Rembrandt short biography. Brief biography of Rembrandt, creativity, interesting facts. Manifestation of individuality. Success

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn is a world-famous artist and engraver. Rembrandt's biography is very interesting, so it is not surprising that a colossal amount of art historical research and scientific monographs are devoted to the study of his life and work.

early years

The artist Rembrandt, whose biography is discussed in this article, was born into the family of miller Harmen Gerrits in 1606. His mother's name was Neltje Willemsdochter van Rijn.

Thanks to the fact that things were going well for his father at that time, the future painter received a fairly good education. He was assigned to a Latin school, but the young man did not like studying there, so his success left much to be desired. As a result, the father gave in to his son’s requests and allowed him to go to study at the art workshop of Jacob van Swanenburch.

Rembrandt's biography is interesting because his first mentor did not have a strong influence on the painter's artistic style. The greatest influence on the aspiring artist was made by his second teacher, to whom he moved after three years of work with Svanenbuerch. This was Peter Lastman, whose student Rembrandt became when he moved to live in Amsterdam.

Creativity and biography of the artist

A brief biography of Rembrandt van Rijn does not allow us to describe in detail his entire career and life, but it is still quite possible to make out the main points.

In 1623, the artist returned home to the city of Leiden, where by 1628 he had acquired his own students. Information about his earliest known works dates back to 1627.

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn systematically and diligently walked towards his creative success - the biography of the talented painter indicates that in the early stages of his work he worked tirelessly.

At that time, he painted mainly his family and friends, as well as scenes from the life of his native city. The Kassel Gallery houses a portrait of a man with a double gold chain around his neck, dating precisely to this period in the life of the artist known throughout the world as Rembrandt. The biography and work of this painter began to attract attention even then.

Moving to Amsterdam

In 1631, the young man moved to live in the capital - the city of Amsterdam. From now on, he appears extremely rarely in his native lands. Rembrandt's biography at this stage of his life and work is replete with evidence that he was rapidly gaining fame and creative success in the wealthy circles of Amsterdam.

This is a very fruitful stage in the life of an artist. Rembrandt, whose brief biography is outlined in our article, worked very hard, fulfilling many orders and at the same time not forgetting to constantly improve. The artist drew from life and engraved interesting characters that he came across in the Jewish quarter of the city.

Such famous paintings as “Anatomy Lesson” (1632), “Portrait of Coppenol” (1631) and many others were painted then.

Creative and financial success

In 1634, Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenborch, who was the daughter of a successful lawyer. In many ways, this marked the most successful time in the artist’s life and work. He has enough money and many orders, which he willingly fulfills.

Rembrandt's biography of that period indicates that he loved to paint his wife, not only in portraits, but often her image can be seen in other paintings of the painter.

The most famous paintings depicting the artist’s young wife are:

"Portrait of a Bride by Rembrandt";
"Portrait of Saskia";
"Rembrandt with his wife."

Rembrandt: a short biography after the death of his first wife

The young man's happy marriage did not last very long. After seven years of marriage, Saskia died suddenly in 1642. And from that moment the artist’s whole life begins to change for the worse.

Despite the fact that Rembrandt married a second time, he no longer had the same happiness as in his first marriage. His life partner was his former maid Hendrikie Jagers.

During that period of his life, the artist experienced severe financial difficulties, not due to a lack of work and orders, but because of his own addiction to collecting works of art, on which he spent most of his income.

His passion for collecting led to the fact that in 1656 he was declared a debtor who was unable to pay off his debts, and in 1658 he had to give up his own house in payment of debts. From that moment on, the artist lived in a hotel.

Worsening situation

Gendrikis and Rembrandt's son Titus founded a trading company to sell works of art. However, things still did not go very well, and after the death of Hendriki in 1661, the situation became even worse. Seven years later, the son who managed the company’s affairs also passed away.

The financial situation of the great artist is becoming simply terrible, but poverty did not kill his desire to create. He continues to stubbornly paint pictures, which, however, no longer enjoy the same success among his contemporaries as before, because the tastes of the public have changed over the years.

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn died in October 1669, completely alone and in extreme poverty.

Rembrandt: biography, paintings

Unlike the great painter’s contemporaries, subsequent generations highly appreciated not only the artist’s early work, but also Rembrandt’s later works and canvases. Today the master is the personification of Dutch painting and one of its most prominent representatives.

The main leitmotif of his entire work can be called realism, which permeates all the author’s works. Even when depicting mythological subjects, Rembrandt demonstrates the ancient Greek gods and goddesses in the guise of contemporary inhabitants of Holland. A striking example of this is the painting “Danae,” which is kept in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.

Some mythological paintings generally have semi-caricatured depictions of gods and goddesses. This can be seen in the work “The Rape of Ganymede” (second title “Ganymede in the Claws of an Eagle”), stored in the Dresden Museum. Here the proportions of Ganymede’s body do not correspond to reality, which speaks not of the low level of skill of the artist, but of his purposeful caricature approach to depicting the character on the canvas, since in many paintings Rembrandt easily performs even complex elements depicting parts of human physiology and anatomy.

The artist’s portrait works are generally distinguished by a realism and believability unprecedented for his time, which speaks of the master’s incredible talent and ability to transfer what he saw in life onto the canvas, as well as his rather deep knowledge of human anatomy and physiology.

For this kind of work, the artist is very careful and precise with various details and small accessories. This is clearly visible in the pictures:

"Calligraph" (State Hermitage Museum);
"Anatomy Lesson" (Mauritshuis);
"The Weavers' Guild" (Amsterdam Museum).

Creative style

It is characteristic of Rembrandt's works that all important elements of the picture are always brought to the fore by the artist, regardless of compositional features. The artist does not always strive to show that the people or objects depicted are correct from the point of view of reality. He is characterized by deliberate hyperbolism.

The main feature that runs through all his works is the lack of bright colors and colorfulness. Moreover, this can be seen from the artist’s earliest works. And this greatly distinguishes them from the paintings of Italian masters or, for example, from the work of the Flemish painter Rubens.

Rembrandt placed the greatest emphasis on the play of colors with light and shadow. In this his skill is considered recognized and unsurpassed to this day. Sometimes the play of colors on the artist’s canvases is so strong that art experts still argue about what time of day is depicted in the painting.

One of the most striking examples of Rembrandt’s painting with such a magnificent palette is, perhaps, his most famous painting, “The Night Watch,” debate about which continues today.

"The night Watch"

This painting is officially titled “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg,” but throughout the world it is commonly called simply “The Night Watch.”

However, due to the artist’s love for the play of light and shadow described above, debates about what time of day is depicted in the picture, day or night, are still ongoing and there is no definite answer.

This canvas is a symbol and the most striking work not only of Rembrandt himself, but of the entire Dutch school of painting. It is considered the property of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and world art in general.

Millions of tourists from all over the world come to Amsterdam every year to visit the Rijksmuseum and admire the famous painting. Everyone sees something different in it, everyone has their own impression and opinion about this painting. But the fact always remains unchanged that this magnificent work of the famous creator leaves absolutely no one indifferent.

Conclusion

Today, the painter and engraver Rembrandt, whose brief biography and work were described in this article, is the pride of not only his native country. He is known all over the world, and his paintings are admired by art and painting connoisseurs all over the planet. The artist’s paintings are readily bought for incredible amounts of money at auctions where paintings and works of art are sold, and the name Rembrandt is well known to anyone who has even the slightest idea about art.

It is difficult to overestimate the creative contribution of this great artist to the painting and culture of his country and the whole world. It is not for nothing that today the Dutch school of painting is primarily associated with the name of Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn.

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn (Baroque)

Resmbrandt was born in Leiden, in the family of a fairly wealthy mill owner. First he studied at the Latin School, and then briefly at the University of Leiden, but left it to study painting, first with a little-known local master, and then with the Amsterdam artist Pieter Lastman.

