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{{this|the Dutch artist}} | |||
{{Infobox Artist | |||
| bgcolour = #EEDD82 | |||
| name = Rembrandt van Rijn | |||
| image = Rembrandt van rijn-self portrait.jpg | |||
| imagesize = 250px | |||
| caption = Self portrait by Rembrandt, detail (1661). | |||
| birthname = Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn | |||
| birthdate = ], ] | |||
| location = ], ] | |||
| deathdate = ], ] | |||
| deathplace = ], ] | |||
| nationality = ] | |||
| field = ], ] | |||
| training = | |||
| movement = | |||
| famous works = '']'', 1636<br> | |||
'']'', 1632<br> | |||
'']'', 1632<br> | |||
'']'', 1635<br> | |||
'']'', 1642<br> | |||
| patrons = | |||
| awards = | |||
}} | |||
'''Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn''' (], ] – ], ]) was a ] ] and ]. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and ]s in ] and the most important in ] history.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} His contributions to ] came in a period that historians call the ]. | |||
"He combined more delicate skill with more energy and power," states ''Chambers' Biographical Dictionary.'' "His treatment of mankind is full of human sympathy" (J.O. Thorne: 1962). | |||
==Works== | |||
] | |||
In a letter to a patron, Rembrandt offered the only surviving explanation of what he sought to achieve through his art: ''the greatest and most natural movement'', translated from ''die meeste ende di naetuereelste beweechgelickheijt''. The word "beweechgelickhijt" is also argued to mean "emotion" or "motive". Whether this refers to objectives material or otherwise is open to interpretation; either way, Rembrandt seamlessly melded the earthly and spiritual as has no other painter in Western art.<ref>Hughes, p. 6</ref> | |||
Earlier 20th century connoisseurs claimed Rembrandt had produced over 600 ]s, nearly 400 ]s, and 2,000 drawings.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} More recent scholarship, from the 1960s to the present day (led by the Rembrandt Research Project), often controversially, have winnowed his oeuvre to 300 paintings. It is likely he made many more drawings in his lifetime than 2,000, but those extant are more rare than presumed. He was a prolific painter of ]s, producing almost a hundred of them (including some 20 etchings) throughout his long career. Together they give us a remarkably clear picture of the man, his appearance, and — more importantly — his psychological make-up, as revealed by his richly-weathered face. | |||
Among the prominent characteristics of his work are his use of ], the theatrical employment of light and shadow derived from ] but adapted for very personal means; his dramatic and lively presentation of subjects, devoid of the rigid formality that his contemporaries often displayed; and a deeply felt compassion for mankind, irrespective of wealth and age. | |||
His immediate family — his wife Saskia, his son Titus, and his common-law wife Hendrickje — often figured prominently in his paintings, many of which had ], ], or historical themes. | |||
==Life== | |||
] (1636), painted by Rembrandt]] | |||
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on ] ] (traditionally) but more probably in 1607 in ], the ]. Conflicting sources state that his family either had 7, 9 or 10 children.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} His family was quite well-to-do; his father was a miller, his mother was a baker's daughter. As a boy he attended ] school and was enrolled at the ], although according to a contemporary he had a greater inclination towards painting; he was soon apprenticed to a Leiden history painter, ]. After a brief but important apprenticeship with the famous painter ] in ], Rembrandt opened a studio in Leiden, which he shared with friend and colleague ]. In 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, among them ]. | |||
In 1629 Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman and poet ], the father of ] (a famous Dutch mathematician and physicist), who procured for Rembrandt important commissions from the court of the Hague. As a result of this connection, Prince Frederik Hendrik continued to purchase paintings from Rembrandt until 1646. | |||
By 1631, Rembrandt had established such a good reputation that he received several assignments for portraits from Amsterdam. As a result, he moved to that city and into the house of an art dealer, ]. This move eventually led, in 1634, to the marriage of Rembrandt and Hendrick's cousin, ]. This was likely both a marriage of love and a shrewd business choice. Saskia came from a good family (her father had been lawyer and ''burgemeester'' (mayor) of ]). When Saskia, as the youngest daughter, became an orphan, she lived with an older sister in ]. They were married in the local church, without the presence of his relatives. | |||
