Rembrandt interesting facts. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn - Biography and Paintings
Name: Rembrandt (Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn)
Age: 63 years old
Activity: artist, engraver, largest representative golden age of Dutch painting
Family status: widower
Rembrandt: biography
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn - famous painter, etcher and draftsman of the "Golden Age". Universal recognition and fame, a sharp decline and poverty - this is how the biography of the great genius of art can be characterized. Rembrandt sought to convey the soul of a person through portraits; rumors and conjectures still circulate about many of the artist’s works, shrouded in mystery.
The beginning of the 17th century was calm for the Dutch state, which gained independence as a republic at the time of the revolution. The country developed industrial production, Agriculture and trade.
IN ancient city Leidin, located in the province of South Holland, Rembrandt, who was born on July 15, 1607, spent his childhood in a house on the Wedeshteg.
The boy grew up in a large family, in which he was the sixth child. The father of the future artist Harmen van Rijn was a wealthy man who owned a mill and a malt house. Among other things, Van Rein had two more houses in his property, and he also received a significant dowry from his wife Cornelia Neltier, so big family lived in abundance. The mother of the future artist was the daughter of a baker and was versed in cooking, so the family table abounded with delicious dishes.
Despite their wealth, the Harmen family lived modestly, observing strict Catholic rules. The artist's parents, even after the Dutch Revolution, did not change their attitude to faith.
Self-portrait of Rembrandt at 23 Rembrandt was kind to his mother throughout his life. This is expressed in a portrait painted in 1639, which depicts a wise old woman with a kind and slightly sad look.
The family was alien to social events and luxurious life wealthy people. It is reasonable to assume that in the evenings the van Rijns gathered at the table and read books and the Bible: this was what most Dutch citizens did during the Golden Age.
The windmill owned by Harmen was located on the banks of the Rhine: before the boy's eyes opened beautiful landscape the azure river, which is illuminated by the rays of the sun, making their way through the small window of the building and passing through the mists of flour dust. Perhaps, due to childhood memories, the future artist learned to skillfully master colors, light and shadow.
As a child, Rembrandt grew up as an observant boy. The vastness of the streets of Leidin provided sources of inspiration: in the trading markets you could meet dissimilar people different nationalities and learn to sketch their faces on paper.
Initially, the boy went to a Latin school, but he was not interested in studying. Young Rembrandt did not like the exact sciences, preferring drawing.
The childhood of the future artist was happy, as the parents saw their son's hobbies, and when the boy was 13 years old, he was sent to study with the Dutch artist Jacob van Swanenburg. Little is known from the biography of Rembrandt's first teacher; the representative of late Mannerism did not have a huge artistic heritage, which is why it is almost impossible to trace the influence of Jacob on the formation of the development of Rembrandt's style.
In 1623, the young man went to the capital, where the painter Peter Lastman became his second teacher, who taught Rembrandt painting and engraving for six months.
Painting
Training with a mentor was successful, impressed by the paintings of Lastman, the young man quickly mastered the technique of drawing. Bright and saturated colors, the play of shadows and light, as well as scrupulous elaboration of even the most small parts flora - that's what Peter gave to the eminent student.
In 1627 Rembrandt returned from Amsterdam to hometown. Confident in his abilities, the artist, together with his friend Jan Lievens, opens his own school of painting, which in a short time gained popularity among the Dutch. Lievens and Rembrandt were on a par with each other, sometimes young people carefully worked on one canvas, putting part of their own style into the drawing.
The twenty-year-old young artist managed to gain fame due to his detailed early work, which include:
- "The Stoning of the Holy Apostle Stephen" (1625),
- "Palamedea before Agamemnon" (1626),
- "David with the Head of Goliath" (1627),
- "The Abduction of Europe" (1632),
The young man continues to draw inspiration from the streets of the city, walking through the squares in order to meet a random passerby and capture his portrait with a chisel on a wooden board. Rembrandt also makes a series of engravings with self-portraits and portraits of numerous relatives.
Thanks to the talent of a young painter, Rembrandt was noticed by the poet Konstantin Heygens, who admired the canvases of van Rijn and Lievens, calling them promising artists. “Judas returns thirty pieces of silver,” written by a Dutchman in 1629, he compares with the famous canvases of Italian masters, but finds flaws in the drawing. Thanks to the connections of Constantine, Rembrandt soon acquires rich art admirers: because of the mediation of Haygens, the Prince of Orange commissions several religious works from the artist, such as Before Pilate (1636).
The real success for the artist comes in Amsterdam. June 8, 1633 Rembrandt meets the daughter of a wealthy burgher Saskia van Uylenbürch and wins a strong position in society. The artist painted most of the canvases while in the capital of the Netherlands.
Rembrandt is inspired by the beauty of his beloved, so he often paints her portraits. Three days after the wedding, van Rijn painted a woman with a wide-brimmed hat in silver pencil. Saskia appeared in the paintings of the Dutchman in a cozy home environment. The image of this plump-cheeked woman appears on many canvases, for example, the mysterious girl in the painting “ The night Watch"Strongly resembles the artist's beloved.
In 1632, Rembrandt was glorified by the painting "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp". The fact is that van Rijn departed from the canons of standard group portraits, which were depicted with faces turned towards the viewer. Extremely realistic portraits doctor and his students made the artist famous.
Written in 1635 famous painting based on the biblical story "The Sacrifice of Abraham", which was appreciated in secular society.
In 1642, van Rijn received a commission 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, researchers came to the conclusion that the action unfolding on the canvas takes place in the daytime.
Rembrandt thoroughly depicted every detail of the musketeers on the move: as if at a certain moment time stopped when the militia left the dark courtyard so that van Rijn captured them on the canvas.
