It is also likely that at this time Lievens had a strong impact on his work as well. Paintings were rather small, but rich in details for example, in costumes and jewelry.
Religious and allegorical themes were favored, as were tronies, half-length figures not intended as specific portraits. In Rembrandt produced his first etchings, the wide dissemination of which would largely account for his international fame. In he completed Judas Repentant, Returning the Pieces of Silver and The Artist in His Studio , works that evidence his interest in the handling of light and variety of paint application, and constitute the first major progress in his development as a painter.
During his early years in Amsterdam , Rembrandt began to paint dramatic biblical and mythological scenes in high contrast and of large format The Blinding of Samson , , Belshazzar's Feast , c. Nicolaes Tulp , By the late s, Rembrandt had produced a few paintings and many etchings of landscapes. Often these landscapes highlighted natural drama, featuring uprooted trees and ominous skies Cottages before a Stormy Sky, c.
From his work became less exuberant and more sober in tone, possibly reflecting personal tragedy. Biblical scenes were now derived more often from the New Testament than the Old Testament, as had been the case before. In he painted the The Night Watch , his largest work and the most notable of the important group portrait commissions which he received in this period, and through which he sought to find solutions to compositional and narrative problems that had been attempted in previous works.
In the decade following the Night Watch, Rembrandt's paintings varied greatly in size, subject, and style. The previous tendency to create dramatic effects primarily by strong contrasts of light and shadow gave way to the use of frontal lighting and larger and more saturated areas of color.
Simultaneously, figures came to be placed parallel to the picture plane. These changes can be seen as a move toward a classical mode of composition and, considering the more expressive use of brushwork as well, may indicate a familiarity with Venetian art Susanna and the Elders , At the same time, there was a marked decrease in painted works in favor of etchings and drawings of landscapes. In these graphic works natural drama eventually made way for quiet Dutch rural scenes. In the s, Rembrandt's style changed again.
Paintings increased in size, colours became richer and brush strokes more pronounced. With these changes, Rembrandt distanced himself from earlier work and current fashion, which increasingly inclined toward fine, detailed works. His singular approach to paint application may have been suggested in part by familiarity with the work of Titian, and could be seen in the context of the then current discussion of 'finish' and surface quality of paintings.
Contemporary accounts sometimes remark disapprovingly of the coarseness of Rembrandt's brushwork, and the artist himself was said to have dissuaded visitors from looking too closely at his paintings. The tactile manipulation of paint may hearken to medieval procedures, when mimetic effects of rendering informed a painting's surface. The end result is a richly varied handling of paint, deeply layered and often apparently haphazard, which suggests form and space in both an illusionistic and highly individual manner.
In later years, biblical themes were still depicted often, but emphasis shifted from dramatic group scenes to intimate portrait-like figures James the Apostle, In his last years, Rembrandt painted his most deeply reflective self-portraits from to he painted fifteen , and several moving images of both men and women The Jewish Bride , ca. Rembrandt produced etchings for most of his career, from to , when he was forced to sell his printing-press and virtually abandoned etching. Only the troubled year of produced no dated work.
He took easily to etching and, though he also learned to use a burin and partly engraved many plates, the freedom of etching technique was fundamental to his work. He was very closely involved in the whole process of printmaking, and must have printed at least early examples of his etchings himself.
At first he used a style based on drawing, but soon moved to one based on painting, using a mass of lines and numerous bitings with the acid to achieve different strengths of line. Towards the end of the s, he reacted against this manner and moved to a simpler style, with fewer bitings. He worked on the so-called Hundred Guilder Print in stages throughout the s, and it was the "critical work in the middle of his career", from which his final etching style began to emerge.
Although the print only survives in two states, the first very rare, evidence of much reworking can be seen underneath the final print and many drawings survive for elements of it. In the mature works of the s, Rembrandt was more ready to improvise on the plate and large prints typically survive in several states, up to eleven, often radically changed. He now uses hatching to create his dark areas, which often take up much of the plate.
He also experimented with the effects of printing on different kinds of paper, including Japanese paper, which he used frequently, and on vellum. He began to use "surface tone," leaving a thin film of ink on parts of the plate instead of wiping it completely clean to print each impression. At the age of 18 or 19, Rembrandt returned to Leiden to set up his own studio.
