Rembrandt - One of the Greatest Storytellers in the History of Arts
Childhood
Out of the ten children born to father Gerritson Van Rijn, Rembrandt was one of them. His father sent him to a Latin school where his education focused on Greek & Roman classics, which became the subject of most of his celebrated works. At 14, he studied painting at Leyden University under Jacob Van Schwanbergh and Pieter Lastman.
The Work Begins
As of late 1625, Rembrandt began work as a guild certified master of paintings. He set out to showcase the art of expressing human expressions. He used to term natural liveliness to capture the kind of accidental unrestrained emotions. Rembrandt sets out to experiment with the composition of the visual elements and the physical composition of the painting itself.
The Artist Evolves
In 1630, he headed for Amsterdam, seeking greener pastures. He found representation with the dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh. Three years later, Rembrandt married Henriks's cousin Saskia Van Uylenburgh. At this time, Rembrandt painted numerous commissioned portraits and saw a huge rise in his fame & fortune. In the mid-1630s, he added the famous 'D' to his first name.
Trouble In paradise
Saskia and Rembrandt tried multiple times to start a family. Out of the four children they had, Titus survived infancy, but Saskia fell ill shortly after his birth, and Rembrandt started an affair with their maid, Geertje Dircx. Saskia died on June 14th, 1962; the same year, night watch was released.
Popular Works
Rembrandt's famous works include a lot of masterpieces like Belshazzar's Feast (1635), Danae (1636), Bathsheba at her Bath(1654). But his most famous work, The close watch, painted in 1942, was uniquely Dutch and enormous as a modern billboard. The decade following the reveal of The Night Watch, Rembrandt stopped accepting portrait commissions did no significant work in this period, which contributed to the 'Rembrandt Myth.'
Fall from grace
Debts and spending continued to hunt Rembrandt, and he declared bankruptcy in 1656. His house & possessions have been sold at auction, but they failed to cover what he owed. His bankruptcy stripped him of his guild membership and his ability to work as a master artist. His son Titus died in the year 1668, and he followed a year later.