The customers did not like that the Dutch painter departed from the canons that developed in the 17th century. Then group portraits were ceremonial, and the participants were portrayed full face without any static.
According to scientists, this painting was the reason for the bankruptcy of the artist in 1653, as it scared off potential customers.
Technique and paintings
Rembrandt believed that the true goal of the artist is to study nature, so all the paintings of the painter turned out to be too photographic: the Dutchman tried to convey every emotion of the depicted person.
Like many talented masters of the Golden Age era, Rembrandt has religious motifs. On the canvases of van Rijn, not just captured faces are drawn, but entire plots with their own history.
In the painting “The Holy Family”, which was painted in 1645, the faces of the characters are natural, the Dutchman seems to want to transfer the audience to the cozy atmosphere of a simple peasant family with the help of a brush and paints. On the works of van Rijn, one cannot trace a certain pomposity. said that Rembrandt painted the Madonna in the form of a Dutch peasant woman. Indeed, throughout his life, the artist drew inspiration from the people around him, it is possible that on the canvas a woman, copied from a maid, is lulling a baby to sleep.
Rembrandt's The Holy Family, 1646 Like many artists, Rembrandt is full of mysteries: after the death of the creator, researchers pondered for a long time about the secrets of his paintings.
For example, on the painting "Danae" (or "Aegina") van Rijn worked for 11 years, starting in 1636. The canvas depicts a young maiden after awakening from sleep. The plot is based on ancient Greek myth about Danae, daughter of the king of Argos and mother of Perseus.
The researchers of the canvas did not understand why the naked maiden did not look like Saskia. However, after the x-ray, it became clear that Danae was originally painted in the image of Eilenbürch, but after the death of his wife, van Rijn returned to the picture and changed Danae's facial features.
Also among art critics there were disputes about the heroine depicted on the canvas. Rembrandt did not sign the title of the painting, and the interpretation of the plot was hampered by the absence of a golden rain, according to legend, in the form of which Zeus appeared to Danae. Scientists were also concerned wedding ring on the girl's ring finger, which was not consistent with ancient Greek mythology. Rembrandt's masterpiece Danae is in Russian museum Hermitage.
"Jewish bride" (1665) - another mysterious picture van Rijn. This name was given to the canvas at the beginning of the 19th century, but it is still unknown who is depicted on the canvas, because a young girl and a man are dressed in ancient costumes reminiscent of biblical clothes. Also popular is the painting "Return prodigal son"(1669), which was created for 6 years.
Fragment of Rembrandt's "The Return of the Prodigal Son" If we talk about the style of writing paintings by Rembrandt, then the artist used a minimum of colors, while managing to make the paintings “alive”, thanks to the play of light and shadows.
Van Rijn also successfully manages to depict facial expressions: all the people on the canvases of the great painter seem to be alive. For example, in the portrait of an old man - Rembrandt's father (1639), every wrinkle is visible, as well as a wise and sad look.
Personal life
In 1642, Saskia died of tuberculosis, the beloved had a son, Titus (three other children died in infancy), with whom Rembrandt supported friendly relations. At the end of 1642, the artist meets with a young special Gertier Dirks. Saskia's parents were upset by the way the widower handled his dowry while living in luxury. Dirks later sues his lover for breaking his promise to marry her. From the second woman, the artist had a daughter, Cornelia.
Painting by Rembrandt "Saskia in the image of the goddess Flora" In 1656, due to financial difficulties, Rembrandt declared himself bankrupt and left for a secluded house on the outskirts of the capital.
Van Rijn's life did not go on growing, but on the contrary, went into decline: a happy childhood, wealth and recognition were replaced by departed customers and a beggarly old age. The mood of the artist can be traced on his canvases. So, living with Saskia, he paints joyful and sunny pictures, for example, “Self-portrait with Saskia on his knees” (1635). On the canvas, van Rijn laughs with sincere laughter, and a radiant light illuminates the room.
If earlier the artist's paintings were detailed, then at the stage late creativity Rembrandt uses broad strokes, and the sun's rays are replaced by darkness.
The painting "The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis", written in 1661, was not paid for by the customers, because the faces of the participants in the conspiracy were not scrupulously worked out, unlike van Rijn's previous works.
Painting by Rembrandt "Portrait of the son of Titus" Shortly before his death, living in poverty, in 1665 Rembrandt painted a self-portrait in the image of Zeuxis. Zeukis is an ancient Greek painter who died an ironic death: the artist was amused by the portrait of Aphrodite he painted in the form of an old woman, and he died of laughter. In the portrait, Rembrandt laughs, the artist did not hesitate to put a share of black humor into the canvas.
Death
Rembrandt interred his son Titus, who died of the plague, in 1668. This sad event sharply worsened the state of mind of the artist. Van Rijn died on 4 October 1669 and was buried in the Netherlandish Westerkerk church in Amsterdam.
Statue of Rembrandt at Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam During his lifetime, the artist painted about 350 canvases and 100 drawings. It took mankind two centuries to appreciate this great artist.
Harmensz van Rijn Rembrandt created many masterpiece paintings, one of them is The Night Watch. Now this famous picture kept in Amsterdam. Only a few people know that this picture has a completely different name: "Speech of the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenbürg." The painting was painted in 1642. It was commissioned to Rembrandt by a detachment of the civilian militia of the Netherlands, who wanted to hang the painting in the main hall of the Shooting Society. Eighteen people acted as customers. The amount of the fee was divided between them. As a rule, when writing ceremonial portraits, only customers were depicted on them. When writing a picture, Rembrandt departed from the recognized canons several times. For example, instead of the prescribed eighteen people, he depicted thirty-four. The resulting picture did not suit the customers. After all, many were in the background, and some were generally impossible to recognize. For this reason, they did not want to give the money due to the artist for a long time, but, in the end, he was paid 1600 florins. True, the picture was never hung in the front hall of the new building, but was assigned to another place. The painting had to be cut to fit in another room. Parts of the picture were cut off from above and to the left, where two more arrows were depicted.
