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Rembrandt van Rijn: 1606-1669

July 15, 2016 By Wendy Campbell

The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes - Rembrandt van RijnEven among the credible sources, facts and dates about Rembrandt van Rijn’s life are varied. Much of the existing information about Rembrandt originates from a 350-word essay published in 1641 by Jan Orlers’ guidebook to Leiden. Some research supports Orlers’ work while others contradict it. No personal letters remain and from the few professional ones, our knowledge of Rembrandt, one of the world’s most famous artists, remains incomplete. Included in this summary are details that appear to be consistent across texts.

Son of a prosperous miller, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in Leiden on July 15, 1606. He attended Leiden Latin School from 1615-19 and was enrolled at Leiden University in 1620.  He then left the university to study with the Leiden artist Jacob van Swanenburgh.

In 1624, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam to apprentice with the leading history painter in the Netherlands, Pieter Lastman, whose colourful style and narrative approach would be an influence on Rembrandt’s work throughout his life. Rembrandt returned to Leiden six months later and established his own studio.

Rembrandt moved back to Amsterdam permanently in 1631 and partnered with art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh to capitalize on the growing market for history paintings and portraits. Rembrandt was interested in stories from the Old and New Testaments and preferred painting realistic emotion and narrative detail. He quickly became one of the most sought after portrait painters (individual and group) in the Netherlands, introducing more animation, expression and dramatic contrasts of light and dark. During this time, many students came to the van Uylenburgh Academy to study Rembrandt’s style of painting.

In 1634, Rembrandt married van Uylenburgh’s niece, Saskia. At the height of his career in 1639 he bought a large house on the Sint-Anthonisbreestraat that he borrowed heavily to acquire. The artist also liked to spend money, purchasing art and other objects that were beyond his means, a habit that would eventually catch up with him.

In 1642, Saskia died after the third birth and death of another one of their children, leaving Rembrandt to care for their son Titus. Following the complicated end to his common-law relationship with Titus’s nurse, Geertje Dircks, Rembrandt met Hendrickje Stoffels who would be his lifelong companion, and with whom he had his daughter, Cornelia.

By the late 1640s, Rembrandt was receiving fewer portrait commissions and his failed investments resulted in financial strain for the artist. Rembrandt remained well known, but his vigorous, broad brushwork and glowing palette differed from the prevailing taste in the Netherlands for a smooth, elegant style of painting.

This was also a period filled with personal difficulties, including his declaration of insolvency in 1656 and the sale of his house and collections in 1657 and 1658. Rembrandt moved to a smaller house on the Rozengracht in the Jordaan area of Amsterdam, where he continued fulfilling commissions for portraits and other works.

Beyond painting, Rembrandt created about 300 etchings and drypoints. His work as a printmaker ran alongside his career as a painter. He was a great innovator in this medium, often using traditional materials in unconventional ways. His impact on printmaking is still reflected in etchings produced today.

Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje, who died in 1663, and Titus, who died in 1668. Rembrandt died on October 4, 1669 at the age of 63. With no money for a tombstone, he was buried in an unmarked grave in the Westerkerk, in Amsterdam.

The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes - Rembrandt van Rijn
Portrait-of-a-lady-with-an-Ostrich-Feather-Fan-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1660
The-Return-of-the-Prodigal-Son-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1669
The-Prodigal-Son-in-the-Tavern-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1635
The-Mennonite-Minister-Cornelis-Claesz-Anslo-in-Conversation-with-his-Wife-Aaltje-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1641
Rembrandt-van-Rijn---The-Artist's-Mother-Seated,-in-an-Oriental-Headdress---1631
The-Conspiracy-of-Claudius-Civilis-central-fragment--Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1662
Self-Portrait-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1660
The-Feast-of-Belshazzar-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1635
Artemis-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1634
The-Blinding-of-Sampson-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1636
The Three Crosses - Rembrandt van Rijn
Susanna-and-the-Elders-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1647
Saskia in Pompous Dress - Rembrandt van Rijn
Parable-of-the-Hidden-Treasure-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1630
Self Portrait with Cap - open mouthed - Rembrandt van Rijn
The Prophetess Anna Known as Rembrandt's Mother - Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn christ-in-the-storm-on-the-sea-of-galilee-1633-by-rembrandt-van-rijn-depicts-a-nocturne-scene-evoking-a-sense-of-danger
The-Stoning-of-St-Stephen-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1625
Bathsheba-at-her-Bath-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1654
Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait-of-a-Man-with-Arms-Akimbo 1658
The-Night-Watch-Rembrandt-van-Rijn-1642

Sources: Getty Museum, Met Museum, Met Museum(2),Wikipedia

Filed Under: ART, Art History, Drawing, Painting Tagged With: Dutch artists, Rembrandt Birthday, Rembrandt van Rijn

M.C. Escher: 1898-1972

June 17, 2009 By Wendy Campbell

M.C. Escher - Hand With Reflecting SphereMaurits Cornelis Escher, best known for his mathematically inspired prints, was born on June 17, 1898 in Leeuwarden, Netherlands.  Escher spent much of his childhood in Arnhem where he attended school.  Though he did well at drawing, Escher did not excel in other subjects and received poor grades. From 1919 – 1922, Escher attended the School for Architecture and Decorative Arts in Haarlem where he initially studied architecture but shifted to drawing and printmaking.

After finishing school, Escher traveled through Italy, where he met Jetta Umiker, whom he married in 1924. For the next 11 years, Escher traveled throughout Italy, sketching for the prints he would make back in Rome.  The couple remained in Rome until 1935 when growing political turmoil (under Mussolini) prompted them to move first to Switzerland and then to Ukkel, a small town near Brussels, Belgium.  In 1941, as German troops occupied Brussels, they moved once again to Baarn, Netherlands, where Escher lived until 1970.

During his lifetime, Escher created 448 lithographs, woodcuts and wood engravings and over 2000 drawings and sketches. His work portrays mathematical relationships among shapes, figures and space and many of his drawings are composed around interlocking figures (tessellations) and impossible objects.  Escher used vivid contrasts of black and white to enhance different dimensions and integrated into his works were mirror images of cones, spheres, cubes, rings and spirals.

By the 1950s Escher had become highly popular and gave lectures around the world. He received the Order of Oranje Nassau in 1955. In 1958 he was featured in Time magazine and had his first important exhibition in Washington. Escher’s work continued to be popular and he traveled several times to North America for lectures and to see his son George who was living in Canada. In 1970 he moved to Rosa-Spier house in Laren, Netherlands, a retirement home for artists, where he died on March 27, 1972.

I remember as a teenager being amazed by M.C. Escher after receiving a book of his drawings.  At that time, I was more interested in how cool the optical illusions were.  These days, my appreciation for his work goes deeper than that.  I am in awe of the skill and imagination it would have taken to create the drawings.  His ability to create works of art that master perspective and dimension, reality and fantasy, make him (in my view) one of the greatest graphic artists of all time.

For more information on M.C. Escher visit MCEscher.com or for a more in depth biography visit The Escher Pages.

Relativity - M.C. Escher

Sources: MCEscher.com, Erols.com, Wikipedia

Filed Under: ART, Art History, Design, Illustration Tagged With: Dutch artists, M.C. Escher

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