], now the ]]] | |||
In 1639, Rembrandt and Saskia moved to a prominent house in the ] in the ]ish quarter, which later became the ]. It was there that Rembrandt frequently sought his Jewish neighbours to model for his ] scenes.<ref>Adams, p. 660</ref> Although they were by now affluent the couple suffered several personal setbacks; their son Rumbartus died two months after his birth in 1635, and their daughter Cornelia died at just 3 weeks of age in 1638. Only their third child, Titus, who was born in 1641, survived into adulthood. Saskia died in 1642 soon after Titus's birth, probably from ]. Rembrandt's drawings of her on her sick and death bed are among his most moving works. | |||
] | |||
During Saskia's illness, one Geertje Dircx was hired as Titus' caretaker and nurse, and possibly also became Rembrandt's lover. She would later charge Rembrandt with breach of promise. Rembrandt worked to have her committed to an asylum. | |||
In the late 1640s Rembrandt began a relationship with the much younger Hendrickje Stoffels, who had initially been Rembrandt's maidservant. In 1654 they had a daughter, Cornelia, bringing Hendrickje an official reproach from the ] for "living in sin." The two were considered legally wed under common law, but Rembrandt had not married Henrickje, so as not to lose access to a trust set up for Titus in his mother's will. Rembrandt was not summoned to appear for the Church council because he was not a member of the Reformed church. However, a number of the church Elders were among those to whom Rembrandt owed money, and sought to apply pressure indirectly. To her credit, Stoffels did not leave Rembrandt, and later helped save him and his art. | |||
Rembrandt lived beyond his means, buying art (including bidding up his own work), prints (often used in his paintings), and rarities, which probably caused his ] in 1656. His insolvency led to an auction of most of his paintings and large collection of antiquities. He also had to sell his house, and his printing-press, and move to a more modest accommodation on the ]. Here, Hendrickje set up a corporation with Titus, employing Rembrandt and thereby sheltering him from creditors. In 1661 he was contracted to complete work for the newly built city hall, but only after the artist who had been previously commissioned died before completing his own work. | |||
Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje and Titus. Rembrandt died soon after his son, on ], ] in Amsterdam, and was buried in an unmarked grave in '']''. | |||
==Periods, themes, and styles== | |||
]'', 1632. Oil on panel. The work is considered to be "''...a shining example of the 'golden age' of ] painting.''"<ref>Clough, p. 23</ref>]] | |||
It was during Rembrandt's Leiden period (1625-1631) that Lastman's influence was most prominent. Paintings were rather small, but rich in details (for example, in costumes and jewelry). Themes were mostly religious and ]. During his early years in Amsterdam (1632-1636), Rembrandt began to paint dramatic biblical and mythological scenes in high contrast and of large format. He also began accepting portrait commissions. | |||
In the late 1630s, Rembrandt produced a few paintings and many etchings of ]. Often these landscapes highlighted natural drama, featuring uprooted trees and ominous skies. From 1640 his work became less exuberant and more sober in tone, reflecting personal tragedy. Biblical scenes were now derived more often from the ] than the ], as had been the case before. Paintings became smaller again. An exception is the huge '']'', his largest work, as worldly and spirited as any previous painting. Landscapes were more often etched than painted. The dark forces of nature made way for quiet Dutch rural scenes. | |||
In the 1650s, Rembrandt's style changed again. Paintings increased in size. Colours became richer, brush strokes more pronounced. With these changes, Rembrandt distanced himself from earlier work and current fashion, which increasingly inclined toward fine, detailed works. Over the years, biblical themes were still depicted often, but emphasis shifted from dramatic group scenes to intimate portrait-like figures. In his last years, Rembrandt painted his most deeply reflective self-portraits, and several moving images of both men and women--- in love, in life, and before God. | |||
==Museum collections== | |||
*In the Netherlands, the most notable collection of Rembrandt's work is at Amsterdam's ], including ''De Nachtwacht'' ('']'') and ''De Joodse bruid'' (''The Jewish Bride''). | |||
*Many of his self-portraits are held in ]'s ]. | |||
*His home, preserved as the ''Rembrandt House Museum'' in Amsterdam, houses many examples of his ]s. | |||