Rembrandt's style of painting is characterized by the play of light and shadow. This composition is also built on contrasts. From the dark courtyard, the soldiers of the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Cock were to go out under flying flags into the square, flooded with sunshine. However, when the painting was discovered in the nineteenth century, it was in very poor condition. It was covered with a thick layer of old varnish and soot, which appeared after the picture hung in various rooms of the Shooting Society. As a result, the researchers decided that the action of this picture takes place at night, and gave the canvas the name "Night Watch". The restoration of the painting was carried out in 1947, and then the error was discovered. But this work Rembrandt has already entered art under a new name, so now the canvas is known under two names.
Rembrandt violates the canons of painting once again when he creates a canvas saturated with movement from a static front portrait. In the picture, everything is in motion: Captain Frans Banning Cock gives the order to the lieutenant and accompanies him with a wave of his hand; the ensign begins to unfold the marching banner; the drummer knocks out a fraction, for which the dog begins to pounce on him, a little boy runs away. The people in the background are also in motion.
The picture contains many mysteries over which researchers are still puzzled. Rembrandt depicted an extra 16 people, but who some of them remain a mystery. There are two bright spots on the canvas: the figure of Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenbürg and a girl in a golden dress. Many researchers suggest that she is the mascot of the detachment, because her figure is surrounded by numerous signs of musketeers. The musketeer next to her has oak leaves on his helmet. The girl herself has a pistol and a chicken attached to her belt (although earlier the paws of birds of prey, such as hawks or falcons, were the emblem of the shooters - another mystery!). In her left hand she holds a wine horn. Another mystery: Captain Frans Banning Cock makes a wave with his left hand without a glove, while he holds the removed glove in his right hand. The question arises only when, upon closer examination, it turns out that the glove in the hand is right ...
When the researchers took an x-ray, it turned out that the figure of Lieutenant Willem van Reutenburg was remade most of all on the canvas. Rembrandt could not choose the direction in which the lieutenant's halberd would point.
Above the figures of the captain and lieutenant, Jan Okkersen is depicted in a top hat. Many researchers agree that Rembrandt painted himself behind his right shoulder.
The canvas makes a different impression on all people. But, nevertheless, this work of Rembrandt was tried to be destroyed three times already. A piece of hosta was cut out of it, more than ten stabs were inflicted, and even doused with sulfuric acid. Now the canvas "Night Watch" can be seen by everyone in the State Museum in Amsterdam. Art connoisseurs who want to see the painting in its original form can visit the London National Gallery, which houses a copy of the canvas made by Gerrit Lundens in the seventeenth century.
Biography of Rembrandt tragic. Khu-dozh-nik was dying in poverty, but before that he had lost all his relatives. His paintings during his lifetime were not valued, and his students betrayed him in the most difficult period. But the trials did not break the great painter, the strength of his spirit was so great that he could also over his own sorrows, and even over my own death.
Age of Rembrandt
In the seventeenth century Holland was one of the richest countries in Europe. Goods flocked to Amsterdam from all over the world. Bankers and merchants wanted to see works that would reflect their life as truthfully as possible. Under such conditions, painting was the most popular and developed form of art. Every self-respecting Dutchman believed that the picture must certainly be present in his home. And it was in such conditions that the creative biography of Rembrandt took shape.
Dutch artists
Some masters painted pictures, others - still lifes, the third ones were wonderfully given genre scenes. The fourth preferred to portray nature. However, they all sought to depict reality truthfully and without embellishment. But, no matter how great the skill of the Dutch painters was, Rembrandt surpassed everyone.
Such people are born once in a century, or even less often. Simplicity and humanity lived in his skill, but in himself - a whole universe. Like no one else, Rembrandt was able to know the inner world of a person and his complex emotional experiences. A brief biography of this master is set out today in various sources, and after reading it, one wonders how this man could create his canvases when need forced them to give them for nothing, and his fellow writers contemptuously called him a "heretic in painting." Indeed, a true artist creates even when stones are thrown at him.
lonely painter
He was never surrounded by admirers. Not a single poet sang it during his lifetime. This painter was not invited to official celebrations, and on the days of grandiose festivities, he was also forgotten about. However, he was not upset. Rembrandt's usual favorite company consisted of shopkeepers, philistines, peasants and artisans. The common people were extremely close to him. The artist's favorite place was one of the port taverns, where sailors, itinerant actors and petty thieves scurried around. There he would sit for hours, observing and making sketches. In the world of art, which is nothing but a special reflection of reality, which can only be seen by the elect, Rembrandt spent his whole life. Biography, summary which represents only the most significant facts from life, is set out below. However, in order to feel the incredible skill of this brilliant personality, you need to see the works. After all, the life of the artist is conveyed in his paintings.
Birth of a genius
In 1606, a son was born into the family of a wealthy Dutch miller named Harmens, who became the sixth child. They called him Rembrandt. The mill was located near the city of the Rhine, and therefore Van Rhine was added to the name of all family members. Full name one of the greatest figures in world painting - Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn.
A brief biography of this person can be described in just a few words: continuous work and constant creative search. Perhaps it was talent that saved him. There were so many losses and disappointments in the life of the artist that, perhaps, only art could get rid of despair. But before moving on to tragic events in his life, a few words should be said about that time, which was distinguished by cloudlessness and unprecedented success in creativity. It is worth paying tribute to the fate of the great master. Rembrandt van Rijn was not always lonely and unhappy.
short biography
As a child, Rembrandt studied Latin and other important sciences. Parents did not skimp on the education of their beloved son, because they dreamed that he would become an official or a famous scientist. However, the craving for drawing, which in early years appeared in cute drawings, later, already in adolescence, she brought Rembrandt to the workshop of one of the local painters. There he studied for only six months, and then opened his own.