After a short study, Rembrandt left for his hometown to independently practice painting in his own workshop. This is the time of the artist’s formation, when he became interested in the work of Caravaggio. During this period, he painted a lot of portraits of his family members - mother, father, sisters and self-portraits. Already at this time, he paid special attention to lighting and conveying the spiritual experiences of his models. The young artist loves to dress them up in various clothes, draping them in beautiful fabrics, perfectly conveying their texture and color.

In 1632, Rembrandt left for Amsterdam, the center of artistic culture in Holland, which naturally attracted the young artist. Here he quickly achieves fame, he has many orders. At the same time, he enthusiastically continues to improve his skills. The 30s were the time of greatest glory, the path to which was opened for the painter by his large commissioned painting “Anatomy Lesson”. All poses and actions in the picture are natural, but devoid of excessive naturalism.

In 1634, Rembrandt married a girl from a wealthy family - Saskia van Uylenborch - and from then on he entered patrician circles. The happiest time of the artist’s life begins: mutual passionate love, material well-being, a lot of orders. The painter often paints his young wife: “Flora”, “Self-portrait with Saskia on her lap”. But the happiness did not last long. In 1642, Saskia died, leaving behind a young son, Titus.

Moral depression and the passion for collecting that possessed Rembrandt gradually led him to ruin. This was also facilitated by a change in the tastes of the public, who became fascinated by carefully painted light paintings. Rembrandt, who never gave in to the tastes of his clients, was interested in the contrasts of light and shadow, leaving the light at one point, the rest of the picture was in shadow and partial shade. There were fewer and fewer orders. His new lifelong friend Hendrikje Stoffels and his son Titus founded a painting and antiques trading company to help the artist. But their efforts were in vain. Things were getting worse. In the early 1660s, Hendrikje died, and a few years later Titus too.

However, despite everything, the artist continues to work. During these especially difficult years, he created a number of remarkable works: “The Syndics”, “The Return of the Prodigal Son”, with amazing inner drama.

The greatest artist died in extreme poverty on October 4, 1669. Contemporaries reacted coldly to this loss. It took almost two hundred years for the power of Rembrandt's realism, the deep psychology of his canvases, and his amazing painting skill to raise his name from oblivion and place him among the world's greatest names.

Return of the Prodigal Son (1668-69)

One of Rembrandt's last paintings. This is a deep psychological drama. In the canvas with amazing power there is a call to deep humanity, an affirmation of the spiritual community of people, the beauty of parental love.

It depicts a biblical story about a dissolute son who, after long wanderings, returned to his father’s house. The whole room is plunged into darkness, only the father and son are brightly lit. The son, with the shaved head of a convict, in rags, with a bare heel from which a holey shoe had fallen, fell to his knees and pressed himself close to his father, hiding his face in his chest. The old father, blinded by grief while waiting for his son, feels him, recognizes him and forgives him, blessing him.

The artist naturally and truthfully conveys the full power of fatherly love. Nearby there are numb figures of spectators, expressing surprise and indifference - these are members of the society that first corrupted and then condemned the prodigal son. But fatherly love triumphs over their indifference and hostility.

The canvas became immortal thanks to the universal human feelings expressed in it - bottomless parental love, the bitterness of disappointment, loss, humiliation, shame and penance.

Return of the Prodigal Son (1668-1669) - fragment

Danae (1636)

This is Rembrandt's best work of the 30s.

The painting is dedicated to the eternal theme of love. The plot was based on the myth about the daughter of King Acrisius Danae. The oracle predicted that Acrisius would die at the hands of his grandson. Then the king imprisoned his daughter in a tower forever. But almighty Zeus turned into golden rain and in this form penetrated Danae and became her lover. They had a son, Perseus, and then again, by order of Arixius, Danae and his son were thrown into the sea in a box. But Danae and her son did not die.

The artist depicts the moment when Danae joyfully awaits Zeus. The old maid pulls back the curtain of her bed, and a golden glow pours into the room. Danae, in anticipation of happiness, rises towards the golden rain. The veil fell off and revealed a no longer youthful, heavier body, far from the laws of classical beauty. Nevertheless, it captivates with its vital truthfulness and soft roundness of forms. And although the artist addresses a theme from ancient mythology, the picture is clearly painted in the spirit of realism.

Danae - fragment

Artemis (1634)

Artemis (Artemis) - daughter of Zeus and Leto, sister of Apollo. Initially she was revered as the goddess of the animal and plant world. She is the “mistress of beasts”, Tavropola (protector of bulls), Limnatis (marsh), bear (in this guise she was worshiped in Bavron). Later - the goddess of hunting, mountains and forests, patroness of women in labor. Artemis begged eternal virginity for herself from Zeus. Sixty Oceanids and twenty nymphs were her constant hunting companions, participants in her games and dances. Its main function is to protect established customs and sacrifices to the gods, for violation of which it severely punishes: it sends a terrible boar to the Calydonian kingdom, and deadly snakes to the marriage bed of King Admetus. She also protects the animal world, calling to account Hercules, who killed the Kerynean doe with golden horns, and demands in return for the sacred doe killed by Agamemnon a bloody sacrifice - his daughter Iphigenia (on the sacrificial altar, Artemis secretly replaced the princess with a doe, and Iphigenia was transferred to Taurida, making her as her priestess). Artemis is the protector of chastity. She patronizes Hippolytus, who despises love, turns Actaeon, who accidentally saw the goddess naked, into a deer, who was torn to pieces by his own dogs, and the nymph Calypso, who broke her vow, into a bear. She has determination, does not tolerate competition, and uses her well-aimed arrows as an instrument of punishment. Artemis, together with Apollo, destroyed the children of Niobe, who was proud of the mother of the gods Leto with her seven sons and seven daughters; her arrow struck Orion, who dared to compete with the goddess. As the goddess of vegetation, Artemis is associated with fertility. This cult especially spread to Ephesus (Asia Minor), where the Temple of Artemis of Ephesus (one of the “seven wonders of the world”) was built in her honor, burned by Herostratus. Artemis was revered here as a goddess-nurse, “hard-working”; She is also the patroness of the Amazons. Artemis was also revered as the goddess of war. In Sparta, before the battle, a goat was sacrificed to the goddess, and in Athens, annually on the anniversary of the Battle of Marathon (September-October), five hundred goats were placed on the altars. Artemis often became close to the goddess of the month (Hecate) or the goddess of the full moon (Selene). There is a well-known myth about Artemis-Selene, in love with the handsome Endymion, who wished for eternal youth and immortality and received them in a deep sleep. Every night the goddess approached the grotto of the Carian Mount Latm, where the young man slept and admired his beauty. The attribute of the goddess is a quiver behind her back, a bow or torch in her hands; she is accompanied by a doe or a pack of hunting dogs. In Rome, Artemis is identified with the local deity Diana.

Abraham and three angels

God appeared to Abraham and his wife Sarah in the form of three travelers, three beautiful young men (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). The elderly couple showed them generous hospitality. Having accepted the treat, God announced a miracle to the spouses: despite their extreme old age, they would have a son, and from him would come a great and strong nation, and in him all the nations of the world would be blessed.

Self-portrait with Saskia (1636)

The entire canvas is permeated with outright glee! The self-portrait depicts the couple at a merry party. Rembrandt, huge compared to his slender wife, holds her on his lap and raises a crystal goblet of foaming wine. They seem to be taken by surprise, in the intimate atmosphere of life overflowing.

Rembrandt, in a rich military suit with a gilded baldric and a rapier at his side, looks like some dandy reuter having fun with a girl. It does not bother him that such a pastime may be considered a sign of bad taste. He only knows that his wife is loved, and therefore beautiful in her luxurious bodice, silk skirt, magnificent headdress and precious necklace, and that everyone should admire her. He is not afraid to appear neither vulgar nor vain. He lives in a kingdom of dreams and joy, far from people, and it does not occur to him that he might be blamed. And all these feelings are conveyed by the simple-minded expression of the radiant face of the artist himself, who seems to have achieved all earthly blessings.

The painting expresses the joy of life, the consciousness of youth, health and well-being.

