Rembrandt

1660 self portrait

Kim's all time favorite painter is Rembrandt. Why you might ask? His viewpoint revolves around internal and external excellence, which he feels can be seen especially in the portraits he painted. Rembrandt's work reveals an intense probing into the essence of humanity through his study of character and motivation. He was a man who respected everyone and painted from the heart. 

He developed and perfected the techniques and concepts begun in the Renaissance, and produced an enormous number of paintings and etchings. Aside from portraiture he also did many landscapes and narratives. He was praised by other artists of his time as being a master of interpreting Biblical stories because of his skill in representing emotions, and his attention to detail.

The stoning of St. Steven

Rembrandt was born on 15 July 1606 (death 1669) in the Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands. His family was financially secure; his father was a miller and his mother was a baker's daughter. As a boy he attended Latin school and later was enrolled at the University of Leiden. He was apprenticed to a Leiden history painter, Jacob van Swanenburgh, for three years. Later he had a 6 month apprenticeship with the famous painter Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam. Rembrandt opened a studio in Leiden in 1624 or 1625, and shared it with friend and colleague Jan Lievens, and by 1627  he began to accept students.

He was also discovered in 1629 by a politician who helped him get important commissions from the court of The Hague and Prince Frederik Hendrik. Because of this connection, the Prince continued to purchase paintings from Rembrandt until 1646.

1630 self portrait etching

 In the 1630’s Amsterdam, was rapidly expanding as the new business capital of the Netherlands, so Rembrandt move there by the end of 1631. He began to practice as a professional portrait artist for the first time, and was very successful. He later became a member of the local guild of painters and acquired a number of students.

He is considered to be the most important Dutch artist and one of the greatest European artists of all time. 

This painting was stolen from the  Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990.