Rembrandt's teachers were contemporaries and artists of the past. He mastered the technique of painting and engraving, studied the art of Italy from copies. One of the first paintings is "Tulpa Anatomy Lesson". We can say that it was from this canvas that Rembrandt the artist began his independent creative path. His biography says that the first few years after graduating from painting in his life were only joyful events.
Saxia
At twenty-five, the artist moved to the capital, and three years later he married the daughter of the burgomaster. The girl's name was Saxia. And she became the main muse of the master. The image of his wife is immortalized by the famous portrait painter with extraordinary tenderness.
Family happiness coincided with a creative take-off - Rembrandt began to receive highly paid orders from wealthy people. At the same time, he had many students. The artist was finally able to purchase his own house. short biography which is described in the article, not only wrote a lot, but also revered the talent of other masters. He was a collector, collecting authentic shells, vases and antique busts. In his new house there was enough space for a workshop, for living rooms, and for a special room where the works of Raphael, Dürer and Mantegna were kept.
So began his Rembrandt, whose brief biography includes only one small period of recognition and success, namely, the 30s. During this time, the artist painted more than sixty portraits. The most famous of them is "Danae". During the period of work on this picture, the painter was at the zenith of fame.
But suddenly everything changed: three children died, his beloved wife died. Soon he lost his mother and sisters. Rembrandt was left alone with his young son. Life gave a crack that did not last until the end of his days.
Poverty
In the 50s, orders became less and less. Wealthy people no longer needed his portraits. Paintings were not required in churches either. This was explained by the fact that Protestantism nevertheless won in Holland, whose representatives looked very negatively at the use of religious motifs in the visual arts.
In addition, outstanding debts made themselves felt. Rembrandt was officially sued. He was declared insolvent, and all the property was sold. But even after that, not all creditors were satisfied, and the court ruled that the paintings that would be created in the future should also go to pay off the remaining debts. All this meant an absolutely beggarly existence.
The painter, who in the past knew fame and fortune, by the age of fifty turned into a lonely, forgotten poor man. Although he still wrote a lot, all his canvases were immediately taken away by creditors. The consolation was the second wife, with whom Rembrandt was only in a civil marriage, which was very disapprovingly perceived by society. However, marrying this woman for him meant the loss of custody of his son.
Thus began a new difficult period, which Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn nevertheless endured with unusual courage. From that moment on, the artist's biography consists more of sorrows, and even if there were moments of enlightenment, it was not for long, and then some tragedy happened again.
Hendrickje
The image of the second wife is also captured on the canvases of the famous painter. She was inferior to the first in youth and beauty, but the artist looked at her with eyes of love and portrayed her with great warmth. But the church condemned his way of life, and the daughter given to Rembrandt by his second wife was declared illegitimate. The plight led to the fact that the painter's family was forced to move to one of the poorest quarters of Amsterdam.
Rembrandt, whose biography contains many sad facts, knew true love. And Hendrickje was not only caring and loving wife, but also distinguished by extraordinary kindness. This woman was able to replace the mother of Rembrandt's son from his first marriage.
At the same time managed to improve the financial situation. In this, the artist was helped by his son, who, together with his stepmother, opened an antique shop. But fate continued to test the artist. In 1663 he lost his beloved Hendrickje Rembrandt.
The biography and books devoted to the biography of the great master tell that there was another muse in his life. This woman was much younger than Rembrandt, but the unfortunate artist survived her.
The son died five years after the death of Hendrickje. Only his daughter remained with Rembrandt, who at that time was fourteen. But, in spite of everything, the painter did not stop there and did not give up. He also continued to paint pictures, cut engravings...
In 1669 great painter died in the arms of his daughter. He left quietly and imperceptibly. And his talent was appreciated only after his death.
Creation
Biography of Rembrandt - the biography of the martyr. His work is the pinnacle. This master, however, was extremely lonely among his fellow artists. His contemporaries did not recognize him. But the art of the Baroque, and above all the work of Michelangelo, had a huge influence on the work of the Dutch painter.
The artist painted what he saw with his own eyes in real life. Rembrandt's biography says that his life developed in such a way that he had the opportunity to see the world without embellishment. He transferred the sad experience of contemplation to the canvas. But the way he did it was unusually poetic. On the canvases of Van Rijn, twilight always reigns. Gentle golden light highlights the figures from it.
Biblical motives
An important place in creativity Dutch artist occupied by religion. It was here that he showed the originality of his skill. The main source of inspiration throughout creative way for Rembrandt there were biblical subjects. Even when paintings on religious themes were no longer in demand, he painted them for himself, because he felt an irresistible need for this. In the canvases dedicated to this topic, he put his soul, his prayer, as well as a deep reading of the Gospel.
The latest works of the artist are amazing. And the first thing that catches your eye is the refinement of style, the depth of penetration into the inner world of artistic images. Biography of Rembrandt and his paintings seem to have no connection. The images on the canvases are so peaceful that it does not fit in with the difficult tragic fate of the author.
New genre
IN last years the artist often painted self-portraits. When looking at them, one gets the impression that Rembrandt was trying to unravel own life. Looking into them, as into a mirror, he sought to know his fate and the plan of God, which so bizarrely led him through life. His self-portraits were not only the pinnacle of creativity. There is nothing like it in world art. These canvases have no analogues in the history of portraiture.
The last self-portraits show a man with a spiritual face, who heroically endures difficult trials and overcomes the bitterness of loss. Rembrandt is the founder of a peculiar kind. Such paintings convey not only the appearance, but also the fate of a person, his inner world.
