Rembrandt (grape)

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art.Gombrich, p. 420. It is estimated Rembrandt produced a total of about three hundred paintings, three hundred etchings and two thousand drawings.

Unlike most Dutch masters of the 17th century, Rembrandt's works depict a wide range of styles and subject matter, from portraits and self-portraits to landscapes, genre scenes, allegorical and historical scenes, biblical and mythological themes and animal studies. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural and scientific achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch art (especially Dutch painting) was prolific and innovative.

Rembrandt never went abroad but was considerably influenced by the work of the Italian Old Masters and Dutch and Flemish artists who had studied in Italy. After he achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt's later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters.

Rembrandt's portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible are regarded as his greatest creative triumphs. His 40 self-portraits form an intimate autobiography. Rembrandt's foremost contribution in the history of printmaking was his transformation of the etching process from a relatively new reproductive technique into an art form. His reputation as the greatest etcher in the history of the medium was established in his lifetime.

Early life and education

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on 15 July 1606 in Leiden, in the Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands. He was the ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck. His family was quite well-to-do; his father was a miller and his mother was a baker's daughter. His mother was Catholic, and his father belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church. Religion is a central theme in Rembrandt's works and the religiously fraught period in which he lived makes his faith a matter of interest.

As a boy, he attended a Latin school. At the age of 13, he was enrolled at the University of Leiden, although according to a contemporary he had a greater inclination towards painting; he was soon apprenticed to Jacob van Swanenburg, with whom he spent three years.Rembrandt biography
in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by Arnold Houbraken, courtesy of the Digital library for Dutch literature After a brief but important apprenticeship of six months with the history painter Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, Rembrandt stayed a few months with Jacob Pynas and then started his own workshop, though Simon van Leeuwen claimed that Joris van Schooten taught Rembrandt in Leiden.

Career

In 1624 or 1625, Rembrandt opened a studio in Leiden, which he shared with friend and colleague Jan Lievens. In 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, among them Gerrit Dou and Isaac de Jouderville. Joan Huydecoper is mentioned as the first buyer of a Rembrandt painting in 1628. In 1629, Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman Constantijn Huygens 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.

At the end of 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, a city rapidly expanding as the business and trade capital. He began to practice as a professional portraitist for the first time, with great success. He initially stayed with an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, and in 1634, married Hendrick's cousin, Saskia van Uylenburgh. Saskia came from a respected family: her father Rombertus was a lawyer and had been ''burgomaster'' (mayor) of Leeuwarden. The couple married in the local church of St. Annaparochie without the presence of Rembrandt's relatives. In the same year, Rembrandt became a citizen of Amsterdam and a member of the local guild of painters. He also acquired a number of students, among them Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck.Bull, et al., p. 28

In 1635, Rembrandt and Saskia rented a fashionable lodging with a view of the river Amstel. In 1639 they moved to a large and recently modernized house in the upscale 'Breestraat' with artists and art dealers; Nicolaes Pickenoy, a portrait painter was his neighbor. The mortgage to finance the 13,000 guilder purchase would be a cause for later financial difficulties. The neighborhood sheltered many immigrants and was becoming the Jewish quarter. It was there that Rembrandt frequently sought his Jewish neighbors to model for his Old Testament scenes.
One of his great patrons at early age was Amsterdam statesman Andries de Graeff.

Although they were by now affluent, the couple suffered several personal setbacks; three children died within weeks of their births. Only their fourth child, Titus, who was born in 1641, survived into adulthood. Saskia died in 1642, probably from tuberculosis. Rembrandt's drawings of her on her sick and death bed are among his most moving works.Slive, p. 71 After Saskia's illness, the widow Geertje Dircx was hired as Titus' caretaker and dry nurse; at some time she also became Rembrandt's lover. In May 1649 she left and charged Rembrandt with breach of promise (a euphemism for seduction under reachedpromise to marry) and be awarded alimony. Rembrandt tried to settle the matter amicably but she pawned the diamond ring he had given her that once belonged to Saskia to pay her lawyer. On 14 October they came to an agreement; the court particularly stated that Rembrandt had to pay a yearly maintenance allowance, provided that Titus remained her only heir and she sold none of Rembrandt's possessions. As Dircx broke her promise she was committed to a women's house of correction at Gouda in August 1650. Rembrandt paid for the costs.

In early 1649, Rembrandt began a relationship with the 23-years-old Hendrickje Stoffels, who had initially been his maid. She may have been the cause of Geertje's leaving. In 1654 Rembrandt produced a controversial nude Bathsheba at Her Bath. In June Hendrickje received three summons from the Reformed Church to answer the charge "that she had committed the acts of a whore with Rembrandt the painter". In July she admitted her guilt and was banned from receiving communion. Rembrandt was not summoned to appear for the Church council. In October they had a daughter, Cornelia. Had he remarried he would have lost access to a trust set up for Titus in Saskia's will.

Insolvency

Rembrandt lived beyond his means, buying art, prints and rarities. In January 1653 the sale of the property formally closed but Rembrandt still had to pay half of the mortgage. The creditors began to insist on installments but Rembrandt refused and asked for a postponement. The house had to be repaired and Rembrandt borrowed money from his friend Jan Six among others. In November 1655 the 14-years-old Titus made a will, making his father sole heir, shutting out his mother's family. In December, Rembrandt himself organized a sale of his paintings, which did not bring in enough. In a notorious year with plague, (art) business dropped and Rembrandt applied for a high court arrangement (cessio bonorum). There were never any bailiffs on his doorstep. According to Bosman Rembrandt himself pushed for bankruptcy and had a plan for it. He probably wanted to create space to marry his beloved Hendrickje. Anyhow, in July 1656 he declared his insolvency, taking stock and voluntarily surrendered his goods.M. Bosman (2019) Rembrandts plan. De ware geschiedenis van zijn faillissement Meanwhile, he had donated the house to his son. The authorities and his creditors were generally accommodating to him, giving him plenty of time to pay his debts. In November 1657 another auction was organized to sell his paintings and a large number of etching plates, drawings (some by Raphael, Mantegna and Giorgione). Rembrandt was allowed to keep all his tools as a mean of income.

The sale list with 363 items gives a good insight into Rembrandt's collections, which, apart from Old Master paintings and drawings, included statues and busts of the Roman emperors and Greek philosophers, twenty books (a bible), two globes, bonnets, armor (helmets, bows and arrows), chinaware, among many objects from Asia, a collections of natural history (two lion skins, a bird-of-paradise), corals and minerals. The prices realized in the sale were disappointing. In February 1658 Rembrandt' house was sold at a ( foreclosure) auction and the family quickly moved to more modest accommodation at Rozengracht; Hendrickje complained at the authorities as she left an oak cupboard. Early December 1660 the sale of the house was closed but the money went straight to Titus' guardian.

Two weeks later Hendrickje and Titus set up a dummy corporation as art dealers, so Rembrandt, who had board and lodging, could continue to produce. In 1661, the business was contracted to complete work for the recently finished town hall. The resulting work, ''The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis'', was rejected by the mayors and returned to the painter within a few weeks; the surviving fragment (in Stockholm) is only a quarter of the original. In 1662 he was still fulfilling major commissions for portraits and finished the Sampling Officials. Around this time Rembrandt took on his last apprentice, Aert de Gelder