The Night Watch (1642)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Militia company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq surging into action; actually a daytime scene darkened by varnish
Image: Rembrandt · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Art
Rembrandt
1606–1669 · Dutch
Dutch Golden Age / Baroque
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, born in Leiden and based in Amsterdam, is the greatest painter and printmaker of the Dutch Golden Age. His group portraits, biblical scenes and unflinching self-portraits combine dramatic light with deep psychological insight. After early fame and wealth he suffered bankruptcy and bereavement, yet his late works are among his most profound.
How to spot them
- ▸Warm golden-brown palette with dramatic chiaroscuro: faces glowing out of deep shadow
- ▸Thick, heavily worked paint (impasto) in late works, especially on faces, jewellery and gold braid
- ▸A lifelong series of searching self-portraits, from swaggering youth to lined old age
- ▸Quiz clue pattern: Leiden, Amsterdam, Saskia, the Rijksmuseum, militia company, anatomy lesson
Key works
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp (1632)
Mauritshuis, The Hague
Early group portrait of surgeons watching Dr Tulp dissect a forearm; made his name in Amsterdam
Image: Rembrandt · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
The Return of the Prodigal Son (c. 1661–1669)
Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
A ragged son kneels in his father's embrace; one of his last great works
Image: Rembrandt · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
The Jewish Bride (c. 1665–1669)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Tender couple with the man's hand on the woman's breast; Van Gogh said he would give ten years of life to sit before it
Image: Rembrandt · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (1662)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Cloth inspectors look up as if interrupted; familiar from Dutch Masters cigar boxes
Image: Rembrandt · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Self-Portrait with Two Circles (c. 1665–1669)
Kenwood House, London
Late self-portrait with palette and brushes before two mysterious arcs on the wall
Image: Rembrandt · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Quick-fire facts
- •He was born in Leiden and moved permanently to Amsterdam in the early 1630s.
- •His wife Saskia van Uylenburgh died in 1642, the year he completed The Night Watch.
- •The Night Watch's real title is Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq; it was trimmed in 1715 to fit a wall in Amsterdam's town hall.
- •Despite great success he was declared insolvent in 1656 and had to sell his house and collection.
- •His house on the Jodenbreestraat is now the Rembrandt House Museum (Museum Het Rembrandthuis).
- •He painted over 40 self-portraits, and made many more as etchings and drawings.
- •His only seascape, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, was stolen from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990 and remains missing.
- •He was buried in an unmarked grave in the Westerkerk, Amsterdam.
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Sources
- Rijksmuseum — Rembrandt van Rijn
- Mauritshuis — The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp (collection entry)
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Rembrandt van Rijn