*Prominent collections in other countries can be found in ], ], ], ], ], ] and the ], ]. | |||
==Selected works== | |||
] | |||
]'', 1632. Oil on canvas.]] | |||
*'']'' (1629) -<small> ], ]) </small> | |||
*'']'' (1630) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1630-1635) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1631) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1631) -<small> ], ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1632) -<small> (], ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1631) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1632) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1632) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1633) -<small> Formerly at the ], Boston; stolen in 1990 and still at large </small> | |||
*'']'' (1634) -<small> Oil on canvas, 142 x 152 cm, ], ]</small> | |||
*'']'' (1635) -<small>], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1635) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (c. 1635) -<small> Oil on canvas, 161 x 131 cm | |||
], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1636) -<small>], ] am Main, ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1636) -<small> ], St. Petersburg </small> | |||
*'']'' (1638) -<small> ], Kraków</small> | |||
*''Portrait of Saskia with a Flower'' (1641) -<small> Oil on wood, 98,5 x 82,5, Gemäldegalerie, Dresden </small> | |||
*''The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq'', better known as the '']'' (1642) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (c. 1643, also known as '']'') - Etching, <small> ], London, , nicknamed for the huge sum (at that time) paid for it </small> | |||
*'']'' (1647) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1648) -<small> National Gallery of Art, Netherlands </small> | |||
*'']'' (1650) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1650) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1653) -<small> Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York </small> | |||
*'']'' (1654) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1655) -<small> National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1655) -<small> Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland </small> | |||
*'']'' (1656) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1656) -<small> Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Kassel, ], GK 249 </small> | |||
*'']'' (1657) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*''Selfportrait'' (1658) -<small> Frick Collection, New York </small> | |||
*'']'' (1658) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1658) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1659) | |||
*''Selfportrait'' (1659) -<small> Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York </small> | |||
*''Selfportrait'' (1660) -<small> Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York </small> | |||
*'']'' (1660) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1660) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1661) -<small> ], ]) (] led a Dutch revolt against the ]) (most of the cut up painting is lost, only the central part still exists) </small> | |||
*'']'' (Dutch ''De Staalmeesters'', 1662) -<small> Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam </small> | |||
*'']'' (1662) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1662-1663) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1664) -<small> The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. </small> | |||
*'']'' (1664) -<small> Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam </small> | |||
*''Lucretia'' (1666) -<small> ], ] </small> | |||
*'']'' (1669) -<small> State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg </small> | |||
==''Night Watch''== | |||
{{main|Night Watch (painting)}} | |||
] | |||
Rembrandt painted ''The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq'' between 1640 and 1642. This picture was called the ''Patrouille de Nuit'' by the French and the ''Night Watch'' by Sir ] because, upon its discovery, the picture was so dimmed and defaced by time that it was almost indistinguishable and it looked quite like a night scene. After it was cleaned, it was discovered to represent broad day — a party of ]s stepping from a gloomy courtyard into the blinding sunlight. | |||
