Rembrandt van Rijn - Biography art reproduction oil painting
Rembrandt was born in Leiden on July 15, 1606- his full name
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. He was the son of a miller. Despite the fact that he came from a family of relatively modest means, his parents
took great care with his education. Rembrandt began his studies at the Latin School, and at the age of 14 he was enrolled at the University of
Leiden. The program did not interest him, and he soon left to study art - first with a local master, Jacob van Swanenburch, and then, in Amsterdam,
with Pieter Lastman, known for his historical paintings. After six months, having mastered everything he had been taught, Rembrandt returned to
Leiden, where he was soon so highly regarded that although barely 22 years old, he took his first pupils. One of his students was the famous artist
Gerrit Dou.
Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in 1631; his marriage in 1634 to Saskia van Uylenburgh, the cousin of a successful art dealer, enhanced his career,
bringing him in contact with wealthy patrons who eagerly commissioned portraits. An exceptionally fine example from this period is the Portrait of
Nicolaes Ruts (1631, Frick Collection, New York City). In addition, Rembrandt's mythological and religious works were much in demand, and he
painted numerous dramatic masterpieces such as The Blinding of Samson (1636,
Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt). Because of his renown as a teacher, his studio was filled with pupils, some of whom (such as Carel Fabritius)
were already trained artists. In the 20th century, scholars have reattributed a number of his paintings to his associates; attributing and
identifying Rembrandt's works is an active area of art scholarship.
In contrast to his successful public career, however, Rembrandt's family life was marked by misfortune. Between 1635 and 1641 Saskia gave birth to
four children, but only the last, Titus, survived; her own death came in 1642- at the age of 30. Hendrickje Stoffels, engaged as his housekeeper
about 1649, eventually became his common-law wife and was the model for many of his pictures. Despite Rembrandt's financial success as an artist,
teacher, and art dealer, his penchant for ostentatious living forced him to declare bankruptcy in 1656. An inventory of his collection of art and
antiquities, taken before an auction to pay his debts, showed the breadth of Rembrandt's interests: ancient sculpture, Flemish and Italian
Renaissance paintings, Far Eastern art, contemporary Dutch works, weapons, and armor. Unfortunately, the results of the auction - including the
sale of his house - were disappointing.
These problems in no way affected Rembrandt's work; if anything, his artistry increased. Some of the great paintings from this period are
The Jewish Bride (1665), The
Syndics of the Cloth Guild (1661, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), Bathsheba (1654, Louvre, Paris), Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph (1656, Staatliche
Gemäldegalerie, Kassel, Germany), and a self-portrait (1658, Frick Collection). His
personal life, however, continued to be marred by sorrow. His beloved Hendrickje died in 1663, and his son, Titus, in 1668- only 27 years of age.
Eleven months later, on October 4, 1669, Rembrandt died in Amsterdam.
You can order this Rembrandt painting in diffrent sizes. Just select the size from the box under the painting, click "Add To Cart" and then
clicking the
"Go To Checkout" Button. All our reproductions are totally hand made on white canvas. It
will be ready in about 14 days and we will ship it to you via UPS. You can order any reproduction of any artist in any size. If you do not find your favourite Painting,
click
here and follow the instructions. Please visit our Guestbook to read what other customers think about our service and product. Our painters are
the most talented reproduction artists and we are so confident you will like your painting that we give a 100% money back guarantee.
Click Here to get back to Rembrandt Van Rijn biography main menu. To go to our main home page
click here.