The Jewish Bride (1665)

Rembrandt wrote a lot on the themes of biblical stories, and he wrote all of them in his own way, updated in content. Often he painted paintings contrary to logic - lighting, colors, everything was just according to his own ideas. The artist shows the same independence in the way he dresses his characters. He dressed them up in strange clothes - Saskia, Juno, and others... The same thing happened with the couple in the film “The Jewish Bride”. The name is strange, because the canvas depicts a married couple, and the wife is pregnant. Against the background of vague greenery, part of the large wall and the city landscape can be discerned. A couple in red and gold clothes stands in front of a pilaster. Two faces and four hands, the man leans towards the woman, whose gaze is turned to herself, to her thoughts. Her right hand, holding flowers, rests on her stomach. The face shows the trusting seriousness of a wife, occupied only with the presence of another life within herself. The man puts his left arm around her shoulders. The right hand lies on the dress at chest level, where the woman’s left hand touches it. Fingers touch each other. Light touch. The man looks at the woman's hand touching his own.

Flora

Flora is the Italian goddess of flowers and youth. The cult of Flora is one of the oldest agricultural cults in Italy, especially of the Sabine tribe. The Romans identified Flora with the Greek Chloris and celebrated the so-called floralia in her honor in the spring, during which fun games took place, sometimes taking on an unbridled character. People decorated themselves and animals with flowers, women wore bright dresses. In ancient art, Flora was depicted as a young woman holding flowers or scattering flowers.

Frederick Riegel on horseback (1663)

Before us is a typical ceremonial portrait. Rigel was a successful merchant, producing paper and printing books. A wealthy printer accompanied the Prince of Orange to Amsterdam in 1660, and the portrait may have been commissioned to commemorate the event. A man sitting on a horse looks at us from a dark canvas. He is wearing expensive, but not overly luxurious clothes. His face radiates intelligence, authority and self-esteem.

Christ and the Sinner

The canvas depicts a meeting between Christ and a sinner in a vast space filled with people, the vastness of which is enhanced by the arched sections of the walls, raising the ceiling skyward. Everything is immersed in darkness, only the figure of Christ and the young woman are illuminated. In this painting, Rembrandt first approached an unconventional solution to a biblical scene, which other artists would imitate with amazing consistency.

Jacob wrestles with an angel (1659)

One of the most mysterious episodes in the Old Testament. When Jacob is left alone, Someone appears (considered to be an angel) and fights with him all night. The angel fails to overcome Jacob, then he touches a vein on his thigh and damages it. However, Jacob passes the test and receives a new name - Israel, meaning "he who wrestles with God and will overcome men." That is why, to some extent, the postures of Jacob and the angel, hugging rather than fighting, are natural and justified.

Night Watch (1642)

This is a group portrait by Rembrandt "The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg." The painting was commissioned by the Shooting Society, a civil militia unit of the Netherlands. In the 18th century, the canvas was cut on all sides so that the painting would fit in the new hall of the museum. The left side of the picture suffered the most, where the two shooters disappeared. (Even after cropping, the painting is one of the largest in the museum). The painting was subject to attempts to be damaged or destroyed three times. The artist depicted musketeers emerging from a dark courtyard through an arch into a sunlit square. The play of light and shadow, characteristic of the style of the great Rembrandt, is masterfully conveyed. He depicted the moment when Captain Cock gave the order to move to Lieutenant Reitenburg, and everything began to move. The ensign unfurls the banner, the drummer beats out a roll, a dog barks at him, and the boy runs away. Even the details of the shooters’ clothing move in the picture. In addition to the 18 customers for the painting, the artist filled the canvas with sixteen more characters. The meaning of these characters, as well as many symbols in the painting, are known only to Rembrandt himself.

Blinding of Samson

Samson is a hero of Old Testament legends, endowed with incredible physical strength. All his life he took revenge on the Philistines for betraying his bride on her wedding day. She was a Philistine, but even now his mistress is the Philistine Delilah. The Philistine rulers bribed her to find out the source of Samson's strength and find out where his weak point was. Delilah tried to find out this from Samson three times, and three times he deceived her, understanding what she was trying to achieve. But still, in the end, with the help of feminine tricks, Delilah convinced him of her love and devotion, and he revealed to her that his strength would leave him if his hair was cut. She told her compatriots about this and at night, when Samson was sleeping, they cut his hair. Waking up to the cry of Delilah, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!”, he felt that his strength was leaving him. Then the enemies blinded Samson, chained him and forced him to turn millstones in a Gaza dungeon. But Samson’s hair gradually grew back, and his strength also returned... To enjoy Samson’s humiliation, the Philistines bring him to a festival in the temple of Dagon and force him to amuse those gathered. Samson asks the youth guide to lead him to the pillars of the temple in order to lean on them. Having offered up a prayer to God, Samson, again feeling his strength, moves the two middle pillars of the temple from their place, and with the exclamation “May my soul die along with the Philistines!”, he brings down the entire temple building on those gathered. Thus, at the moment of his death, Samson killed more enemies than in his entire life...

Belshazzar's Feast (1635)

In biblical mythology, Belshazzar was the last Babylonian king; the fall of Babylon is associated with his name. Despite the siege of the capital undertaken by Cyrus, the king and all the inhabitants, having a rich supply of food, could blithely indulge in the pleasures of life. On the occasion of one minor holiday, Belshazzar organized a magnificent feast, to which up to a thousand nobles and courtiers were invited. Precious vessels taken by the Babylonian conquerors from various conquered peoples, among other things, and expensive vessels from the Jerusalem Temple, served as table bowls. At the same time, according to the custom of the ancient pagans, the Babylonian gods were glorified, who had been victorious before and would always be victorious, despite all the efforts of Cyrus and his secret allies, the Jews, with their Jehovah. But then, in the midst of the feast, a human hand appeared on the wall and slowly began to write some words. Seeing her, “the king changed in his face, his thoughts became confused, the ties of his loins weakened, and his knees began to beat against each other in horror.” The summoned sages were unable to read and explain the inscription. Then, on the advice of the queen, they invited the elderly prophet Daniel, who always showed extraordinary wisdom. And he actually read the inscription, which in Aramaic briefly read: “Mene, tekel, upharsin.” This meant: “Mene - God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it; tekel - you are weighed and found very light; upharsin - your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." On that very night, the biblical narrative continues, Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was killed.

Portrait of Hendrikje Stoffels (c.1659)

After Saskia's death, another woman entered Rembrandt's life, the modest servant Hendrikje Stoffels, who brightened up the master's loneliness. He often painted her, but in the titles of the works where she served as a model, he never mentioned her name.

Portrait of Saskia dressed as a shepherdess (1638)

In this work the artist expresses his attitude towards his wife. She is depicted on a dark canvas surrounded by a golden glow. The soft, lovely face froze in an expression of expectation: at the time of painting, Saskia was pregnant with their first child, who died shortly after birth. Golden hair envelops her bare shoulders in a lush cover. A branch of some plant is stuck into the hoop that supports the hair, like a feather. The loose sleeves of the house dress form fancy folds. With one hand she leans on a vine staff, with the other she holds a heap of scattering flowers. In this work, the artist transferred onto canvas all the feeling of happiness that overwhelmed him then.

Syndics (elders of the clothiers' workshop) - (1661-1662)

The final piece in the history of group portraits was Rembrandt’s depiction of the elders of the cloth workshop - the so-called “Sindics”, where, with meager means, avoiding monotony, the artist created living and at the same time different human types, but most importantly, he was able to convey the feeling of spiritual union, mutual understanding and interconnection of people, united by one cause and tasks.

Farewell of David to Jonathan (1642)

The Jewish king of Seoul sought to destroy young David, fearing that he would take his throne. Warned by his friend, Prince Jonathan, the winner of Goliath, David, says goodbye to Jonathan at the Azail stone (ancient Hebrew meaning - parting, separation.) Jonathan is stern and reserved, his face mournful. David falls into his friend's chest in despair, he is inconsolable.