The biography and work of Rembrandt in the fifties are marked primarily by outstanding achievements in writing a portrait. During this period, his works were distinguished, as a rule, by their impressive size, monumentality of forms and calm, peaceful poses. The sitters often sat in pompous deep armchairs with their hands folded on their knees and their faces turned to the viewer. One of the characteristic features of the great portrait painter is the highlighting of the face and hands with light.
As a rule, the sitters were middle-aged people, wise by hard life experience - old men and women with sad thoughts on their faces and overwork on their hands. Such models provided the artist with the opportunity to brilliantly demonstrate not only the external signs of old age, but also the inner world of a person. In the unusually soulful portraits of the great Rembrandt, one can feel the life lived by a person after a long study. When the master depicted relatives, friends, unfamiliar old people, city beggars, he could convey with amazing vigilance slightly perceptible spiritual movements, a lively trembling in his face, and even a change of mood.
The legacy of this master is enormous. Rembrandt was distinguished by his incredible capacity for work: he created more than two hundred and fifty paintings, three hundred engravings and thousands of drawings. The great master died in poverty. And only after death, the canvases created by Rembrandt began to be valued dearly.
A brief biography and work of the Dutch painter is presented in this article. But this gives a very superficial understanding of the difficult path of a genius who played an outstanding role in the development of world fine arts. Today, the master's canvases are in many museums around the world and are included in private collections.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, the great Dutch painter and etcher.
Born in Leiden to a miller's family. The father's affairs during this period were going well, and he was able to give his son a better education than other children. Rembrandt entered the Latin school. He studied poorly and wanted to paint. Nevertheless, he finished school and entered Leiden University. A year later, he began taking painting lessons. His first teacher was J. van Swanenburg. After staying in his studio for more than three years, Rembrandt went to Amsterdam to the historical painter P. Lastman. He had a strong influence on Rembrandt and taught him the art of engraving. Six months later (1623) Rembrandt returned to Leiden and opened his own workshop.
Holland in early XVII century, freed from Spanish rule, experienced a social upsurge. Here, under the republican form of government, there was relative freedom of views. Dutch art of that time was imbued with democratic tendencies, most fully expressed in domestic genre. In this atmosphere, the artist's work became unusually relevant. By 1628, Rembrandt was already an established artist and had students. He created many paintings: these are portraits of the family, and commissioned works, and scenes from the biblical story - “David and Saul” (c. 1630), “Caesar's Denarius” (1629).
At the end of 1631 Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam. Surprisingly quickly gained popularity, received numerous orders for portraits. He continued to improve by drawing from life and engraving interesting types. At this time of his life, he wrote The Anatomy Lesson (1632. The Hague).
In business matters, Rembrandt was assisted by the art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh, whose niece the artist married in 1634. Among the paintings of this period, the famous Danae (1636) stands out. By the end of the 1630s, landscape works of the artist belong.
The decade from 1632 to 1642 is, in the full sense of the word, a happy period in Rembrandt's life. The young master is accompanied by fame and fortune. He is overwhelmed with orders, students flock to the workshop. Rembrandt's personal life also develops very happily thanks to his marriage to a wealthy orphan, the daughter of the recently deceased burgomaster of Leuwarden, Saskia van Uylenburgh. Prosperity and joy enter the house with the young wife. The joyful mood that dominates the artist finds expression in a number of his paintings, especially in "Self-portrait with Saskia" (Dresden, Art Gallery). Holding his young wife on his knees, the artist, as it were, addresses the audience, inviting them to take part in his joy. Brilliantly executed portraits, elegant costumes and roundabouts emphasize the festive character of the scene. Other portraits of Saskia, in which the artist does not get tired of repeating the facial features of his young wife, dressing her in rich fantastic clothes or presenting her as a goddess of flowers (see "Flora"), testify to the unbridled thirst for beauty and happiness that possessed him in those years. Particular interest in the external characteristics of the image is also reflected in the manner of performance. With great attention and care, the artist writes rich fabrics, magnificent clothes and jewelry that adorn a young woman. Luxury environment, which serves as a rich frame for her pretty face, is conveyed with the use of all the richness of the colors of the palette, characteristic of early things.
The same desire for splendor and brilliance is manifested in many of the artist's self-portraits. Rembrandt now often depicts himself in smart clothes and, somewhat ennobling facial features, gives his appearance known representativeness.
Imitating the representatives of a respectable society, Rembrandt took up collecting works of art. This gave rise to his wife's relatives (two of Saskia's brothers were lawyers) to initiate proceedings against him, accusing him of embezzling Saskia's inheritance. However, at that time, Rembrandt received very high fees and could afford a lot. So in 1639 he bought himself a luxurious house in a wealthy area. A certain milestone in Rembrandt's work is marked by the failure of the large commissioned painting The Night Watch (1642).
The creative aspirations of Rembrandt and his evolution during the thirties lead the artist to solve the problem that confronted him when he received an order for a group portrait of the Amsterdam shooters, intended to decorate the hall of their meetings. This colossal painting (3.59 X 4.38 m) was, as it were, the final chord of the artist’s previous development, the highest peak achieved by the art of his time in creating a historical composition. She has far outgrown the limits of the usual portrait; Rembrandt gave a fundamentally new solution to a theme that had almost a century of tradition behind it.
group portrait, in which the corporate spirit of the Dutch was clearly manifested, arose as early as the 16th century, but developed especially after gaining independence. The creation of such images, which in the Northern Netherlands replaced decorative wall painting, required overcoming great difficulties. They were not supposed to turn into everyday scenes, but at the same time it was necessary to achieve the unification of the portrayed people into a single group. In the course of almost a century of development of this most national of the genres of Dutch painting, two different types of such images gradually developed. One - highlighting the festive side of the transmitted scene; the artists united the shooters around the banquet table. The appeal of a number of participants towards the viewer was supposed to emphasize the portrait nature of the picture. Such lively scenes of feasting by members of shooting societies were extremely common in Haarlem. They found their best artistic embodiment in the paintings of Frans Hals. Another type of group portrait was that to which the painters of Amsterdam came. They proceeded mainly from the desire to show the business connection between the members of the corporation, their combat readiness. Cornelis Ketel in the 16th century, Thomas de Keyser in the 17th century created a solemn, somewhat frozen group portrait of shooters with a captain, a lieutenant, a standard-bearer highlighted in the center and other members of the guild symmetrically located on their sides. All of them were equally turned towards the viewer, which is why the picture gave the impression of juxtaposing a number of individual portraits in one composition.