The piece was commissioned for the new hall of the '']'', the musketeer branch of the civic militia. Rembrandt departed from convention, which ordered that such genre pieces should be stately and formal, rather a line-up than an action scene. Instead he showed the militia readying themselves to embark on a mission (what kind of mission, an ordinary patrol or some special event, is a matter of debate). Contrary to years of speculation, the work was hailed as a success from the beginning. Parts of the canvas were cut off to make the painting fit on the designated wall when it was moved to Amsterdam town hall in 1715. The painting now hangs in the largest hall of the ] in ], where it occupies the entire rear wall (as of February 2007, the museum remains closed for renovations, but the Rembrandts are being shown in a nearby adjacent part of the building). | |||
==Expert assessments== | |||
] on horseback. The subject of much discussion.]] | |||
In 1968 the ] (RRP) was started under the sponsorship of the ] (NWO). Art historians teamed up with experts from other fields to reassess the authenticity of works attributed to Rembrandt, using all methods available, including state-of-the-art technical diagnostics, and to compile a complete critical catalog of his paintings. As a result of their findings, many paintings that were previously attributed to Rembrandt have been taken from the list. Many of those are now thought to be the work of his students. | |||
One example of activity is '']'', in New York's ]. Its authenticity had been questioned years before by several scholars, led by ]. Many, including Dr. ] of the Foundation Rembrandt Research Project, attributed the painting to one of Rembrandt's closest and most talented pupils, ], about whom little is known. The Frick Museum itself never changed its own attribution, the label still reading "Rembrandt" and not "attributed to" or "school of". More recent opinion has shifted in favor of the Frick, with ] in his 1999 book 'Rembrandt's Eyes', and a Rembrandt Project scholar, Ernst van de Wetering (Melbourne Symposium, 1997) both arguing for attribution to the master. Many scholars feel that the execution is uneven, and favour different attributions for different parts of the work. | |||
Another painting, ''Pilate Washing His Hands'', is also of questionable attribution. Critical opinion of this picture have varied considerably since about 1905, when Wilhelm von Bode described it as "a somewhat abnormal work" by Rembrandt. However, most scholars since the 1940s have dated the painting to the 1660s and assigned it to an anonymous pupil. The composition is reminiscent of mature works by Rembrandt but the Rembrandtesque surface effects fail to convey anything like the master's command of illumination and modeling. The name of his only known pupil of the 1660s, Arent de Gelder, has been put forward speculatively. | |||
].]] | |||
The attribution and re-attribution work is ongoing. In 2005 four oil paintings previously attributed to Rembrandt's students were reclassified as the work of Rembrandt himself: ''Study of an Old Man in Profile'' and ''Study of an Old Man with a Beard'' from a US private collection, ''Study of a Weeping Woman'', owned by the ], and ''Portrait of an Elderly Woman in a White Bonnet'', painted in 1640. | |||
Rembrandt's own studio practice is a major factor in the difficulty of attribution, since, like many masters before him, he encouraged his students to copy his paintings, sometimes finishing or retouching them to be sold as originals, and sometimes selling them as authorized copies. Additionally, his style proved easy enough for his most talented students to emulate. Further complicating matters is the uneven quality of some of Rembrandt's own work, and his frequent stylistic evolutions and experiments. It is highly likely that there will never be universal agreement as to what does and what does not constitute a genuine Rembrandt. | |||
==Signature== | |||
"'''Rembrandt'''" is a modification of the spelling of the artist's first name, which he introduced in 1633. Roughly speaking, his earliest signatures (ca. 1625) consisted of an initial "R", or the monogram "RH" (for Rembrant Harmenszoon), and starting in 1629, "RHL" (the "L" stood, presumably, for Leiden). In 1632 he added his patronymic to this monogram, "RHL-van Rijn", then began using his first name alone, "'''Rembrant'''". In 1633 he added a "d", and maintained this form from then on. | |||
==Optical theory== | |||
In an article published on ], ] in ''The ]'', ], professor of ] of ], suggests that Rembrandt, whose ]s failed to align correctly, suffered from ]. She made this conclusion after studying 36 of Rembrandt's self-portraits. Because he could not form a normal ], his ] automatically switched to one eye for many visual tasks. This disability could have helped him to flatten images he saw, and then put it onto the ] ]. In Livingstone's words, this could have been a gift to a great painter like him, "Art teachers often instruct students to close one eye in order to flatten what they see. Therefore, stereo blindness might not be a ] — and might even be an asset — for some artists." However, among Rembrandt's greatest talents was an ability to create the illusion of full volume, the perception of which requires healthy ] vision. | |||