Sacrifice of Abraham (1635)

The characters in the picture appear before us from complex angles. From the body of Isaac, stretched out in the foreground and expressing the complete helplessness of the victim, the viewer’s gaze turns to the depths - to the figure of the elder Abraham and the messenger of God - an angel - breaking out of the clouds. The artist soulfully conveyed the state of mind of Abraham, who, at the sudden appearance of the angel, did not have time to feel either the joy of getting rid of the terrible sacrifice, or gratitude, but for now only felt fatigue and bewilderment.

Samson asks a riddle at the wedding table (1637)

Samson loved to wander around the country and one day came to the city of Timnath. There he fell madly in love with a stately Philistine woman and wished to marry her. He ran home and asked his parents to woo his beloved. The old men clutched their heads in horror: their son had already caused them a lot of grief, and now, on top of everything, he decided to marry a foreigner, the daughter of a Philistine. Samson, however, stood his ground. The parents had nothing left to do - sighing heavily, they obeyed the whim of their eccentric son. Samson became the groom and from then on often went to visit the bride’s parents. One day, when Samson was walking briskly along a path between the vineyards, a young roaring lion blocked his way. The strong man tore the lion to shreds and, as if nothing had happened, went to Timnath, without telling anyone about his adventure. Returning home, he was surprised to see that a swarm of bees was nesting in the mouth of the killed lion and a lot of honey had already accumulated. Samson brought the honeycomb to his parents without saying a word where he got it. In Timnaf, the matchmaking went well, there was a big feast, everyone congratulated the bride and groom, and the wedding day was set. According to Philistine custom, the wedding celebration lasts seven days. At the feast, the bride's parents, fearing Samson's extraordinary strength, assigned thirty young strong Philistines to him as wedding groomsmen. Samson, looking at the “guards” with a grin, invited them to solve the riddle. It had to be solved by the end of the wedding, on the seventh day. The riddle went like this: “From the eater came the poisonous, and from the strong came the sweet.” Of course, no one could solve this riddle, since no one knew that we were talking about bees eating nectar (bees are “eating”), about honey (“eating”) and about a strong lion. At the same time, Samson set conditions: if it is solved, they will receive 30 shirts and the same amount of outer clothing, and if not, they will pay him the same. The stunned Philistines thought for three days about this strange riddle. Desperate, they went to his young wife and threatened that if she did not find out the answer to the riddle from her husband, they would burn both them and her father’s house. The Philistines really didn’t want to pay Samson a rich sum. By cunning and kindness, the wife extracted from her husband the answer to the riddle, and the next day the Philistines gave the correct answer. The angry Samson had nothing to do but pay off the agreed debt, and his parents were very poor. Then he killed 30 Philistines and gave their clothes as debt. Samson himself, realizing that his wife had betrayed him, slammed the door and went back to his parents.

Blind Tobit and Anna(1626)

Tobit, an Israeli, was distinguished by righteousness in his native country and did not leave the pious Assyrian government and generally experienced a number of trials, including blindness, which ended for him and his descendants with the complete blessing of God. His son Tobias healed with the help of an angel.

Holy Family (1635)

The plot is from the Gospel, but the artist depicts the life of ordinary people. Only the angels descending into the twilight of the poor home reminds us that this is not an ordinary family. The gesture of the mother's hand, throwing back the curtain to look at the sleeping child, the concentration in the figure of Joseph - everything is deeply thought out. The simplicity of life and the appearance of people does not make the picture mundane. Rembrandt knows how to see in everyday life not the small and ordinary, but the deep and enduring. The peaceful silence of working life and the holiness of motherhood emanate from this canvas.

Bathsheba (1654)

According to the Bible, Bathsheba was a woman of rare beauty. King David, walking along the roof of his palace, saw Bathsheba bathing below. Her husband, Uriah, is away from home at the time, serving in David's army. Bathsheba did not try to seduce the king. But David was seduced by Bathsheba's beauty and ordered her to be taken to the palace. As a result of their relationship, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Solomon. Later, David wrote a letter to the commander of the army where Uriah was fighting, in which he ordered to place Uriah where there would be “the strongest battle, and retreat from him so that he will be defeated and die.” Indeed, this happened, and David subsequently married Bathsheba. Their first child lived only a few days. David later repented of his actions. For all her high position as the most beloved of David's wives, Bathsheba took a place in the shadows and behaved in a dignified manner. David crowned Solomon, Bathsheba's son, king. Bathsheba was a wise woman and always trusted in God. In relation to David, she became a faithful and loving wife and a good mother to her children - Solomon and Nathan.

Juno

The artist depicted Saskia, his wife, in the image of Juno. Juno is the ancient Roman goddess of marriage and birth, motherhood of women and female productive power. Patroness of marriages, guardian of the family and family regulations. The main attribute of this goddess is a veil, a diadem, a peacock and a cuckoo. Rembrandt has a peacock in the lower left corner of the painting.

Potiphar's Wife Accuses Joseph (1655)

The story of the biblical patriarch Joseph is told in the book of Genesis. Even in the parental home of Jacob and Rachel, their beloved son Joseph appears as a dreamer. Joseph's father singles him out among his brothers, and they, jealous of his special position and beautiful clothes, sell Joseph into slavery to caravan men heading to Egypt. In Egypt, Joseph serves as a slave to the wealthy nobleman Potiphar, chief of Pharaoh's bodyguards. Potiphar trusts Joseph with his entire house, but Potiphar's wife encroaches on his chastity, and Joseph runs away, leaving his clothes in the woman's hands. Potiphar's wife, having fallen in love with Joseph and not achieving reciprocity, accuses him of rape. In the prison where Joseph was sent, the king’s baker and cupbearer are with him. Joseph interprets their dreams, according to which the baker will be executed and the butler forgiven in three days. Joseph's prophecy is fulfilled, and the cupbearer remembers him when the Egyptian priests find it difficult to interpret Pharaoh's dream about seven fat cows devoured by seven skinny ones and seven good ears of corn devoured by skinny ones. Joseph, called from prison, interprets the dream as a harbinger that after the next seven years of a good harvest, seven years of severe crop shortages will come. He advises the pharaoh to appoint a trusted person to stockpile supplies during the famine. Pharaoh appoints Joseph as his confidant, rewards him with his ring, gives him an Egyptian name, and as his wife Asenath, the daughter of a priest from Heliopolis.

Woman bathing in a stream

In the painting, Rembrandt completely abandoned the classical ideal of the nude female figure. Here he depicted Hendrikje, his second wife, undressing before bathing, contrary to all the canons of beauty. A golden robe lies at the edge of the water, and a sweet young woman, shyly lifting her shirt, enters the cold water. She seems to emerge from the brown darkness, her shyness and modesty can be read both in her lightly written face and in her hands supporting her shirt.

Allegory of Music (1626)

Woman. trying on earrings (1654)

Stoning of Saint Stephen

Adoration of the Magi

Portrait of Dirk Jan Pesser (c.1634)

Portrait of Maartje Martens Domer

Portrait of a Man (1639)

Family portrait (1666-1668)

Portrait of an Old Man in Red (c.1654)

Portrait of Titus (the artist's son)

Anatomy Lesson (1632)

Venus and Cupid (1642)

Young Saskia (1633)

Rembrant Harmens van Rijn (1606-1669), Dutch painter.

Having entered the University of Leiden in 1620, Rembrandt soon left it and began to study painting. In 1625-1631 he worked in his hometown. The main ones in his work of the early period were paintings on religious subjects, as well as.

The year 1632 turned out to be a happy year for Rembrandt. He moved to Amsterdam and married a wealthy city dweller, Saskia van Uylenburg, and the painting “The Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Tulp” brought the young painter universal recognition.

The most prosperous decade of his life began for the master. He had many students (Rembrandt's school). During this period, he wrote such masterpieces as “Self-Portrait with Saskia” (1635) and “Danae” (1636).