Rembrandt could not be satisfied with such a solution to the problem. He built his picture based on the desire to connect people in a single action, inspired by a common idea for all. A mass scene is given, where for the first time in painting the power of human unity received a vivid expression. In this fundamentally new look at the problem of a group portrait, there is a huge revolutionary significance"Night watch". The painting embodied the heroic spirit of the Dutch people at a decisive moment in their history.
The question of whether the painting was commissioned to commemorate the solemn meeting of Marie de Medici during her visit to Amsterdam in 1636 or, as some scholars suggest, was an illustration of the tragedy of the poet Vondel "Geisbrecht van Amstel" has not yet been finally resolved.
However, the basic character of the scene is clear to everyone looking at this colossal picture. The battle signal sounded. Led by a captain and a lieutenant, the archers line up from under the dark archway of the gate. Drum rolls rumble, guns are loaded, banners are raised. The impulse that has gripped everyone is translated in different ways in a large mass of people. The artist united everyone in a common action, showing at the same time individual versions of a single theme. Stepping beyond the usual group portrait, Rembrandt gave an action full of dynamics and tension. The pathos of the revolutionary years found its artistic embodiment in this image of the performance of the shooters, inspired by a common goal.
In later times, the canvas was cut off on all sides, and the left part suffered mainly, where the picture lost several figures, as well as the top, where the completion of the arch is now not visible. The composition was broken. A copy made in the 17th century better shows the original intention of the artist. The figures of the captain and lieutenant, now occupying a central position, were initially slightly shifted to the right. The composition seemed more balanced, thanks to the side figures brought to the fore, and at the same time more dynamic due to the strongly pronounced forward movement of the central group.
Representatives of the guild of shooters, who posed simply for a group portrait, seemed strange to the artist's attempt to turn a group portrait into a genre painting. However, latest research say there was no conflict. On the contrary, 18 customers paid the artist 1600 guilders - the amount that a well-known university professor received per year.
Saskia dies in 1642. Of the four children from this marriage, only the son Titus survived the mother. At the end of the same year, Rembrandt took into the house a housekeeper - a young widow Gertje Dirks. In 1642-49 he wrote few commissioned works; images are mostly dedicated to topics common man. He wrote The Holy Family several times. In 1646 he again returned to the painting "Danae", for which Saskia posed for him. The figure of Saskia in the painting was recorded as the figure of Gertje Dirks. In 1649 she left the house and was replaced by Hendrik Jegers, nicknamed Stoffels. Dirks accused the artist of breaking her promise to marry, but thanks to the efforts of Rembrandt, the court sentenced her to prison. Hendricke and Rembrandt had a daughter, Cornelia.
In 1653, after the defeat of Holland in the Anglo-Dutch naval war, an economic crisis began in the country. Orders from the burghers became rare, the number of students decreased, and the artist still had an unpaid debt for buying a house. Rembrandt declared himself insolvent and requested that his fortune be transferred to creditors. Thus, he avoided bankruptcy and debtor's prison. In December of that year, Titus and Hendricke founded an art sales company. They hired Rembrandt as an "adviser". This was a legal ploy that managed to circumvent the ruling of the Guild of St. Luke that a bankrupt artist cannot work in the city and receive income from it.
The works of the 50s “Bathsheba (1654), “Aristotle” (1653), the engravings “The Sacrifice of Abraham” (1655) and “The Denial of the Apostle Peter” (1660) demonstrate a weak man, entangled in contradictions, lost, but called to love, greatness and strength. Despite the difficulties, the artist worked hard, but the tastes of the public have changed. Rembrandt's wide, luscious writing under mysterious hidden lighting no longer suited art lovers. Nevertheless, he continued to fulfill the orders of the Amsterdam magistrate, painted portraits of leading entrepreneurs. He was visited by Cosimo de' Medici, the future Duke of Tuscany.
Gradually, Rembrandt's works acquire gloomy tones, exposing the deep emotional meaning of the plot, and ever-increasing melancholy appears in the portraits. But the art of the master reaches the greatest heights. He writes for himself, and among these paintings of his "Assur, Haman and Esther" (1660) and "The Return of the Prodigal Son" are the highest achievements of world culture.
In 1660 Rembrandt married Hendrik, but in 1663 she died at the age of 40. In 1662, the artist created his last commissioned work, "Group portrait of the syndics of the cloth shop", which was his highest achievement in the group portrait genre.
In 1668 his only son died after six months of marriage. Despite the troubles that fell on the artist, the works of the 1660s continue the theme of human capabilities and human perfection. This spiritual power is especially acutely felt in the guise of the blind Homer (1663), the terminally ill artist G. de Leresse (1665), etc. Between 1629 and 1669, Rembrandt created a number of paintings on religious themes and about 60 self-portraits, about 300 etchings and more 1000 drawings.
