Rembrandt van Rijn: Life, Career, and Artistic Legacy

Introduction

Some artists are known by only one name, and Rembrandt is one of them. The Dutch master's body of work is extraordinary, encompassing etchings, self-portraits, commissioned portraits for wealthy patrons, and grand-scale religious and historical allegories. Rembrandt's legacy is visible in the work of all subsequent artists in the Netherlands and throughout Central Europe. His painting style was characterized in part by his use of light and chiaroscuro, which produced an almost photographic sense of realistic illumination.

Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn enjoyed fame and fortune throughout his career, which was distinguished by his commitment to a realistic rendition of light and shadow.

Artist's Background

On July 15, 1606, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in Leiden, in the Netherlands. He was the ninth of ten children; his father was a textile miller. Rembrandt attended Latin school and the University of Leiden, but dropped out to study art full time between 1620 and about 1625. He studied under two teachers: Leiden-based Jacob van Swanenburgh, who taught Rembrandt his basic skills as well as how to "paint fire and the way its light reflects on surrounding objects" ("Rembrandt: Biography"), and Pieter Lastman, a famous and well-respected Amsterdam-based artist who specialized in historical and Biblical depictions.

In 1625, Rembrandt returned to Leiden. After only six months under Lastman's tutelage and at only 22 years of age, he had developed significant skills — enough to begin teaching art as well as producing it. One of his early Leiden studio students, Gerrit Dou, went on to have a notable career of his own. Rembrandt established a studio in Leiden but returned to Amsterdam in 1631, where he would remain until his death in 1669.

In 1634, Rembrandt married Saskia van Uylenburgh, the niece of his business partner. A year later the couple moved into their first home, and by 1639, with his art business well established in Amsterdam, Rembrandt purchased a larger and more prominent family house on Sint-Antonisbreestraat near the Jodenbreestraat, where he also set up a studio. Rembrandt and Saskia had four children together, but three died in infancy. In 1642, Saskia died as well, leaving Rembrandt with one surviving son, Titus. Rembrandt later became involved with one of his maids, Hendrickje Stoffels, with whom he had a daughter named Cornelia in 1654. By 1660, Rembrandt could no longer afford the large family home and moved to a smaller residence in the artists' community of the Jordaan. He outlived not only Saskia, but also Hendrickje and Titus.

Part of the reason for Rembrandt's inability to remain in the family home was his mismanagement of his considerable earnings. Although an astute self-promoter who continually marketed his work through fluctuating market conditions, Rembrandt also had a "penchant for ostentatious living" and made a series of poor investments that "forced him to declare bankruptcy in 1656" ("Rembrandt van Rijn: Biography and Chronology").

Career

By 1626, Rembrandt had begun producing etchings. Over the course of his career he would make more than 300, even though etching is "not a natural counterpart to painting" (van de Wetering). His collection of etchings proved crucial to spreading his name and fame, as he "endowed them with a painterly quality achieved through suggestive handling of light and dark" ("Rembrandt: Biography"). According to van de Wetering, Rembrandt's skill in etching was entirely "self-taught."

The paintings Rembrandt produced in his Leiden studio were small in scale but "rich in detail," with religious and historical motifs ("Rembrandt: Biography"). Also during his Leiden years, he produced works rich in chiaroscuro, including Peter and Paul Disputing (1628), Judas Repentant (1629), and Returning the Pieces of Silver (1629). In 1629, a politician named Constantijn Huygens discovered Rembrandt's work and began bringing the artist numerous lucrative commissions from politicians and their families in The Hague ("Rembrandt: The Complete Works"). These connections helped solidify his reputation as a portrait painter.

With the foundation of his career established in Leiden, Rembrandt moved to develop a stronger business model. Around 1631, he partnered with Amsterdam-based art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh in a "joint business venture" that filled a growing niche in the Dutch market for portraits and history paintings, particularly those rendered by Dutch artists (The J. Paul Getty Museum). The partnership thrived: "Rembrandt immediately became the most prominent painter of portraits, introducing greater subtlety, presence and animation to the genre, as well as innovative group portraits" (The J. Paul Getty Museum).

After settling in Amsterdam, Rembrandt joined the Amsterdam painters' guild and became an active member of the artistic community. He continued teaching throughout this period, with students at the van Uylenburgh studio including Jacob Backer, Govaert Flinck, and Ferdinand Bol. Over the course of his career, Rembrandt is thought to have taught approximately fifty pupils ("Rembrandt: Biography"). This phase of his established career is known as the First Amsterdam Period.

Unlike the smaller canvases of his Leiden years, his Amsterdam paintings grew in size and ambition. He delved more deeply into religious imagery: in 1636, he painted The Blinding of Samson as well as Danae, both of which feature rich chiaroscuro alongside references to mythology and ancient religion. During this period his business acumen also fully blossomed. He "successfully controlled the availability of his own etched and engraved works, actively working to create market demand for them" (The J. Paul Getty Museum).

It was not chiaroscuro alone that set Rembrandt's work apart. His portraits were far "livelier" than those of his contemporaries, and he employed a distinctive technique of minimizing peripheral detail so that the viewer's eye was drawn "primarily to the face" (van de Wetering). His fame in portraiture was also due in part to his skill in rendering human skin with striking realism (van de Wetering). Some contemporaries nonetheless criticized his ability to capture consistent likeness, noting that his self-portraits "contained noticeable physiognomic differences from one image to the next" ("Rembrandt: Biography"). Whatever idiosyncrasies viewers detected did not diminish the popularity of his portraits or his broader reputation. You can explore many of these works through the J. Paul Getty Museum's Rembrandt collection pages.

According to the J. Paul Getty Museum, "by the late 1640s, declining portrait commissions and disastrous speculative investments created financial strain on the artist." Forced to liquidate nearly all his assets and declare bankruptcy, Rembrandt returned to core religious imagery in his work. "In his later years, Rembrandt created works of great psychological complexity and monumentality" (J. Paul Getty Museum).

Conclusion

Rembrandt's painting style left an indelible mark on art history, particularly in the areas of etching, portraiture, history painting, and religious allegory. His work is dramatic and timeless, most especially his portraits. Rembrandt's output is instantly recognizable — from the heavy brushstrokes and intensity in his subjects' eyes to the distinctive color palette he employed throughout his career — and it remains a touchstone of Dutch and European art to this day.

Works Cited

Darwent, Charles. "Violence, Loathing, Beauty, Pain." The Independent.

The J. Paul Getty Museum. "Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn."

"Rembrandt: Biography." Biography.com.

"Rembrandt: The Complete Works." Rembrandtonline.org.

"Rembrandt van Rijn: Biography and Chronology." Rembrandtpainting.net.

Van de Wetering, Ernest. "Rembrandt van Rijn." Encyclopædia Britannica, britannica.com.