The extremely cheerful art of Rembrandt from the 1930s. combines the experience of Renaissance and Baroque masters and an innovative approach to classical subjects.

The period of success suddenly ended in 1642: the magnificent work “Night Watch” - a group portrait of members of the Shooting Guild of Amsterdam - was rejected by customers who did not appreciate the artist’s innovations and subjected him to sharp criticism.

Rembrandt practically stopped receiving orders; almost all his students left him. Saskia died that same year.

Since the 40s Rembrandt abandoned theatrical effects in his work; the mystical, contemplative principle intensified in his painting. The artist often turned to the image of his second wife, Hendrikje Stoffels.

The painting “The Holy Family” (1645), a series of self-portraits, and the best landscapes are marked by depth, calm and emotional richness. But failures continued to haunt Rembrandt: in 1656 he was declared an insolvent debtor, his property was sold at auction, and the family moved to a modest house in the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam.

The painting “The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis” (1661), commissioned by the town hall, shared the fate of the “Night Watch”. In 1663, the artist buried his wife and son.

Despite his deteriorating vision, Rembrandt continued to paint. A unique result of his work was the canvas “The Return of the Prodigal Son” (1668-1669).

Art makes our life more interesting and beautiful. There are people who will remain in memory for many centuries, whose work will be inherited by new generations.

After reading this article, you will become closer to understanding the legacy of world art that the great master, artist Rembrandt van Rijn, left behind.

Biography

Today he is called the master of shadows, as well as a man who could put absolutely any emotion on the canvas. Next, let's get acquainted with the life path that he had to go through.

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn (1606-1669) was born in the Netherlands, in the city of Leiden. From a young age he was interested in painting, and from the age of 13 he studied fine art with Jacob van Swanenburch, who was a historical painter.

After this, it is known that Rembrandt at the age of 17 studied with Pieter Lastman, arriving in Amsterdam. His teacher specialized in biblical motifs and mythology.

Minded my own business

By the age of 21, Rembrandt van Rijn, together with his friend, opened a drawing workshop and conducted regular enrollments of students and classes in fine arts. Just a few years passed, and he became popular among those around him as a master of his craft.

Together with their friend Lievens, they were already creating masterpieces at that time, and they were noticed by Constantin Huygens, who was the secretary of the Prince of Orange. He called the painting with Judas one of the best works of art of antiquity. He played a big role in the development of the artist, helping to establish contacts with wealthy clients.

New life in Amsterdam

By 1631, Rembrandt van Rijn had already completely moved to live in Amsterdam. Life in this city was full of orders from significant clients who saw him as a great young artist. At this time, his friend went to study in England, where he also tried to achieve success under the auspices of a new teacher.

Meanwhile, the artist begins to become interested in depicting faces. He is interested in the facial expressions of each person, he tries to experiment with drawn heads of people. Rembrandt van Rijn knew how to accurately convey everything that was said in the eyes of the person from whom he painted the masterpiece.

It was portraits that brought commercial success to the artist at that time. In addition, he was also fond of self-portraits. You can find many of his works where he depicted himself in imaginary costumes and robes, interesting poses.

Time for glory

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn gained general recognition in Amsterdam after painting “The Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Tulp” in 1632, where he depicted surgeons whom the doctor taught to dissect using the example of a corpse.

If you look at this picture, you will notice the fine line with which the master depicted the facial expression of each of them. It's not just people's faces, he was able to convey the general wary emotion of an entire group of students.

And the way he depicted the shadow in the picture amazed many experts of that time. They unanimously began to say that Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn had matured along with his paintings.

We can say that this time is considered one of the most favorable in the life of a young artist. After his marriage to Saskia van Uylenburch in 1634, orders poured in at such a speed that he could not draw.

In the first years of his life in the new city, the young Rembrandt van Rijn managed to paint more than 50 paintings. The paintings were special and bright, writers remembered his creations more than once. For example, Joost van den Vondel, then a famous poet and playwright, paid tribute to the author in his poems about the portrait he painted of Cornelis Anslo.

At that time, he had enough money to buy his own mansion. Passionate about art and the study of the works of classics and other masters, he filled his house with famous works of both his contemporaries and the creations of ancient times.

Family life

Today's art critics celebrate the good works of that time that Rembrandt van Rijn painted. The paintings of his wife Saskia in different clothes and against different backgrounds indicate that the master has fully matured and began to create his art on canvas.

There was also grief - the three children he had during his marriage died at a young age. But in 1641 the couple had a son, Titus, who was an outlet for the young parents. That turbulent time is perfectly imprinted in the artist’s painting “The Prodigal Son in the Tavern.”

Unpleasant event

As in his early years, the great artist’s imagination always pushed him to create paintings with certain biblical scenes. Just look at his painting “The Sacrifice of Abraham,” which he painted in 1635! Emotions and mood are conveyed so clearly, you begin to worry that as soon as you blink, a knife will immediately pierce your flesh.

In modern art, such a feeling can only be conveyed by photographers who take a clear picture in motion. Indeed, his ability to depict the atmosphere of situations processed by the imagination of the great master is amazing.

The beginning of problems

The artist’s failures did not end with the death of his wife. The artist's views gradually changed. Gradually, that young Rembrandt van Rijn, whose work admired his contemporaries, disappeared.

In 1642, he received an excellent offer to paint a portrait of musketeers, which was to be placed in the newly built building of the Shooting Society. It was one of the largest paintings the master had ever painted - it reached four meters.

According to the clients' vision, the artist had to create an ordinary portrait of soldiers that would radiate strength and confidence. Unfortunately, the artist Rembrandt van Rijn completed the task in his own way.

As can be seen in the painting “Night Watch”, which is shown below, his work can hardly be called a portrait. The canvas depicts a whole scene of a rifle company preparing for a surprise campaign.

Moreover, you can notice how the movement in the picture has frozen. This is a separate shot from the life of soldiers. There was a lot of indignation from customers about this. Some musketeers were relegated to the background, while others were photographed in an awkward pose.

In addition, the sharp play of light and shadow, which, perhaps, no one could have depicted so brightly and boldly on canvas, also did not arouse admiration.

After this, Rembrandt van Rijn, whose works were considered one of the best just yesterday, began to become uninteresting to the high-ranking public. And this meant at that time that no one would place expensive orders with him.

Now imagine a person who lived in grand style all his life, and then suddenly lost his source of income. Will he be able to give up his usual life?

Modernity required detailed paintings

His students are gradually leaving him. Rembrandt's vision is gradually becoming inconsistent with the fashion of the time - new trends were moving towards maximum detail. That is, if the artist began to paint the way he did in his youth, then there would be considerable demand for him.

But life is unpredictable, just like a real creative person. His hand became firmer, he liked to play with the shadow, blurring the clear edges of objects.

The inability to earn good money affected his financial situation. Considering that his late wife was a lady from a wealthy family, her dowry passed entirely into his possession. And, having no income, he simply spent it, or “burned it”, on his own needs.

At the end of the forties of the 17th century, he became friends with his maid Hendrikje. It can be seen in some of his paintings. At that time, the laws were strict in relation to family ties, and his muse was condemned by the court when their baby Cornelia was born.

It is difficult to find famous paintings from this period of the artist’s life. He gradually moved away from the rich motifs and scenes that he painted in the recent past.

But he, as a creative person, showed himself in other areas. At that time, he was already a master at making etchings. It took him 7 whole years to complete the masterpiece called “Christ Healing the Sick.”

He was able to sell it for 100 guilders, which was quite large for that time. is considered the best of those that Rembrandt could create.

Rembrandt's Sunset

The elderly artist increasingly faced financial problems. In 1656 he became completely bankrupt, transferring his entire inheritance to his son. There was nothing left to live on. A year later he had to sell his estate. The proceeds helped him move to the quiet outskirts of Amsterdam. He settled down in the Jewish quarter.

The person closest to him during his old age was his son. But Rembrandt was unlucky, because he lived to see his death. He could no longer endure the blows of fate and a year later he also died.