A number of self-portraits of the sixties show the sickly puffy face of a prematurely aged man. Rembrandt does not flatter himself, he is merciless in fixing the destruction brought by years. But the wrinkled, ugly face with a thick nose and a sunken mouth is all illuminated by a thoughtful, serious look. In the last self-portrait, painted by the artist in 1669 (The Hague, Mauritshuis), the signs of old age are also mercilessly revealed - deep folds, sparse gray hair, a halo surrounding the head, a sad look directed at the viewer, and deeply penetrating into the soul. In this look, that understanding, that wisdom and that love for man, which the great son of the Dutch people carried through his whole life and which inspired him to create majestic works late years, such as, for example, the painting "The Return of the Prodigal Son" painted in the last years of his life.
Saskia's portrait
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) - dutchartist, draftsman and engraver, Great master chiaroscuro, the largest representative of the golden age of Dutch painting. He managed to embody in his works the whole range of human experiences with such emotional richness, which fine art did not know before him. The works of Rembrandt, extremely diverse in genre affiliation, open to the viewer the timeless spiritual world of human experiences and feelings.
Years of apprenticeship Rembrandt Harmenszoon ("son of Harmen") van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606 (according to some sources, in 1607) in a large family of a wealthy mill owner Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn in Leiden. The mother's family, even after the Dutch Revolution, remained faithful to the Catholic faith. In Leiden, Rembrandt attended a Latin school at the university, but showed the greatest interest in painting. At the age of 13 he was sent to study fine arts to the Leiden historical painter Jacob van Swanenbürch, a Catholic by faith. Rembrandt's works of this period have not been identified by researchers, and the question of the influence of Swanenbürch on the formation of his creative style remains open: too little is known today about this Leiden artist. mythological and biblical stories. Returning to Leiden in 1627, Rembrandt, together with his friend Jan Lievens, opened his own workshop and began to recruit students. Within a few years, he gained considerable fame.
"Christ during a storm on the Sea of Galilee" (1633). The only one seascape Rembrandt was stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Gardner Museum and is still on the wanted list.
Development of his own style In 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, where the dynamism inherent in the aesthetics of the Baroque and the external pathos of the canvases found him many wealthy admirers, who, like Huygens, saw him as a new Rubens. A year later, Lievens closed the Leiden workshop and left for England, where he fell under the influence of van Dyck, then worked in Antwerp until returning to his homeland in 1644. The period of moving to Amsterdam was marked in Rembrandt's creative biography by the creation of many studies of male and female heads, in which he explores the originality of each model, experiments with moving facial expressions. These small works, later mistaken for images of the artist's father and mother, became a real school for Rembrandt as a portrait painter. It was portraiture that allowed the artist at that time to attract orders from wealthy Amsterdam burghers and thereby achieve commercial success. In the early Amsterdam years, the genre of self-portrait occupies a prominent place in Rembrandt's work; depicting himself in fantastic attire and intricate poses, he outlines new ways for the development of his art. Sometimes the elderly characters in sketches, dressed up by the artist in luxurious oriental costumes, are transformed by his imagination into biblical characters; such is the thoughtful Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem (1630). For the stadtholder Frederick Heinrich of Orange, he creates paired canvases "Exaltation of the Cross" (1633), and "Descent from the Cross" (1632/1633), inspired by Rubens' multi-figured engravings.
Among the most significant portraits of those years are images of Saskia - sometimes at home, lying in bed, sometimes in luxurious robes (Kassel portrait, 1634) and theatrical guises ("Saskia in the form of Flora", 1634). In 1641 their son Titus was born; three more children died in infancy. Excess vitality artist during the years of marriage with Saskia expressed with the greatest bravura in the painting "The Prodigal Son in a Tavern" (1635). The iconography of this illustrious work goes back to the moralistic depictions of the prodigal son's debauchery from the biblical parable. Saskia died a year after the birth of her son, and Rembrandt's life began a period of continuous personal loss.
Rembrandt also developed the effects of light and shadow in etchings (“Christ before Pilate”, 1636), which were often preceded by numerous preparatory drawings. Throughout his subsequent life, etchings brought Rembrandt no less income than painting itself. As an etcher, he was particularly noted for his use of drypoint, dynamic strokes, and puffing techniques.
Whatever the reasons for the cooling of the Amsterdam public towards Rembrandt, the result of a change in tastes was the fading of his fame and gradual impoverishment. After The Night Watch, only a few students remain in Rembrandt's studio. His former apprentices, having borrowed and developed any one trait early Rembrandt, become more successful and sought-after artists than their teacher. Especially typical in this regard is Govert Flinck, who perfectly mastered the external bravura of the dynamic Rembrandt paintings of the 1630s. Leiden Gerard Dou, one of the first students of Rembrandt, remained under the influence of Lastman's aesthetics of paintings like the Allegory of Music in 1626 all his life. Fabricius, who worked in the workshop around 1640, willingly experimented with perspective and developed bright backgrounds, which brought him outstanding success in Delft.
