Rembrandt was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.
Rembrandt Self-Portrait as a Young Man 1629
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606 (traditionally) but more probably in 1607 in Leiden, the Netherlands. Conflicting sources state that his family either had 7, 9 or 10 children. His family was quite well-to-do; his father was a miller, his mother was a baker's daughter. As a boy he attended Latin school and was enrolled at the University of Leiden, although according to a contemporary he had a greater inclination towards painting; he was soon apprenticed to a Leiden history painter, Jacob van Swanenburgh. After a brief but important apprenticeship with the famous painter Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, 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.
Self-Portrait 1634
In 1629 Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman and poet Constantijn Huygens, the father of Christiaan Huygens (a famous Dutch mathematician and physicist), 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 until 1646.
By 1631, Rembrandt had established such a good reputation that he received several assignments for portraits from Amsterdam. As a result, he moved to that city and into the house of an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburg. This move eventually led, in 1634, to the marriage of Rembrandt and Hendrick's cousin, Saskia van Uylenburg. This was likely both a marriage of love and a shrewd business choice. Saskia came from a good family (her father had been lawyer and burgemeester (mayor) of Leeuwarden). When Saskia, as the youngest daughter, became an orphan, she lived with an older sister in Het Bildt. They were married in the local church, without the presence of his relatives.
Rembrandt and Saskia in the Scene of the Prodigal Son in the Tavern 1635
In 1639, Rembrandt and Saskia moved to a prominent house in the Jodenbreestraat in the Jewish quarter, which later became the Rembrandt House Museum. It was there that Rembrandt frequently sought his Jewish neighbours to model for his Old Testament scenes. Although they were by now affluent the couple suffered several personal setbacks; their son Rumbartus died two months after his birth in 1635, and their daughter Cornelia died at just 3 weeks of age in 1638. Only their third child, Titus, who was born in 1641, survived into adulthood. Saskia died in 1642 soon after Titus's birth, probably from tuberculosis. Rembrandt's drawings of her on her sick and death bed are among his most moving works.
Self-Portrait 1640
During Saskia's illness, one Geertje Dircx was hired as Titus' caretaker and nurse, and possibly also became Rembrandt's lover. She would later charge Rembrandt with breach of promise. Rembrandt worked to have her committed to an asylum.
Portrait of the Artist at his Easel 1660
In the late 1640s Rembrandt began a relationship with the much younger Hendrickje Stoffels, who had initially been Rembrandt's maidservant. In 1654 they had a daughter, Cornelia, bringing Hendrickje an official reproach from the Reformed church for "living in sin." The two were considered legally wed under common law, but Rembrandt had not married Henrickje, so as not to lose access to a trust set up for Titus in his mother's will. Rembrandt was not summoned to appear for the Church council because he was not a member of the Reformed church. However, a number of the church Elders were among those to whom Rembrandt owed money, and sought to apply pressure indirectly. To her credit, Stoffels did not leave Rembrandt, and later helped save him and his art.
Self-Portrait 1661
Rembrandt lived beyond his means, buying art (including bidding up his own work), prints (often used in his paintings), and rarities, which probably caused his bankruptcy in 1656. His insolvency led to an auction of most of his paintings and large collection of antiquities. He also had to sell his house, and his printing-press, and move to a more modest accommodation on the Rozengracht. Here, Hendrickje set up a corporation with Titus, employing Rembrandt and thereby sheltering him from creditors. In 1661 he was contracted to complete work for the newly built city hall, but only after the artist who had been previously commissioned died before completing his own work.
Self-Portrait 1669
Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje and Titus. Rembrandt died soon after his son, on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam, and was buried in an unmarked grave in Westerkerk.