Today's Rembrandt

Art never dies. Creators live in their works, in particular, artists are always part of their canvases. The essence of a person is conveyed in his style and skill in painting.

Today, Rembrandt van Rijn is considered an artist with a capital “A” and is recognized by all critics. His works are quite highly regarded. For example, in 2009, at an auction, his painting “Half-length portrait of an unknown man standing with his arms akimbo,” painted in 1658, was sold for a record price of 41 million US dollars (calculated at the exchange rate of that time).

His painting “Portrait of an Elderly Woman,” which was sold in 2000 for approximately $32 million, was also highly appreciated. I don’t even dare call this canvas a “painting”. It just looks like a big photograph - only a great master could detail the face so much.

People like Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn are truly inspiring. And you don’t have to become an artist, you just need to do what you like, and most importantly, from the heart.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

The largest representative of the Golden Age, artist, engraver, great master of chiaroscuro - and all this is in one name: Rembrandt.

Rembrandt was born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden. This great Dutch artist managed to embody in his works the entire spectrum of human experiences with such emotional richness that fine art had never known before.

Life

He grew up in a large family of a wealthy mill owner, Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn. Among other things, Rhein's property included two more houses, and he also received a significant dowry from his wife Cornelia Neltje. The future artist’s mother was the daughter of a baker and knew cooking. Even after the Dutch Revolution, her mother’s family remained faithful to the Catholic faith.

In Leiden, Rembrandt attended the Latin school at the university, but did not like exact sciences and showed the greatest interest in painting. Realizing this fact, his parents at the age of 13 sent Rembrandt to study fine art with the Leiden historical painter Jacob van Swanenburch, who was a Catholic. Rembrandt's works, varied in genre and theme, are imbued with ideas of morality, spiritual beauty and dignity of the ordinary person, an understanding of the incomprehensible complexity of his inner world, the versatility of his intellectual wealth, and the depth of his emotional experiences. Very little information has reached us about Jacob, which is why historians and art critics cannot say for sure about the influence of Swanenberg on Rembrandt’s creative style.

Then, in 1623, he studied in Amsterdam with the then fashionable painter Pieter Lastman, after which, returning to Leiden, he opened his own workshop in 1625 together with his fellow countryman Jan Lievens.

Pitera Lastman trained in Italy and specialized in historical, mythological and biblical subjects. When Rembrandt opened a workshop and began recruiting students, he became significantly famous in a short time. If you look at the artist’s first works, you can immediately understand that Lastman’s style – a passion for diversity and pettiness of execution – had a huge influence on the young artist. For example, his work “The Stoning of St. Stephen" (1629), "Scene from Ancient History" (1626) and "The Baptism of the Eunuch" (1626), very bright, unusually colorful, Rembrandt strives to carefully describe every detail of the material world. Almost all the heroes appear before the viewer dressed in fancy oriental outfits, shining with jewelry, which creates an atmosphere of pomp, pomp, and festivity.

In 1628, the twenty-two-year-old artist was recognized as a “highly famous” master, a famous portrait painter.

The painting “Judas Returns the Silver Pieces” (1629) evoked an enthusiastic review from the famous art connoisseur Constantin Huygens, secretary of the stadtholder Frederick Hendrik of Orange: “... this body trembling with pathetic trepidation is what I prefer to good taste of all times.”

Thanks to Constantine’s connections, Rembrandt soon acquired wealthy art admirers: due to Hagens’s mediation, the Prince of Orange commissioned several religious works from the artist, such as “Christ before Pilate” (1636).

Real success for an artist comes in Amsterdam. On June 8, 1633, Rembrandt met the daughter of a wealthy burgher, Saskia van Uylenburch, and gained a strong position in society. The artist painted most of his paintings while in the capital of the Netherlands.

Amsterdam - a bustling port and industrial city, into which goods and curiosities flocked from all over the world, where people grew rich through trade and banking transactions, where outcasts of feudal Europe flocked in search of refuge, and where the well-being of wealthy burghers coexisted with depressing poverty, has strong ties with the artist .

Rembrandt's Amsterdam period began with the stunning success brought to him by The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp (1632, The Hague, Mauritshuis), which changed the tradition of Dutch group portraits. Rembrandt contrasted the usual demonstration of people of the general profession posing for the artist with the dramaturgy of a freely decided scene, the participants of which - members of the guild of surgeons, listening to their colleague, are united by intellectually and spiritually active inclusion in the process of scientific research.

Rembrandt is inspired by the beauty of his beloved, so he often paints her portraits. Three days after the wedding, van Rijn depicted a woman in a silver pencil wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Saskia appeared in the Dutchman’s paintings in a cozy home environment. The image of this plump-cheeked woman appears on many canvases, for example, the mysterious girl in the painting “Night Watch” strongly resembles the artist’s beloved.

The thirties in Rembrandt's life were a period of fame, wealth and family happiness. He received many orders, was surrounded by students, was passionate about collecting works of Italian, Flemish and Dutch painters, ancient sculpture, minerals, sea plants, ancient weapons, and objects of oriental art; When working on paintings, exhibits from the collection often served as props for the artist.

Rembrandt's works from this period are extremely varied; they testify to a tireless, sometimes painful search for an artistic understanding of the spiritual and social essence of man and nature and demonstrate trends that relentlessly, step by step, bring the artist into conflict with society.

In portraits “for himself” and self-portraits, the artist freely experiments with composition and chiaroscuro effects, changes the tonality of the color scheme, dresses his models in fantastic or exotic clothes, varies poses, gestures, accessories (“Flora”, 1634, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum ).

In 1635, the famous painting based on the biblical story “The Sacrifice of Abraham” was painted, which was highly appreciated in secular society.

In 1642, van Rijn received an order from the Shooting Society for a group portrait to decorate the new building with canvas. The painting was mistakenly called “Night Watch”. It was stained with soot, and only in the 17th century did researchers come to the conclusion that the action unfolding on the canvas took place during the daytime.

Rembrandt meticulously depicted every detail of the musketeers in motion: as if at a certain moment time stood still when the militia came out of the dark courtyard so that van Rijn captured them on the canvas.

Customers did not like the fact that the Dutch painter deviated from the canons that developed in the 17th century. Then group portraits were ceremonial, and the participants were depicted full-face without any static.

According to scientists, this painting was the reason for the artist’s bankruptcy in 1653, as it scared away potential clients.

Tragic changes in Rembrandt’s personal fate (the death of newborn children, his mother, in 1642 - the illness and death of Saskia, who left him a nine-month-old son Titus), the deterioration of his financial situation due to his stubborn reluctance to sacrifice freedom of spirit and creativity to please the changing tastes of the burghers, aggravated and exposed the gradually ripening conflict between the artist and society.

Information about Rembrandt's private life in the 1640s. Little remains in the documents. Of the students of this period, only Nicholas Mas from Dordrecht is known. Apparently, the artist continued to live in grand style, as before. The family of the late Saskia expressed concern about how he disposed of her dowry. Titus's nanny, Geertje Dirks, sued him for breaking his promise to marry; To resolve this incident, the artist had to fork out money.

At the end of the 1640s, Rembrandt became friends with his young maid Hendrickje Stoffels, whose image appears in many portrait works of this period: (“Flora” (1654), “Bathing Woman” (1654), “Hendrickje at the Window” (1655)). The parish council condemned Hendrickje for “sinful cohabitation” when her daughter Cornelia was born to the artist in 1654. During these years, Rembrandt moved away from themes that had a grandiose national or universal resonance.

The artist spends a long time working on engraved portraits of burgomaster Jan Six (1647) and other influential burghers. All the techniques and techniques of engraving known to him were put to use in the production of the elaborate etching “Christ Healing the Sick,” better known as the “Hundred Guilder Leaf,” which was once sold for such a huge price for the 17th century. He worked on this etching, striking in its subtlety of light and shadow, for seven years, from 1643 to 1649.

