poet Miguel de Barrios and his wife.
One thing is generally accepted, no matter who the characters who posed for Rembrandt were, this work is one of the most touching and extraordinary images of a married couple. Another great artist, Vansent Van Gogh described it this way: “This tenderness, behind which lies pain, this is endless, half-open, superhuman, and at the same time so natural.”
The characters in the picture are dressed in orange-red and golden-yellow colors, bathed in even, intense light, symbolizing the bright flame of their love. The whole pose of a man, carefully leaning towards his wife, gently hugging her shoulder, touching her chest with the other hand, speaks of endless care and tenderness for his woman, love and admiration for her. In turn, the girl reverently touches his hand with her fingertips; she is calm about her fate, entrusted to her new husband.
The master’s second greatest masterpiece, painted at the end of his life, was the painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” (1668, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg). It became a brilliant conclusion to Rembrandt's career.
If “The Jewish Bride” was a hymn to earthly, carnal love, then this picture talks about love of a higher order, full of repentance, acceptance, forgiveness, that all-consuming love that is possible only between a parent and his child. The coloring of the painting is very muted, with a predominance of dark colors. Only the cloaks of the father, who hugged his son, and the man standing on the right, burn with fire. All his life Rembrandt saw himself in the role of the prodigal son. Even the work “Self-Portrait with Saskia on Her Knees” was originally called “The Feast of the Prodigal Son.” This Gospel parable, beloved by the artist, formed the basis for several drawings.
The composition of the picture is simple. In the foreground is a son kneeling, bowing his head at his father’s feet in the hope of his forgiveness. The two do not look at each other, do not talk, do not see eye to eye, but their very poses contain enormous intimacy and love, which can only exist between two family people, infinitely dear to each other. The artist depicts the worn soles of his son’s old shoes so that we understand how long a journey he has come before appearing before his exhausted father, hugging him with his tired arms. The faces of the characters surrounding the main characters are also expressive; they are very expressive and full of reverence.
The greatest artist, Harmens van Rijn Rembrandt, who left the world a rich cultural heritage in the form of more than six hundred paintings, one and a half thousand drawings and three hundred etchings, died on October 4, 1669 in oblivion and poverty. He is buried in the Westerkerke cemetery in Amsterdam, next to those whom he loved most in life: Saskia, Hendrikjo and Titus.
All the vicissitudes of the creative and personal life of the great artist could not break his spirit and undermine his ability to work. Like the genius of the Renaissance, Titian, Rembrandt worked almost until the last days of his life, tirelessly creating masterpieces, trying to penetrate into the essence of human life and the soul of the man himself, who all his life was the main character of his stunning canvases. The invaluable contribution that Rembrandt made to Dutch art, who never changed his chosen creative path, made a real revolution in national and world art and put it on the path of continuous evolution.
The future reformer of fine arts was born into the family of a wealthy miller in Leiden. The boy showed an interest in painting from early childhood, so at the age of 13 he was apprenticed to the Leiden artist Jacob van Swanenburch. Rembrandt later studied with the Amsterdam painter Pieter Lastman, who specialized in historical, mythological and biblical subjects.
Already in 1627, Rembrandt managed to open his own workshop with his friend Jan Lievens - the young painter, who was barely 20 years old, began to recruit students himself.
Already in Rembrandt's early works, a special painting style is clearly visible, beginning to take shape - the artist strives to paint his characters as emotionally as possible, literally every centimeter of the canvas is filled with drama. At the very beginning of his journey, the future unsurpassed master of working with chiaroscuro realized the power of this technique for conveying emotions.
In 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, where he was greeted extremely enthusiastically; art connoisseurs compared the young artist’s painting style with the works of Rubens himself - by the way, Rembrandt was happy to take cues from much of this artist’s aesthetics.
The period of work in the Dutch capital became a landmark for the portrait genre in Rembrandt’s work - it was here that the master painted many studies of female and male heads, carefully working out every detail, comprehending all the subtleties of facial expressions of the human face. The artist paints wealthy townspeople - his fame spreads quickly and becomes the key to commercial success - and also works a lot on self-portraits.