==Works== | |||
<gallery> | |||
Image:Rembrandt_-_Hendrickje_at_an_Open_Door.jpg|Rembrandt - Hendrickje at an Open Door | |||
Image:Rembrandt_-_Self_Portrait111.jpg|Rembrandt - Self Portrait | |||
Image:Rembrandt_-_The_Philosopher_in_Meditation.jpg|The Philosopher in Meditation | |||
Image:Rembrandt_-_The_Syndecs_of_the_Clothmakers'_Guild_.jpg|Rembrandt - The Syndecs of the Clothmakers' Guild | |||
Image:Rembrandt_baadster.jpg|Rembrandt baadster | |||
Image:Rembrandt_en_Saskia_in_De_Verloren_Zoon_1635.jpg|Rembrandt en Saskia in De Verloren Zoon 1635 | |||
Image:Rembrandt,_Portret_van_Haesje_v.Cleyburg_1634.jpg|Rembrandt, Portret van Haesje v.Cleyburg 1634 | |||
Image:Rembrandt_Abraham_en_Isaac,_1634..jpg|Rembrandt Abraham en Isaac, 1634 | |||
Image:Rembrandt_Afneming_van_het_kruis._1634..jpg|Rembrandt Afneming van het kruis. 1634 | |||
Image:Rembrandt_Artemis,_1634..jpg|Rembrandt Artemis, 1634 | |||
Image:Rembrandt_Artiest_in_zijn_studio,_1629..jpg|Rembrandt Artiest in zijn studio, 1629 | |||
Image:Rembrandt_Bathsheba_in_het_bad,_1654..jpg|Rembrandt Bathsheba in het bad, 1654 | |||
Image:Rembrandt_Buste_van_oude_man_met_bontmuts._1630.jpg|Rembrandt Buste van oude man met bontmuts. 1630 | |||
Image:Rembrandt_Christus_aan_het_volk_getoond.jpg|Rembrandt Christus aan het volk getoond | |||
Image:Rembrandt_De_aartsengel_verlaat_Tobias_en_zijn_gezin._1637.jpg|Rembrandt De aartsengel verlaat Tobias en zijn gezin. 1637 | |||
Image:John_20_14.jpg|Rembrandt, The Risen Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalen. 1638 | |||
</gallery> | |||
==See also== | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
==References== | |||
] | |||
* {{cite book|author=Adams, Laurie Schneider|year=1999|title=Art Across Time. Volume II|publisher=McGraw-Hill College, New York, NY|id=}} | |||
* {{cite book|author=Clough, Shepard B.|year=1975|title=European History in a World Perspective|publisher=D.C. Heath and Company, Los Lexington, MA|id=ISBN 0-669-85555-3}} | |||
* {{cite book|author=Graaff, Arthur E.A.J. and Michiel V. Roscam Abbing|year=2006|title=Rembrandt for Dummies|publisher=Addison Wesley|id=ISBN 90-430-1280}} | |||
* {{Harvard reference | |||
| Surname1 = Hughes | |||
| Given1 = Robert | |||
| Year = 2006 | |||
| Journal = The New York Review of Books | |||
| Title = The God of Realism | |||
| Publisher = Rea S. Hederman | |||
| Number = 6 | |||
| Volume = 53 | |||
}} | |||
* Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project (Ed., 2005): ''A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings - Volume IV''. Ernst van de Wetering, Karin Groen et al. Springer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands (NL). ISBN 1-4020-3280-3. p. 692. (Self-Portraits) | |||
** A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings - Volume I, which deals with works from Rembrandt’s early years in Leiden(1629-1631), 1982 | |||
** A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings - Volume II: 1631-1634. Bruyn, J., Haak, B. (et al.), Band 2, 1986, ISBN 978-90-247-3339-2 | |||
** A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings - Volume III, 1635-1642. Bruyn, J., Haak, B., Levie, S.H., van Thiel, P.J.J., van de Wetering, E. (Ed. Hrsg.), Band 3, 1990, ISBN 978-90-247-3781-9 | |||
** Rembrandt. Images and metaphors (book) (Christian Tumpel)- | |||
Editor, Haus Books London 2006 ISBN 13: 978-1-904950-92-9 | |||
* ] (Christopher White - Editor, Quentin Buvelot - Editor) National Gallery Co Ltd | |||
== Footnotes== | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
==External links== | |||
{{commonscat|Rembrandt}} | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* English version; site has good images of many of his etchings] | |||
* | |||
* Good images of almost all of Rembrandt's etchings. c400 images. | |||
* | |||
* Portland Art Museum Special Exhibition | |||
* | |||
* : Lots of high-resolution scans of his paintings | |||
* Another collection of paintings | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* . Information about Rembrandt's name and signatures. | |||
* | |||
* . Gallery containing all of Rembrandt's known paintings | |||
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|NAME=van Rijn, Rembrandt Harmenszoon | |||
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Rembrandt | |||
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Painter | |||
|DATE OF BIRTH=], ] | |||
|PLACE OF BIRTH=], ] | |||
|DATE OF DEATH=], ] | |||
|PLACE OF DEATH=], ] | |||
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Revision as of 10:21, 17 June 2007
hey this is m@thew.W@tErS the rock