Rembrandt: biography, creativity, facts and video

😉 Hello dear readers! The article “Rembrandt: biography, creativity, facts and video” – about the life of a Dutch artist, the great master of chiaroscuro, the largest representative of the Golden Age of Dutch painting.

Biography of Rembrandt

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in the middle of the summer of 1606 in Leiden, in the family of a rather wealthy miller. The surname “van Rijn” is “from the river Rhine”, it was there that the mills that belonged to the family were located.

Cornelia’s mother was the daughter of a baker. Father and mother were the same age and equal in social status. Perhaps this was the reason that peace and tranquility reigned in the family. Although the house could not be called quiet, because a dozen tomboys were growing up here. The ninth was Rembrandt.

Parents have worked hard all their lives to raise their children. His father died at 62, and his mother survived him by ten years. The artist’s three brothers became millers, and Rembrandt is the only one who received an education.

The 13-year-old has successfully passed the exams at Leiden University. In connection with his studies, he received a respite from being drafted into the army. At the same time, he begins to paint.

Johannes Orpers – Mayor of Leiden, in one of the books, which was published in 1641, devoted several lines to the life of Rembrandt. This was a short biography about the artist. From which we learn that in the beginning Rembrandt was in training with Jacob van Svanenbürch for about three years.

Then in 1624 he left for Amsterdam for six months – to the painter of historical paintings P. Lastman. In 1625 the painter returned to his homeland and found a good friend in the person of Jan Lievens. For several years they created their creations together, and sometimes their paintings were so similar that it was almost impossible to identify the author.

Amsterdam

In January 1632, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam. For three decades, the population of this city has tripled and reached the figure of 150 thousand. The painter reasoned that his career in this big city would go up much faster.

Previously, he painted small works on religious themes and portraits. In Amsterdam, he worked on large orders and soon achieved popularity. For about two years, Rembrandt lived with Hendrik van Eilenbürch, an art dealer. He made friends with him immediately after his arrival.

Saskia

In the summer of 1634, the artist married Eilenbyurch’s cousin, Saskia. She was an orphan, but had a good inheritance. Rembrandt at this time also managed to become a leading painter.

The young were passionately in love. They lived in Eilenbürch’s house for several months, and then bought a magnificent new house for their family.

For 5 years, Saskia gave birth to three children, but they died in infancy. In 1641 she gave birth to her 4th child. It was a boy named Titus by his parents. The son remained to live, but the doctors could not save his mother, 29-year-old Saskia.

At this time, Rembrandt was working on the completion of the famous painting “Night Watch”. But his life was mournful. He was immensely saddened by the sudden death of his beloved wife and could not work for a long time, all the while returning his thoughts to the tragedy.

He had many orders for ceremonial portraits. But by constantly postponing work on them, he quickly lost customers. They preferred not to wait for Rembrandt to finally pick up his magic brush, but gave orders to other artists.

Hendrikje Stoffels

The artist worked with great inspiration on his canvases, mainly based on biblical subjects. In difficult moments, Rembrandt often turned to religion, but it was necessary to think about his son, still very little.

He was forced to hire a nanny, Gertier Dierks. Gertier accused the artist of breaking his promise to marry her. This incident was settled – the artist had to fork out. There were many court hearings. As a result, she was found wrong and sentenced to 5 years.

Three years later, Rembrandt became friends with his young servant, Hendrickje Stoffels. Hendrickje gave birth to a son, who died as an infant, and a daughter, Cornelia. Apparently, the daughter was named after the master’s mother.

The artist’s financial situation was deplorable. He practically did not have high-paying orders for ceremonial portraits, but he spent huge sums on the collection. There were Renaissance paintings, weapons, busts, old costumes, oriental wonders …

last years of life

In 1652 – 1654 Holland was at war with England, which completely depleted the state treasury. Trade almost ceased, which immediately affected the value of works of art. Rembrandt sold part of the collection, but that didn’t help.

In 1656, Rembrandt could no longer pay all the accumulated debts and almost ended up in prison. He managed to avoid this with the help of the so-called “transfer of debts” operation. The artist proved that debts have accumulated for an objective reason.

The artist sold his property and was allowed to stay in the house he had previously owned until 1660. After that, the master rented inexpensive apartments in some poor city block.

Titus has already grown up and he, together with his stepmother, created a company selling art works. But Rembrandt was never able to pay off all the debts, although everyone in the city respected him. In 1661 – 1662 Rembrandt was offered two highly paid orders: the painting “The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis” and the portrait of “Sindica” for the cloth makers’ guild.

The last years of the painter were sad. In 1663 Hendrickje died, then Titus and his daughter-in-law. On October 4, 1669, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn himself, one of the greatest painters, left this world. He was 63 years old.

Don’t miss the video! “Rembrandt: the biography of a great master”

Additionally, on the topic “Rembrandt: Biography” – a film directed by Alexander Korda. It was released in 1936.

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