Rembrandt's fate - both personal and creative - was not easy. Early favored by fame and success, the talented painter also suddenly lost rich clients who failed to realize the revolutionary courage of his works. Rembrandt's legacy was truly appreciated only two centuries later - in the 19th century, realist artists were inspired by the paintings of this master, one of the brightest representatives of the golden age of Dutch painting.
1. "Danae" (1633-1647)
Even if you know nothing about Rembrandt and are not interested in painting at all, this painting is definitely familiar to you. The canvas, stored in the St. Petersburg Hermitage, was almost lost forever in 1985 due to a vandal who doused it with sulfuric acid and then cut the canvas with a knife.
The painting, which depicts a naked girl lying on a bed in the rays of unearthly light, was painted by Rembrandt for his home - the theme was the famous ancient Greek myth about the beautiful Danae, the future mother of the winner Medusa Perseus, and Zeus the Thunderer. The very appearance of Danae posed a riddle to creativity researchers, which was only recently solved: it is known that Rembrandt’s model was his wife Saskia van Uylenburch, but the Danae that has come down to us does not at all resemble the artist’s wife. An X-ray study of the canvas showed that Rembrandt partially rewrote Danae's face after the death of his wife - and made it similar to the face of his second lover, the nanny of his son Titus, Gertje Dirks. Cupid hovering over Danae also initially looked different - the winged god laughed, but in the final version there was suffering frozen on his face.
After the attack on the painting in 1985, it took 12 years to restore it. The loss of painting was 27%; the best masters worked on restoring Rembrandt’s masterpiece - but there were no guarantees of success. Fortunately, the canvas was saved; now the painting is reliably protected by armored glass.
2. "Night Watch", (1642)
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The colossal, almost four-meter canvas became truly fatal in the career of its creator. The correct title of the painting is “Performance of the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Kok and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg.” It became the “Night Watch” after art historians discovered it, forgotten for two centuries. It was decided that the painting depicted musketeers during a night service - and only after restoration it became clear that under the layer of soot there was a completely different original coloring - the shadows speak eloquently about this - the action on the canvas takes place around 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
The work was commissioned by Rembrandt from the Shooting Society, a civil militia unit of the Netherlands. A group portrait of six companies was to decorate the new building of the society - Rembrandt was asked to paint the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Cock. The artist was expected to do a traditional ceremonial portrait - all the characters in a row - but he decided to depict the musketeers in motion. The bold composition, where each figure is as dynamic as possible, did not find understanding among the customer - dissatisfaction was caused by the fact that some of those depicted were clearly visible, while others were in the background. "The Night Watch" literally broke Rembrandt's career - it was after this painting that regular rich clients turned away from the painter, and his painting style changed radically.
By the way, the fate of this painting is no less tragic than that of “Danae”. To begin with, in the 18th century it was completely barbarically cut off to fit into the new hall of the Shooting Society. So the musketeers Jacob Dirksen de Roy and Jan Brugman disappeared from the picture. Fortunately, a copy of the original painting has been preserved. “Night Watch” was attacked by vandals three times: the first time a large piece of canvas was cut out, the second time the painting was stabbed 10 times, and the third time it was doused with sulfuric acid.
Now the canvas is kept in the Rijksmuseum - the National Museum of Amsterdam. You can look at this picture for many hours - all the characters are depicted in such detail on the huge canvas, both “custom-made” (actually, there are 18 musketeers) and those added by Rembrandt at his own discretion (16 figures, the most mysterious one is the little girl in the place of the “golden sections" of the painting)
3. "The Prodigal Son in the Tavern" (1635)
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This self-portrait of the artist with his beloved wife Saskia on his lap is kept in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden (also known as the Dresden Gallery). There is no doubt that the artist painted this picture being absolutely happy. It was during this period of his life that Rembrandt worked hard and fruitfully, was popular, received high fees for his works, and among his customers were famous and wealthy people. The master reworked the plot from the Gospel of Luke in the spirit of the times - the prodigal son is dressed in a camisole and a wide-brimmed hat with a feather, the harlot on his lap is also dressed in the fashion of that time. By the way, this is the only painting of a self-portrait of the artist together with his wife - Rembrandt made another image of himself and Saskia in the same pictorial space using the engraving technique in 1638. Despite the overall cheerful tone of the picture, the author did not forget to remind you that sooner or later you will have to pay for everything in this life - this is eloquently evidenced by the slate board in the background, where very soon the reveler will be billed. Could Rembrandt have guessed how big his own retribution for his talent would be?
