Rembrandt

This article is about the Dutch artist. For other uses, see Rembrandt (disambiguation).
In this Dutch name, the surname is Van Rijn, not Rijn.

Rembrandt
Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar (1659)
Born
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

(1606-07-15)15 July 1606[1]
Leiden, Dutch Republic
Died4 October 1669(1669-10-04) (aged 63)
Amsterdam, Dutch Republic
EducationJacob van Swanenburg
Pieter Lastman
Known forPainting, printmaking, drawing
Notable workSelf-portraits
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632)
Belshazzar's Feast
The Night Watch (1642)
The Hundred Guilder Print (etching, c. 1647–1649)
Bathsheba at Her Bath (1654)
Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (1662)
MovementDutch Golden Age
Baroque
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1634; died 1642)​
Children2, including Titus
Signature

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (/ˈrɛmbrænt, ˈrɛmbrɑːnt/;[2] Dutch: [ˈrɛmbrɑnt ˈɦɑrmə(n)ˌsoːɱ vɑn ˈrɛin] ⓘ; 15 July 1606[1] – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of Western art.[3] It is estimated Rembrandt produced a total of about three hundred paintings, three hundred etchings, and two thousand drawings.

Unlike most Dutch painters of the 17th century, Rembrandt's works depict a wide range of styles and subject matter, from portraits and self-portraits to landscapes, genre scenes, allegorical and historical scenes, biblical and mythological themes and animal studies. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.

Rembrandt never went abroad but was considerably influenced by the work of the Italian Old Masters and Dutch and Flemish artists who had studied in Italy. After he achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt's later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high,[4] and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters.[5] Rembrandt's portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible are regarded as his greatest creative triumphs. His approximately 40 self-portraits form an intimate autobiography.[3][6]

  1. ^ a b Or possibly 1607 as on 10 June 1634 he himself claimed to be 26 years old. See Is the Rembrandt Year being celebrated one year too soon? One year too late? Archived 21 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine and (in Dutch) J. de Jong, Rembrandts geboortejaar een jaar te vroeg gevierd Archived 18 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine for sources concerning Rembrandt's birth year, especially supporting 1607. However, most sources continue to use 1606.
  2. ^ "Rembrandt" Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
  3. ^ a b Gombrich, p. 420.
  4. ^ Gombrich, p. 427.
  5. ^ Clark 1969, p. 203
  6. ^ W. Liedtke (2007) Dutch painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 687