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Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669) is regarded as the greatest artist of Holland’s Golden Age and one of the most important in European art. A prolific painter, draftsman and etcher, his portraits and artistic interpretations of the Bible remain unique. By the end of his life, Rembrandt had produced over 600 paintings (including nearly 100 self-portraits), around 400 etchings, and 2,000 drawings.
Rembrandt was born in Leiden, the Netherlands, the fifth son of a miller. Despite coming from a relatively modest family, his parents attached great importance to education, and Rembrandt began his studies at the Latin School. At the age of 14, he was enrolled at the University of Leiden. But the program did not interest him, and he soon left to study art – first, a three-year apprenticeship with a local master, Jacob van Swanenburgh, and then, in Amsterdam, with Pieter Lastman, a local master known for his historical paintings.
Under Lastman’s tuition, Rembrandt became exposed to works of Caravaggio and the Italian masters. His interest in religious and mythological subjects was most likely a result of Lastman’s influence. After six months, and having mastered everything he had been taught, Rembrandt returned to Leiden, where he was soon so highly regarded that, although barely 22 years old, he took his first pupils.
In 1631 Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam and settled there permanently. He became a leading portrait painter and received many commissions for portraits as well as for paintings of religious subjects. His works were characterized by his mastery of chiaroscuro – the theatrical use of light and shadow. He used luxuriant brushwork and rich colors, generous flesh tones, and a lively presentation of subjects that lacked the formality favored by his contemporaries.
Of all the Baroque masters, it was Rembrandt who evolved the most revolutionary technique. By the mid 1630s he had abandoned the conventional Dutch smoothness and his surfaces were thick with paint. From the Venetians he learned to use a brown ground but despite a palette that was limited even by 17th century standards, he was renowned as a colorist, combining tones of light and shade with vibrant colors.
In 1634 Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenburg, the beautiful cousin of a successful art dealer and the model for many of his paintings. He was, by then, a wealthy, respected citizen, and in 1639 he purchased a large house (now the Rembrandt House Museum) in the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam. This was the period in which he painted masterpieces such as “The Blinding of Samson”, and his most celebrated painting “The Night Watch”, a group portrait of one of the city’s militia companies. His studio was filled with pupils.
Rembrandt’s family life however was not so successful. Saskia died in 1642, a year after the birth of their son, Titus. His affections then turned to his housekeeper, Hendrickje Stoffels, who modeled for him and bore him a daughter. And despite his financial success, Rembrandt lived expensively, and was declared bankrupt in 1656. He was forced to sell most of his paintings as well as his house and printing press. Eventually, he opened an art shop with Hendrickje and Titus.
Rembrandt’s new poverty had little effect on the quality of his work however, even if they did become more somber. Some of the great paintings from this period are “The Jewish Bride”, “Bathsheba”, and “Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph”.
Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje and his son, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the vicinity of Amsterdam, in 1669.
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Art In The News
Schoolchildren Meet Renoir The Painter
Third-graders studying art at St. Mark's Episcopal Day School in Ortega, Fl. received a rare treat recently. They got to meet Renoir.
Not the famed Impressionist artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir but Alexandre Renoir, his great-grandson, and an artist in his own right.
The Canadian painter was in Jacksonville to participate in the "Renoir & The Impressionists" exhibit. He also presented his painting of the Main Street Bridge to City Council President Michael Corrigan at City Hall.
The children however, were pleased just to meet the descendant of the great French artist.
"I've never seen a live Impressionist artist before, and I was really excited," 8-year-old Kaiden Ketchum said. "I was thinking wow, he's just a really nice guy, a really good artist and I'm just so glad that he came. His paintings sort of reminded me of the real Renoir."
Source: River City News
Prince Of Wales Hits The Bottle With Picasso, Bacon, Dali And Chagall
Chateau Mouton Rothschild has announced that the label for its 2004 vintage wine will be a watercolor by Prince Charles. The prince is the latest in a long line of celebrated artists commissioned over the last 61 years to design the winemaker’s labels.
Previous artists include Picasso, who painted some cubist figures having fun. Salvador Dali drew a squiggly sheep, and Henry Moore sketched three pairs of hands molding a wine glass.
The prince’s watercolour, the vineyard says, shows a row of pines on the Cap d'Antibes.
Source: The Guardian
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