4. "The Return of the Prodigal Son" (1666-1669)
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This is Rembrandt's largest painting on a religious theme and is kept in the Hermitage. The semantic center of the picture is strongly shifted to the side, the main figures are highlighted with light, the remaining characters are covered in shadow, which makes it impossible to make a mistake when reading what is depicted. By the way, all of Rembrandt’s paintings are united by one important detail - despite the general clarity of the main plot, each painting contains mysteries that art historians are unable to solve. Like the girl from The Night's Watch, Return of the Prodigal Son features characters shrouded in mystery. There are four of them - someone conventionally calls them “brothers and sisters” of the main character. Some researchers interpret the female figure behind the column as a second, obedient son - although traditionally this role is assigned to the man in the foreground. This man, bearded, with a staff in his hands, raises no less questions - in the Gospel of Luke, the dean's brother came running to meet the prodigal relative straight from the field, but here he is depicted rather as a noble wanderer, perhaps even the Eternal Jew. By the way, it is possible that Rembrandt depicted himself this way - self-portraits, as you know, are not uncommon in his paintings.
5. "Saskia as Flora" (1634)
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Most of the female images on Rembrandt’s canvases from 1934-1942 were painted from the artist’s beloved wife, Saskia van Uylenburch. In the image of the ancient goddess of spring Flora, the master depicted Saskia three times - the portrait we are considering was created in the year of their wedding - it is clear to the naked eye that Rembrandt idolized his wife, admired her and put all his tenderness into the painting.
Saskia was 22 years old at the time of her marriage; at 17 she was left an orphan. An incident brought her together with her future husband - she came to Amsterdam to visit her cousin, the wife of the preacher Johann Cornelis Silvius, who knew Rembrandt. The wedding took place on June 10, 1634. In 1942 - just a year after the birth of the long-awaited son Titus - Saskia passed away.
Flora-Saskia is the embodiment of youth, freshness and chastity; there is so much charming shyness and girlish freshness in her appearance. Rembrandt skillfully combined pastoral and historical portraits in this painting. By the way, of the three Floras painted with his wife (the other two paintings were created in 1935 and 1941), the first most refers to antiquity, the other two portraits hint at the myth only with barely noticeable details. "Saskia as Flora" is kept in the Hermitage.
The artist's surname "van Rijn" means "from the Rhine", that is, from the river on which the family mills stood. Rembrandt's mother, Cornelia, was the daughter of a baker. They married Harman in 1589, when they were both 21 years old. Ten children were born into the family, the penultimate of them being Rembrandt. The artist's parents lived a quiet life full of work - his father died in 1630, and his mother in 1640.
Of Rembrandt's surviving brothers, three continued the family tradition by becoming millers and bakers. The future artist turned out to be the only child in the family who was educated at the Latin School in Leiden.
In May 1620, at the age of 13, he entered one of the oldest educational institutions in Europe - Leiden University. Such young students did not surprise anyone then. However, researchers differ in their opinions regarding Rembrandt’s studies at the university. Perhaps he did not even start it, and he only needed the title of student in order to receive a deferment from military service. Around the same time, Rembrandt began to master the craft of an artist.
The main source of information about the early years of his life are the books of Johannes Orlers, who was the mayor of Leiden at that time. In the second edition of his original reference book, published in 1641, Orlers included a short biographical note about Rembrandt. From this certificate you can find out that Rembrandt initially studied with the local painter Jacob van Swanenburch. He spent three years in his workshop, and then, in 1624, he moved to Amsterdam for six months - to the famous master of historical painting Pieter Lastman.
In 1625 or 1626 Rembrandt returned to Leiden. Here he became friends with another promising painter (also a student of Lastman), Jan Lievens; for several years they often painted together, and at times their works were so similar to each other that it seemed almost hopeless to establish the authorship of one of the artists.