In 1653, experiencing financial difficulties, the artist transferred almost all of his property to his son Titus, after which he declared bankruptcy in 1656. After the sale in 1657-58. house and property (an interesting catalog of Rembrandt’s art collection has been preserved), the artist moved to the outskirts of Amsterdam, to the Jewish quarter, where he spent the rest of his life.

The death of Titus in 1668 was one of the last blows of fate for the artist; he himself died a year later.

Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn died in October 1669. He was 63 years old. He was old, sick and poor. The notary did not have to spend much time compiling an inventory of the artist’s property. The inventory was brief: “three worn sweatshirts, eight handkerchiefs, ten berets, painting supplies, one Bible.”

Paintings

Return of the Prodigal Son

The famous painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son”, one of Rembrandt’s last works. It was written in the year of his death, and became the pinnacle of his talent.

This is Rembrandt's largest painting on a religious theme. Painting by Rembrandt based on the New Testament parable of the Prodigal Son.

We find the parable of the prodigal son in the Gospel of Luke. It tells about a young man who left his father's house and squandered his inheritance. He spent his days in idleness, debauchery and drunkenness until he found himself in a barnyard, where he ate from the same trough with the pigs. Finding himself in a desperate situation and complete poverty, the young man returns to his father, ready to become his last slave. But instead of contempt, he finds a royal welcome, instead of anger - all-forgiving, deep and tender fatherly love.

1669 Rembrandt plays out a human drama before the viewer. The paints lie on the canvas in thick strokes. They are dark. The artist does not care about minor characters, even if there are quite a few of them. Attention is again focused on father and son. The old father, hunched over with grief, faces the viewer. In this face there is pain, and eyes tired from crying tears, and the happiness of a long-awaited meeting. The son has his back turned to us. He buried himself like a baby in his father’s royal robe. We don't know what his face expresses. But the cracked heels, the bare skull of the tramp, the poor clothes say enough. Like the father's hands squeezing the young man's shoulders. Through the calmness of these hands, forgiving and supporting, Rembrandt, for the last time, tells the world a universal parable about wealth, passions and vices, repentance and forgiveness. “...I will get up and go to my father and say to him: Father! I have sinned against heaven and before you and am no longer worthy to be called your son; accept me as one of your hired servants. He got up and went to his father. And while he was still far away, his father saw him and had compassion; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him.”

In addition to father and son, the picture depicts 4 more characters. These are dark silhouettes that are difficult to distinguish against a dark background, but who they are remains a mystery. Some called them the protagonist's "brothers and sisters." It is characteristic that Rembrandt avoids conflict: the parable speaks of the jealousy of an obedient son, and the harmony of the picture is not disturbed in any way.

Van Gogh very accurately said about Rembrandt: “You have to die several times in order to paint like that... Rembrandt penetrates the mystery so deeply that he speaks about objects for which there are no words in any language. That's why Rembrandt is called: a wizard. And this is not a simple craft.”

The night Watch

The name by which Rembrandt’s group portrait “The Performance of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg”, painted in 1642, is traditionally known.

The canvas of the Dutch master is fraught with many “surprises”. Let's start with the fact that the title of the picture that we are accustomed to does not correspond to reality: the patrol depicted on it is in fact not at all night, but very much during the day. It’s just that Rembrandt’s work was varnished several times, which is why it darkened greatly. In addition, for almost 100 years (from the beginning of the 18th to the beginning of the 19th century), the canvas decorated one of the halls of the Amsterdam City Hall, where it hung directly opposite the fireplace, becoming covered with soot year after year. It is not surprising that by the beginning of the 19th century the name “Night Watch” was firmly established behind the painting: by this time the history of its creation was completely forgotten, and everyone was sure that the master depicted the dark time of day. Only in 1947, during restoration at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where the painting remains to this day, did it become clear that its coloring was incomparably lighter than was generally believed. Moreover, the short shadows cast by the characters indicate that it takes place between noon and two o'clock in the afternoon. However, the restorers did not remove all the layers of dark varnish for fear of damaging the paint, which is why “Night Watch” is still quite twilight.

The real title of the painting is “Performance of the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Wilhem van Ruytenburg.” This is a group portrait of musketeers-militiamen of one of the districts of Amsterdam. From 1618 to 1648, the Thirty Years' War raged in Europe, and residents of Dutch cities took up arms to defend their homes. Rembrandt's creation, along with portraits of other rifle companies, was to decorate the main hall in Kloveniersdolen - the headquarters of the city riflemen. But the customers were disappointed: Rembrandt did not produce a monumental ceremonial portrait, but a genre painting in which they had difficulty finding their own faces, often half hidden by other characters. Still would! After all, the artist, in addition to 18 customers (each of whom paid about 100 gold guilders for his portrait - a very impressive amount for those times), squeezed 16 more people onto the canvas! Who they are is unknown.

Museum – Amsterdam History Museum?

Three crosses

One of Rembrandt's most famous etchings, it has five states. Only the third is signed and dated, therefore, Rembrandt considered the rest to be intermediate. The fifth condition is very rare, only five specimens are known.

The etching depicts the dramatic moment of Christ's death on the cross of Calvary, described in the Gospels. In this etching, Rembrandt used the chisel and drypoint techniques on an unprecedented scale, which enhanced the contrast of the image.

On December 2, 2008, at Christie's, this etching (IV condition) was sold for £421,250.

Descent from the Cross

In 1814, Alexander I purchased the Malmaison Gallery, which belonged to her, from Empress Josephine. Some of the paintings came from the famous Kassel Gallery, including the Descent from the Cross. Previously, these paintings were the property of Madame de Roover in Delft and, together with other paintings from her collection, were purchased by the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Ludwig VII. In 1806, his gallery was seized by Napoleon and presented to Josephine.

The successor of the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, Ludwig VII, a former ally of Alexander I, presented to the emperor in 1815 a demand for the return of the paintings captured by Napoleon. This demand was decisively rejected by Alexander I, who paid money for the paintings and showed Josephine’s attention to her daughter Hortensia in every possible way. In 1829, Hortense, who at that time bore the title of Duchess of Saint-Leu, purchased thirty paintings from the Malmaison Gallery.
The theme “Descent from the Cross” had a large iconographic tradition in European art. Her highest achievement was considered the altar painting by Rubens in the Antwerp Cathedral, widely known from the Vorstermann engraving.

Rembrandt's creative thought wanders somewhere close to this tradition, using it and at the same time constantly choosing other paths. Unusual for the previous development of European art, they are highly characteristic of Rembrandt’s personal creative style; it is not for nothing that “The Descent from the Cross” looks so much like “The Unbelief of the Apostle Thomas.”
Rubens depicted the sublime grief of a group of majestic and beautiful people about a majestic and beautiful hero; Rembrandt's restless mass night scene. Numerous figures either retreat into the darkness or fall into a ray of light, and it seems that the crowd moves, lives, grieving for the crucified man and pitying his mother. There is nothing ideal in the appearance of people; many of them are rude and ugly. Their feelings are very strong, but these are the feelings of ordinary people, not enlightened by that sublime catharsis that is in Rubens’s painting.

The dead Christ is a man like them; It is precisely because of the intensity of their grief that his suffering and death take on special significance. The key to the content of the picture is, perhaps, not so much Christ as the man supporting him and pressing his cheek to him.
From an artistic point of view, the fragmentary, restless composition is inferior to both the famous painting by Rubens and some of the works of Rembrandt himself, executed in the same years. For example, “The Unbelief of the Apostle Thomas,” which is less significant in its content, seems outwardly more harmonious as a whole. However, in “The Descent from the Cross,” Rembrandt’s inherent understanding of biblical and gospel themes emerges more clearly.

The work of the young Rembrandt differs from its prototype in the most basic features. First of all, it was not created either formally or essentially as a prayer altar image. Its cabinet size is addressed not to the perception of the crowd, but to the individual experience. This appeal to the feelings and consciousness of one person, the establishment of close emotional contact with the viewer, forced the artist to create a completely new system of artistic means and techniques. Rembrandt saw the scene of the gospel legend as a tragic real event, fundamentally depriving it of mystical and heroic pathos.

