Rembrandt Van Rijn

We Specialize in Rembrandt Van Rijn Oil Painting Reproductions Art on Canvas

Rembrandt Van Rijn is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. He also made superb drawings. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age (roughly coinciding with the seventeenth century), in which Dutch world power, political influence, science, commerce, and culture - particularly painting - reached their pinnacle. In all, Rembrandt produced over 600 paintings, nearly 400 etchings, and 2,000 drawings. He was a prolific painter of self-portraits, producing almost a hundred of them (including some 20 etchings) throughout his long career. Together they give us a remarkably clear picture of the man, his appearance, and - more importantly - his deeper being, as revealed by his richly weathered face.

Among the prominent characteristics of his work are his use of chiaroscuro, the theatrical employment of light and shadow derived from Caravaggio but adapted for very personal means; his dramatic and lively presentation of subjects, devoid of the rigid formality that his contemporaries often displayed; and a deeply felt compassion for mankind, irrespective of wealth and age. In 1629 Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman and poet Constantijn Huygens, the father of Christiaan Huygens (a famous Dutch mathematician and physicist), who procured for Rembrandt important commissions from the court of the Hague. As a result of this connection, Prince Frederik Hendrik continued to purchase paintings from Rembrandt until 1646. By 1631, Rembrandt had established such a good reputation that he received several assignments for portraits from Amsterdam. As a result, he moved to that city and into the house of an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh.

Rembrandt lived beyond his means, buying many art pieces, prints (often used in his paintings), and rarities, which probably caused his bankruptcy in 1656. Because of his bankruptcy he had to sell most of his paintings. He also had to sell his house, and his printing-press, and move to a more modest accommodation on the Rozengracht. Here, Hendrickje and Titus started an art shop to make ends meet. In 1661 he was contracted to complete a series of major paintings for the newly built city hall, this only after the artist who had been previously commissioned died before completing the work. Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje and Titus. Rembrandt died soon after his son, on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Westerkerk.