Later, at the end of 1631 or beginning of 1632, Rembrandt moved from Leiden to Amsterdam (then capital of the Netherlands). Amsterdam at this time was turning into one of the largest centers of world trade. Behind
thirty years (from 1610 to 1640) its population tripled from 50,000 to 150,000 inhabitants. Rembrandt decided that it would be much easier to make a real artistic career in such a city.
In Leiden, Rembrandt most often painted small-scale narrative paintings (these were interpretations of religious subjects, portraits and self-portraits, and characteristic scenes). Now he began to work to order, which allowed him to quickly achieve success. For almost two years the artist lived in the house of Hendrik van Uylenburch, a major art dealer, with whom he became friends soon after moving to the capital.
In June 1633, Rembrandt became engaged to Eulenbürch's cousin, Saskia, and married her a year later. Saskia's parents died when she was a child and left their daughter a substantial inheritance. Rembrandt was not a poor man either, having already established himself among the leading Dutch artists of his time. But this was not a marriage of convenience. Rembrandt and Saskia passionately loved each other. At first, the young people lived in the house of Hendrik van Uylenburch, and a little later they bought their own house.
Between 1635 and 1640, Saskia gave birth to three children, but they all died after only a few weeks in the world. In 1641 she gave birth to her fourth (and last) child. The parents named their son Titus. Titus survived, but Saskia herself soon died. She was 29 years old.
In the year of Saskia's death, the artist completed The Night Watch, his largest and most famous painting. But Rembrandt's life had already cracked. Immensely saddened by the death of his beloved wife, the artist could not bring himself to concentrate on his usual work - commissioned portraits - and quickly lost rich customers.
He enthusiastically painted other canvases - their theme was biblical history. During difficult periods of his life, Rembrandt always found solace in religion, but now he also had to think about his tiny son. The artist hired a nanny for him, the widow Gertje Dirks, who became Rembrandt's mistress. A few years later she was replaced by another young woman, Hendrikje Stoffels. She was also Titus' nanny at first. Geertje sued Rembrandt, accusing him of violating the marriage covenant. Several quarrelsome trials followed, as a result of which Gertier was found to be in the wrong and was placed in a correctional home for five years. She was freed in 1655 and died the following year. Meanwhile, Hendrikje gave birth to Rembrandt's son (he died in infancy) and daughter Cornelia. Cornelia, the only one of all Rembrandt's children, survived her father.
Meanwhile, Rembrandt's financial situation was rapidly deteriorating. But despite the lack of lucrative orders for portraits, Rembrandt continued to spend a lot of money on his collection. The collection was very interesting. In it one could find paintings by Italian masters of the Renaissance, weapons, busts of Roman emperors, old costumes, oriental curiosities, hundreds of drawings and engravings.
In 1652-54, Holland fought a war with Britain, which devastated the state treasury. Commercial turnover fell, which was reflected in the prices of artistic products. Things got so bad that Rembrandt sold part of his lovingly collected collection. But this did not help either; he had difficulty making ends meet.
In 1656, the artist was unable to pay his creditors and almost ended up in debtor's prison. He managed to avoid the worst by using a legal operation called "cessio bonorum" (meaning "transfer of debt"). In accordance with it, the debtor was not sent to prison if he managed to prove in court that his difficult situation was caused by objective reasons. Having sold all his property, Rembrandt even received permission to stay in the house that had previously belonged to him. He lived here until 1660, when the new owner of the house revoked this permission.
From then on, Rembrandt lived in modest apartments in poor areas of the city.
By this time Titus had grown up. In 1660, Titus and Hendrickje, in order to protect Rembrandt from material concerns as much as possible, founded an art trading company. However, the artist never paid off some of his creditors until the end of his life.
This did not prevent him from remaining a worthy person and respected master in the eyes of his fellow citizens. In 1661-62 he received two of his largest and most prestigious commissions: the painting “The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis” for the new Amsterdam City Hall and the group portrait “Syndics” for the building of the clothiers’ guild.
The decline of the artist, despite the extraordinary creative growth, was sad. In 1663, his faithful companion Hendrikje died. Later, Rembrandt buried his son, followed by his daughter-in-law. In the autumn of 1669, his turn came - on October 4, the greatest master of Dutch painting quietly and imperceptibly left this world.