Striving for the utmost sincerity and truthfulness of the image, Rembrandt showed a close crowd of people near the cross, shocked by grief, seeking family unity with each other in the face of terrible death. The brown-olive tonal coloring united the entire composition, and the light flux dramatically highlighted its main semantic center. The greatest depth of suffering is embodied in the image of the Mother of God, who has fallen unconscious, with her thin, emaciated face of a worker. The second group of mourners is located at the left end of the spatial diagonal - women reverently lay out the shroud, fulfilling their direct duty towards the deceased. The drooping body of Christ supported by the old man - the embodiment of tormented human flesh - evokes, first of all, a feeling of deep compassion.

Jewish bride

One of the last and most mysterious paintings by Rembrandt. The name was given to it in 1825 by the Amsterdam collector Van der Hop. He mistakenly believed that it depicted a father giving a necklace to his Jewish daughter for her wedding. Perhaps this is a commissioned portrait, but the clothes of the characters are clearly similar to the ancient, biblical ones, so “Artaxerxes and Esther”, “Jacob and Rachel”, “Abram and Sarah”, “Boaz and Ruth” were proposed as the title.

Saskia as Flora

A painting by Rembrandt, painted in 1634, which likely depicts the artist's wife Saskia van Uylenbuch as the ancient Italian goddess of flowers, blossom, spring and field fruits, Flora.

In 1633, Saskia van Uylenburch became the bride of Rembrandt van Rijn. The charming portrait of young Saskia in Flora's outfit is a silent but eloquent witness to this “time of spring and love” by the brilliant painter.

The girl’s thoughtful, but undoubtedly happy face is quite consistent with the bride’s feelings. She is no longer a playful child, carefree looking at God's world. She faces a serious task: she has chosen a new path and she has a lot to change her mind and experience before she enters adulthood. The headdress and staff entwined with flowers certainly point to Flora, the ancient Roman goddess of spring. The goddess's outfit was painted with amazing skill, but the true greatness of Rembrandt's talent is revealed in the expression of tenderness that the artist gave to her face.

His beloved wife brought a light of happiness and heartfelt contentment into the lonely home of the modest artist. Rembrandt loved to dress Saskia in velvet, silk and brocade, according to the custom of that time, showered him with diamonds and pearls, lovingly watching how her lovely, young face benefited from the brilliant outfit

Museum – State Hermitage

Style

Deeply humanistic in its essence and perfect in its unique artistic form, Rembrandt's work became one of the pinnacles of the development of human civilization. Rembrandt's works, varied in genre and theme, are imbued with ideas of morality, spiritual beauty and dignity of the ordinary person, an understanding of the incomprehensible complexity of his inner world, the versatility of his intellectual wealth, and the depth of his emotional experiences. Concealing many unsolved mysteries, the paintings, drawings and etchings of this remarkable artist captivate with the insightful psychological characteristics of the characters, the philosophical acceptance of reality, and the convincing justification of unexpected artistic decisions. His interpretation of stories from the Bible, ancient myths, ancient legends and the past of his native country as truly meaningful events in the history of man and society, deeply felt life conflicts of specific people opened the way for a free and multi-valued interpretation of traditional images and themes.

Love by Rembrandt

Rembrandt's famous muse Saskia was the youngest daughter of the burgomaster of the city of Leeuwarden. This white-skinned red-haired beauty grew up in a large and very wealthy family. When the girl was 12 years old, the mother of the family died. But the girl still did not know what to refuse, and when the time came, she became a very enviable bride.

A significant meeting between the artist and the young lady took place in the house of the girl’s cousin, the artist Hendrik van Uylenburg, who was also an antiques dealer. Rembrandt is literally smitten by the girl: glowing soft skin, golden hair... Add to this the ability to conduct a casual conversation. Jokingly, she invited the famous painter to paint her portrait. And that’s all that’s needed: Saskia is an ideal model for Rembrandt’s subjects in dark and muted colors.

Rembrandt begins to paint a portrait. He meets Saskia not only during sessions. Belying his principles, he tries to attend pleasure walks and parties. When work on the portrait was completed and frequent meetings stopped, Rembrandt realized: this is the one he wants to marry. In 1633, Saskia van Uylenburgh became the artist’s bride, and on July 22, 1634, the long-awaited wedding took place.

Marriage to Saskia opens the way for the artist to high society. The burgomaster father left his favorite a colossal inheritance: 40,000 florins. Even on a small part of this amount one could live comfortably for many, many years.

The happy and loving couple began to arrange a common home. Soon it began to resemble a museum. The walls were decorated with engravings by Michelangelo and paintings by Raphael. Saskia agreed to everything, she loved her husband very much. And he, in turn, showered her with jewelry and paid for the most exquisite toilets. And, of course, I tried to capture my favorite image. Rembrandt, one might say, became a chronicler of his family life. In the first days of the couple's honeymoon, the famous "Self-portrait with Saskia on her lap" was painted.

In 1635, the family's first son was born, but he did not live very long, and this became a terrible blow for the young mother.

For a long time she did not want to part with her son’s body, she drove everyone away from her, without letting go of the dead child. The unfortunate mother walked with him around the house, rocking him and calling him all the tender names that she and her husband called Rembrantus in the first happy days.

Rembrandt realized that, with the exception of hours spent at his easel, he could only live near Saskia. Only with her does he feel human: love is the source of life, and he loves only Saskia, and no one else.

After the death of Rembrantus, Saskia lost children at birth twice more. Only the fourth child, Titus, born in 1641, was able to survive the difficult years of infancy. The boy was named by this name in memory of the late Titia, Saskia's sister.

However, constant labor had a detrimental effect on Saskia's health. The appearance of purely landscape images by the artist in the late 1630s is sometimes explained by the fact that at that time, due to the illness of his wife, Rembrandt spent a lot of time outside the city with her. The artist painted relatively few portraits in the 1640s.

Saskia van Uylenburgh died in 1642. She was only thirty years old. In the coffin she looked alive...

At this time, Rembrandt was working on the famous painting “The Night Watch”.

Rembrandt House Museum

Art Museum on Jodenbreestraat in the Jewish Quarter of Amsterdam. The museum opened in 1911 in the house that Rembrandt purchased at the height of his fame in 1639 and lived in until his bankruptcy in 1656.

For almost 20 years of his life (from 1639 to 1658) on the Jodenbrestraat street, Rembrandt managed to create many beautiful works, become famous, collect a unique collection of paintings and rarities from all over the world, acquire students, squander the fortune of his first wife, lose his main customers, incur huge debts and put the house under the hammer.

Rembrandt also had to sell off most of his luxurious collection of paintings and antiques, including works by great European artists, Roman busts of emperors, and even Japanese battle armor, and move to a more modest home. Having outlived both wives and even his own son, Rembrandt died in poverty and loneliness.

Two and a half centuries later, in 1911, by order of Queen Wilhelmina, the house was turned into a museum, which, unlike, for example, the Van Gogh Museum, is, first of all, not an art gallery, but the restored apartments of the great artist: a huge kitchen in the ground floor, the reception room, the master's bedroom and the guest bedroom are on the second, the largest room of the mansion - the studio - is on the third, and in the attic are the workshops of his students.

It was possible to restore the interior with the help of an inventory of property drawn up by a notary when all of the artist’s property was sold at auction, and drawings by the artist himself, in which he depicted his home.

Here you can see his personal belongings, furniture from the 17th century and other interesting exhibits, such as a beautiful etching press or overseas rarities.

The museum exhibits almost all of the great Rembrandt's engravings - 250 out of 280, magnificent self-portraits of the artist, drawings depicting his parents, wife and son Titus, wonderful views of Amsterdam and its environs.

Even the museum toilet requires special attention: there you can see drawings by Rembrandt on a corresponding theme: a woman crouching in the bushes and a man standing in a pose characteristic of this establishment.

Rembrandt - everything you need to know about the famous Dutch artist updated: November 13, 2017 by: website