Rembrandt Van Rijn

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Rembrandt Van Rijn
Welcome to the webpage of the famous artist,
Rembrandt Van Rijn. Use the buttons below to
navigate!
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The Life of Rembrandt
Chose only one master nature - Rembrandt
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July
15, 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands. He was the
ninth child in a well-to-do family. For an
education, he attended Latin school, and then the
University of Leiden. In 1631, after Rembrandt
had already gained a reputation for himself as an
excellent painter, he moved to the city of
Amsterdam. In 1634, he married a woman named
Saskia van Uylenburg. The two established a
moderately wealthy household, but soon, tragedy
struck. Three of their four children died in
early childhood, and only one, Titus, managed to
survive until adulthood. Saskia herself died of
TB in 1642. In the interval, Rembrandt indulged
in a love affair with his sons nurse, Geetje
Dircx and eventually had to pay an alimony to her
after a breach of promise. He then had a
relationship with Hendrickje Stoffels. The Church
to which he belonged looked down upon him and
labeled him as one who lived in sin. Eventually,
although he continued with art commissions,
Rembrandt fell deep into debt and could hardly be
shielded from creditors. He died on October 4,
1669 and was buried in an unmarked grave in
Westerkerk.
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The Profession of Rembrandt

• Rembrandt began his profession life as an
  apprentice to Jacob van Swanenburgh, a history
  painter in Leiden. Afterwards, he enjoyed a brief
  but important apprenticeship to Pieter Lastman in
  Amsterdam. He then opened a studio in Amsterdam
  with his friend, Jan Lievens in 1627 and began
  accepting students. In 1629, he was discovered by
  statesman Constantijn Hyugens, who helped
  Rembrandt obtain commissions from the court of
  Hague. An especially prominent customer of
  Rembrandt was Prince Frederik Hendrik. In 1631,
  he moved into the house of painter Henrick van
  Uylenburg to continue his trade. In 1661, he was
  contracted to complete work in the newly built
  city hall of Amsterdam. However, his work, the
  Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis, was rejected. He
  continued commissions through the year 1662, and
  died in the year 1669.

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The Important Works
Here are some of Rembrandts magnificent
paintings. Click on the thumbnails to learn more.
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This painting is titled The Ass of Balaam Talking
Before the Angel. It is a historical/biblical
depiction. It was painted in 1626, when Rembrandt
just began his career. In those days, he often
painted historical scenes, because he was
apprenticed to a history painter in Leiden.
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This is a self portrait of Rembrandt, painted in
1629. Rembrandt avidly studied the human
physiognomy through painting self-portraits, and
through his lifetime, painted more than 100.
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This painting is The Rise of Lazarus. It
symbolizes an important turning point in his
life, because it was painted directly after he
was officially discovered and commissioned to
paint for the Court of Hague.
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This is portrait of Rembrandts son, Titus. Titus
is shown in many of Rembrandts paintings,
probably because he is Rembrandts only surviving
child and therefore very dear to the painter.
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This is a self-portrait in one of the last series
Rembrandt painted. The misery apparent in the
expression of the portrait shows the hardships
(financial or otherwise) that Rembrandt had to
endure in the latter half of his life.
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Rembrandts Times

• Rembrandts paintings show a lot about the
  societal values of seventeenth century
  Netherlands. The Wars of Religion were still
  being fought, so Holland was clearly leaning
  towards Protestantism, in contrast to Spain,
  which was wildly Catholic. Many of Rembrandts
  paintings exhibit religious themes, since
  religion played a huge part in society of his
  times. Also, we see the rise of wealth of the
  Netherlands, as princes begin adopting the role
  of patrons to the arts. As localities in the
  Netherlands gained more autonomy and wealth,
  individual princes commissioned Rembrandt for
  different works. Finally, we see society
  inclining towards more self-awareness and
  scientific discovery. Rembrandts hundreds of
  self-portraits not only show that he is very in
  tune with his own existence, it also shows that
  he pays much attention to human anatomy and
  physiognomy.