Transition period. Information about the private life of Rembrandt in the 1640s. little has been preserved in the documents. Of the disciples 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' nanny, Gertje Dirks, sued him for breaking his promise to marry; in order to settle this incident, the artist had to fork out. windows" (1655). The parish council condemned Hendrickje for "sinful cohabitation" when, in 1654, her daughter Cornelia was born with the artist. During these years, Rembrandt moves away from topics that have a grandiose national or universal sound. Picturesque works of this period are few. The artist worked for a long time on engraved portraits of the burgomaster Jan Six (1647) and other influential burghers. All the techniques and techniques of engraving known to him were used in the manufacture of the carefully crafted etching “Christ Healing the Sick”, better known as the “Leaf of a Hundred Guilders”, - it was for such a huge price for the 17th century that it was once sold. Over this etching, which strikes with the subtlety of the play of light and shade, he worked for seven years, from 1643 to 1649. In 1661, work continued on the etching “Three Crosses” created in 1653 (not finished). During the years of life’s adversities, the artist’s attention was attracted by landscapes with frowning clouds, heavy winds and other attributes of a romantically agitated nature in the tradition of Rubens and Segers. The "Winter Landscape" of 1646 belongs to the pearls of Rembrandt's realism. However, the pinnacle of Rembrandt's skill as a landscape painter was not so much paintings as drawings and etchings, such as The Mill (1641) and Three Trees (1643). He also mastered other genres new to him - a still life (with game and skinned carcasses) and an equestrian portrait (although, according to the general opinion, Rembrandt never succeeded in horses). Scenes of everyday home life, what are the two "Holy Families" receive a poetic interpretation in these years ", 1645 and 1646. Together with The Adoration of the Shepherds (1646) and Rest on the Flight into Egypt (1647), they allow us to speak of Rembrandt's tendency to idealize the patriarchal way of life. family life. These works are warmed by warm feelings of family closeness, love, compassion. Chiaroscuro in them reaches an unprecedented richness of shades. The coloring is especially warm, with a predominance of shimmering reds and golden browns.
In 1653, experiencing financial difficulties, the artist transferred almost all 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 the Rembrandt 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 person closest to him in those years, apparently, remained Titus; it is his images that are most numerous. On some, he appears as a prince from fairy tale, on others - an angel woven from the sun's rays. The death of Titus in 1668 was one of the last strokes of fate for the artist; he himself died a year later. A distinctive feature of Rembrandt's work of the 1650s is the clarity and monumentality of large-figure compositions. Characteristic in this regard is the work “Aristotle with a bust of Homer”, performed in 1653 for the Sicilian aristocrat Antonio Ruffo and sold in 1961 by his heirs at an auction to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a record amount of more than two million dollars at that time. Aristotle is immersed in deep thought; the inner light seems to come from his face and from the bust of Homer, on which he laid his hand. If on the canvases of the 1650s the number of figures never exceeds three, then in last decade his life, Rembrandt returns to the creation of multi-figure compositions. In two cases, these were large and prestigious orders. The monumental heroic painting "The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis" (1661) was created for the new Amsterdam City Hall, but for some reason did not satisfy the customers and was not paid for. A fragment of the painting, preserved in Stockholm, strikes with severe realism and unexpected flashes of light colors against the background of the surrounding darkness. The group portrait of Sindiki (1662), despite the naturalness of the poses, the liveliness of facial expressions and the coherence of the compositional solution, is a step back compared to the uncompromising naturalism of The Night Watch. But all the requirements of customers were met.
The last two decades of Rembrandt's life were the pinnacle of his skill as a portrait painter. The models are not only the artist's comrades (Nicholas Breining, 1652; Gerard de Leresse, 1665; Jeremias de Dekker, 1666), but also unknown soldiers, old men and old women - all those who, like the author, went through years of painful trials. Their faces and hands are illuminated with an inner spiritual light. Ceremonial portrait Jan Six (1654), pulling on a glove, is distinguished by a rare harmony of color, the breadth of pasty strokes. The internal evolution of the artist is conveyed by a series of self-portraits, revealing to the viewer the world of his innermost experiences. The series of self-portraits is joined by a string of images of the wise apostles; often in the face of the apostle one can guess the features of the artist himself.
Paintings: 1) "Night watch".
2) "Danae".
1636. Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
Painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn "Danae". The size of the painting is 185 x 203 cm, oil on canvas. This historical picture reworked by the painter in 1646-1647. Danae, the daughter of the Argos king Acrisius, according to myth, after the disastrous prediction of the oracle, was imprisoned by her father in an inaccessible dungeon, but the lord of Olympus Zeus, inflamed with love for her, penetrated to Danae through a light hole in the form of golden rain. This theme was embodied by Renaissance artists and Dutch mannerists in two different iconographic versions; Rembrandt continues in this work the line of the so-called "type of courtesan".
It is possible that this deeply internal and sensual picture, with its welcoming and alluring gesture of Danae, has its own secret: “Thus, the fates of Saskia, Geertje and Rembrandt are closely intertwined in this picture.” Actually, Saskia dies of illness in 1642, she leaves Rembrandt's son Titus, the only surviving child. At the end of the same year, Rembrandt took into the house the young widow of the trumpeter Geertje Dirks, who soon easily took over the duties of a housewife (in this role, Dirks is mentioned by the biographer Rembrandt Houbraken) and, accordingly, civil wife artist. Seven years later, Geertje Dirks leaves the house, making room next to the artist young Hendrikje Stoffels, who was ten years younger than her.
Subsequently, a dispute broke out around Geertje's complaint about the violation of Rembrandt's promise to marry her and about the jewelry from Saskia's inheritance, which Rembrandt first presented to Geertje and later took away. Rembrandt very quickly ends this dispute: in 1650, with the agreement of his brother Geertje and the approval of the Amsterdam burgomasters, at his own expense, Geertje Dirks is imprisoned for twelve years in the city of Gouda. But already in May 1655, she, ill, thanks to the efforts of her Edamian friend and despite the fierce resistance of Rembrandt, is free. A year later, Rembrandt imprisons her brother in debtor's prison due to non-repayment of funds.
3) "The Return of the Prodigal Son".
Rembrandt Return of the Prodigal Son, c. 1666-6 oil on canvas. 260×203 cm Hermitage, St. Petersburg.
The painting depicts the final episode of the parable, when the prodigal son returns home, “and while he was still far away, his father saw him and took pity; and, running, fell on his neck and kissed him, ”and his elder righteous brother, who remained with his father, became angry and did not want to enter.
The plot attracted the attention of the famous predecessors of Rembrandt: Dürer, Bosch, Luke of Leiden, Rubens.
This is the largest painting by Rembrandt on a religious theme.