He looked more refined, dressed well, and worked closely with a student six years younger, Jan Lievens, who had also studied under Lastman. In , Rembrandt met Constantijn Huygens, a statesman for the court of The Hague, who could procure commissions for the artists. Huygens was a remarkable Dutchman, well informed about art, who spent most of his life in service to the princes of Orange. He operated an art academy where copies of paintings were made and commissions were fulfilled. Huygens urged the two young artists to visit Italy, especially Rome, to learn from the masterpieces, but they were too dedicated to their work in their own beloved country.
Simon Schama, in his remarkable historical biography Rembrandt's Eyes , related that Huygens stated: " I feel it incumbent upon myself to state that I have never observed such dedication and persistence in other men whatever their pursuits or ages.
Truly these youths are redeeming the time. That is their sole consolation. Most amazingly they regard even the most innocent diversions of youth as a waste of time, as if they were already burdened with age and long past follies. Huygens had influenced Rembrandt to be more ambitious so by , Rembrandt moved back to the wealthy teeming metropolis of Amsterdam. There, he found great satisfaction as a professional portrait painter for the successful men of commerce, the intellectuals, and the religious leaders, who were all appreciating their positions and good fortunes and wanting to exhibit their excellent taste, especially through painted likenesses of themselves.
Rembrandt was building his reputation by portraying the Dutch bourgeois burghers as men of action, in three-quarter or full-length poses. In Amsterdam, Rembrandt initially stayed with an art dealer named Hendrick van Uylenburgh. It was there that the artist met Hendrick's cousin Saskia van Uylenburgh, who was the daughter of a wealthy burgomaster. The two married in Rembrandt was known as a prosperous and fashionable young artist at this time but he yearned to be considered a gentleman and an intellectual.
His new wife was able to introduce him to notable members of society through her well-connected extended family. Tulp , which brought him enormous attention. That same year, he became a burgess of Amsterdam and a member of the local guild of painters. Throughout the s, Rembrandt produced at least 65 commissioned portraits. He also painted biblical and mythological paintings, landscapes, and portraits of anonymous people who were interesting to him such as Jewish people, officers in uniforms, or foreigners in exotic dress.
Like many wealthy men of the time period, Rembrandt collected works of art but also armor, costumes, Oriental turbans, and other curiosities from foreign places. Some of these acquisitions often ended up as props in his work such as curved sabers, Javanese daggers, and Polish stirrups. When he attended auctions, according to the Italian art historian and biographer Filippo Baldinucci, he " Rembrandt thoroughly enjoyed being at the height of his powers and reputation.
Ironically, in contrast to his piety, Rembrandt's private life was strewn with controversy. From his relationships with women to his management of his personal finances, he walked a line of perpetual disarray and chaos in direct opposition to his public popularity and career achievements. In , Rembrandt and Saskia rented a house while waiting for a new one to be renovated in an upscale area that was quickly becoming known as the Jewish quarter.
The steep mortgage on the new home was what ultimately caused the couple's later financial distress. It was there that Rembrandt frequently sought out his Jewish neighbors to model for his Old Testament scenes. Although they were by now affluent, the couple suffered several personal setbacks. Their son Rumbartus died two months after his birth in and their daughter Cornelia died at just three weeks of age in In they had a second daughter, also named Cornelia, who died after only one month of life.
Only their fourth child Titus, who was born in , survived into adulthood. Saskia died in soon after Titus's birth, probably from a long struggle with tuberculosis. Rembrandt's drawings of her on her sick and deathbeds are among his most riveting works. Rembrandt's private life now became tangled, although the evidence is tantalizingly difficult to interpret Geertghe became Rembrandt's lover but their relationship had difficulties. He entered a period of poor behavior, amassing debts and coming under criticism from friends, the Church, patrons, and clients.
Geertghe later charged Rembrandt with breach of promise by claiming that he had proposed to marry her. She was awarded yearly alimony although Rembrandt tried for years to have her committed to a poorhouse after learning that she had pawned some of Saskia's jewelry.
After Saskia's death, Rembrandt had an affair with his son's nurse, but they quarrelled and he later began a relationship with his housekeeper, Hendrickje Stoffels. She frequently modelled for him.
Rembrandt continued to receive commissions and some of the great paintings from this period are 'The Syndics of the Clothmakers Guild' and 'The Jewish Bride' c. Rembrandt was interested in drawing and etching as well as painting, and his etchings were internationally renowned during his lifetime.
Throughout his career, he attracted pupils who also served as his assistants. Their work can sometimes be hard to distinguish from Rembrandt's own. Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled.
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