Rembrandt - Self-Portrait [1659]

Rembrandt - Self-Portrait [1659], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Rembrandt van Rijn painted, drew, and etched so many self–portraits in his lifetime that changes in his appearance tempt us to gauge his mental state by comparing one image to another. Rembrandt painted this self–portrait in 1659, after he had suffered financial bankruptcy that forced him to sell his home and other possessions to satisfy his creditors. Early descriptions of the painting therefore mentioned an aura of melancholy surrounding the artist, yet the removal of dark, discoloured varnish in 1992 proved that interpreting paintings on the basis of an artist’s chronological life story is dangerous: the cleaned portrait revealed a rich range of pinks and bright flesh tones, forcing a reassessment of Rembrandt’s mood. Instead of sadness, the deep–set eyes that bore into those of the viewer seem to express inner strength and dignity.

[Oil on canvas, 84.5 x 66 cm]

Rembrandt - Marten Looten [1632]

Rembrandt - Marten Looten [1632], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Interrupted from reading a document, his lips slightly parted as if speaking, Marten Looten (1586–1649) turns to address a visitor. Looten, a prosperous grain merchant in Amsterdam, wears the conservative black clothing favoured by members of the Mennonite Church. Rembrandt positioned Looten’s arms, cape, and hat to enhance the impression of three-dimensional form. Painted shortly after his arrival in Amsterdam, Portrait of Marten Looten marks Rembrandt’s introduction of a new, dynamic approach to portraiture, in which the subject interacts with the viewer.

[Oil on panel, 92.71 x 76.2 cm]

Rembrandt - Adam and Eve [1638]

Rembrandt - Adam and Eve [1638], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

[Etching, 16.3 x 11.5 cm]

Rembrandt - Belshazzar's Feast [c.1636-38]

Rembrandt - Belshazzar's Feast [c.1636-38], a photo by Gandalf's Gallery on Flickr.

Rembrandt's source for this painting, the Old Testament Book of Daniel, tells of a banquet Belshazzar, King of Babylon, gave for his nobles. At this banquet he blasphemously served wine in the sacred vessels his father Nebuchadnezzar had looted from the Temple in Jerusalem. 

Rembrandt shows the moment when a divine hand appeared and wrote on the wall a phrase only Daniel could decipher. When transliterated the inscription reads: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN. This is the interpretation: 'God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; your kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians.' That very night Belshazzar was slain. 

Rembrandt derived the form of Hebrew inscription from a book by his friend, the learned Rabbi and printer, Menasseh ben Israel, yet mis-transcribed one of the characters and arranged them in columns, rather than right to left, as Hebrew is written. The picture is an example of Rembrandt's attempt to establish himself as a painter of large-scale Baroque history paintings.

[Oil on canvas, 167.5 x 209.2 cm]

Rembrandt - Self Portrait at the Age of Sixty-Three [1669]

Rembrandt - Self Portrait at the Age of Sixty-Three [1669], originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.

This work was painted in the final year of Rembrandt's life and is one of his last pictures. He died on October 4, 1669 and was buried in the Westerkerk in Amsterdam. Rembrandt painted more self portraits than any other artist of the 17th century. In this late picture, the artist wears a deep red coat and a beret, his hands clasped before him. The viewer is confronted by his steady gaze. Rembrandt painted and eyched self portraits throughout his life, but those executed in his final years, in which he presents himself in a reflective mood, are among the most poignant and challenging.

The painting was cleaned in 1967, revealing the damaged signature and date. The X-ray of the picture reveals two pentimenti (alterations to the design). First, a change in the size and colour of the beret, which was originally much larger and all white. Secondly, the original position of the hands was open and he was holding a paintbrush. Repainting the hands clasped and without the brush reduces their dramatic impact and draws attention back to the face.

[Oil on canvas, 86 x 70.5 cm]

Rembrandt - Portrait of Maria Trip [1639]

This beautifully dressed young woman is Maria Trip, the daughter of a rich Amsterdam merchant. Rembrandt - who was at this time one of the most important portrait painters in Amsterdam - painted her in 1639. Maria was twenty years old and still unmarried. Two years later she married Balthasar Coymans who had gathered a fortune in business. He was thirty years older than Maria.

Rembrandt has made the most of Maria's rich clothes and jewellery by playing with the light and shade. A small light dances in each pearl. Even the thick folds of her black clothes shine with the light. The gossamer-fine linen is brilliantly depicted: the black fabric of the dress on her shoulders and the skin tones of her chest, glimmer through the white. She is holding a folded fan with a ribbon of gold lace that falls across her hand. Throughout the painting, Rembrandt has added subtle edges of shadow: in the sleeves, along the collar and on her hand.

[Oil on panel, 107 x 82 cm]

Rembrandt - Portrait of Johannes Wtenbogaert [1633]

The minister Johannes Wtenbogaert is standing beside a table upon which lies an open manuscript. It is as though he has interrupted his studies to turn to look at the viewer. Rembrandt's use of light directs the viewers attention towards Wtenbogaert's wrinkled face, the bright expression of his eyes, his grey beard and his snow-white, pleated ruff. The open manuscript also catches the light. Wtenbogaert was one of the most important religious leaders of the Dutch Golden Age. The young Rembrandt painted this imposing and lively portrait in 1633, at a time when he was well on the way to becoming one of Amsterdam's most celebrated portrait painters. He signed the painting with his first name, Rembrandt.

[Oil on canvas, 130 x 103 cm]

Rembrandt - The Jewish Bride [1667]

An elegantly dressed man and woman are in a vague, dark room. The man has lovingly placed his arm around the woman's shoulder and a hand on her breast. Very carefully she touches his hand with her fingertips. Both are staring straight ahead, they seem deep in thought. A few objects can be recognised in the obscure background: beside the woman is a plant in a pot and behind her an architectural fragment. The picture, called the 'Jewish Bride', was painted by Rembrandt in 1667.

It is fascinating to see how Rembrandt has employed different techniques in this painting. He has alternated broad strokes with fine lines, thick marks with dry, bristly strokes. The faces and hands have been quite smoothly painted, whereas thick clods of paint have been applied to the canvas for the clothing. In the thick layers of paint on the sleeve the print of the palette knife Rembrandt used to apply the paint is clearly visible. This is how he gave his canvases relief, a characteristic of Rembrandt's later work.

Rembrandt - The Night Watch [1642]

The Night Watch, the most famous painting in the Rijksmuseum, actually has another title: the 'Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch'. The picture is a militia painting: a group portrait of a division of the civic guard. Rembrandt depicted the group of militiamen in an original way. He did not paint them in neat row or sitting at their annual banquet, rather, he recorded a moment: a group of militiamen have just moved into action and are about to march off.

The names of the eighteen militiamen portrayed in the painting are on a shield above the gate. A company comprised more members, but only those who paid were included in the group portrait. The drummer was hired and was therefore allowed to be in the painting for free. Rembrandt added the others to enliven the painting. Three people on the left of the picture disappeared in the eighteenth century when part of the canvas was cut off. We are now only able to match a few names to the faces in the portrait.

But where are they going? Although the militiamen in the Night Watch may appear to be positioned at random, Rembrandt has constructed the composition with great care. The drawing shows the positions and movement of the figures through the space, seen from above. The militiamen are coming out of the gate and moving towards us. The captain and the lieutenant form the vanguard, with two men directly in their wake. The man who is shooting behind the captain and the two girls are walking from left to right, crossing the line of movement of the militiamen.