Rembrandt+Van+Rijn


 * [|Barber-Van Rijn.mp3]media type="file" key="Barber-Van Rijn.mp3"Rembrandt Van Rijn** (1606-1669), was a renowned Dutch Baroque Era Painter and Engraver best known for his self-portraits, paintings, drawings, and etchings. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, his later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age. His paintings are characterized by luxuriant brushwork, rich color, and a mastery of chiaroscuro (a contrast between light and dark). In addition to portraits, Rembrandt attained fame for his landscapes, which combine the spiritual and earhly like no other artist in Western art, ranking him as one of the greatest etchers of all time. When he had no other model, he painted or sketched his own image. It is estimated that he made over 300 paintings (between 50 and 60 of them self-portraits), 300 etchings, and more than 2000 drawings. Born in Leiden, the Netherlands, as the son of a local miller. Like most Dutch children of his day, Rembrandt attended elementary school (c. 1612–16), after which, from roughly 1616 to 1620, he attended the Latin School in Leiden, where biblical studies and classics were the main subjects taught. The school’s emphasis on oratory skills may have contributed to his ability to “stage” the figures in scenes depicted in his history paintings, drawings, and etchings. After seven years at elementary and latin school he enrolled at University of Leiden. His father wanted him to follow a learned profession, but Rembrandt left the University of Leiden to study painting and later began an apprenticeship with a local painter by the named of Jacob Van Swanenburgh. Van Swanenburgh was a specialist in architectural pieces and in scenes of hell and the underworld, which called for skill in painting fire and its reflections on the surrounding objects. In Rembrandt’s time this skill was considered distinct and demanding. It may well be that Rembrandt’s early exposure to this kind of pictorial problem underlies his lasting interest in the effects of light. He would later complete his training after six months in the Amsterdam studio of the then famous Pieter Lastman, whose paintings inspired Rembrandt to become a historical painter and familiarized him narrative techniques based on Italian Renaissance art. Over the course of 1625, Rembrandt settled in Leiden as an independent master. During the following six years, he laid the foundations for many of his subsequent works and preoccupations. His earliest paintings relied heavily on Lastman’s work. In several instances, he took apart, as it were, the colourful compositions by Lastman and reassembled them into new compositions. (Later, although in a less drastic fashion, Rembrandt’s own pupils would also produce variations on the basis of Rembrandt’s own works.) For an aspiring painter, this was one of the typical methods employed to develop a personal style under a master’s guidance. Given the fact, however, that Rembrandt painted his variations on Lastman’s prototypes after he had returned to Leiden as an independent young master, one can speculate that Rembrandt actually may have been trying to emulate his former teacher. In 1631, when Rembrandt's work had become well known and his studio in Leiden was flourishing, he moved to Amsterdam. He became the leading portrait painter in Holland and received many commissions for portraits as well as for paintings of religious subjects. At age 26, he began to sign his work with his first name only, Rembrant ; from early 1633 onward until his death, he spelled his name Rembrandt and signed his works that way. It has been suggested that he began using his first name as his signature because he considered himself the equal of the great artists of the 15th and 16th centuries—Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti), Titian (Tiziano Vecellio), and Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio) were also generally known by their first names. He lived the life of a wealthy, respected citizen with a relatively new membership with a local painter's guild, and lived with an art dealer named Hendrick Van Uylenburgh. By 1634, he met Hendrick's beautiful cousin, Saskia van Uylenburgh, whom he married. She was the model for many of his paintings and drawings. Rembrandt's works from this period are characterized by strong lighting effects. In 1639,Rembrandt and Siskia moved into their own house in Amsterdam's Jewish quarter where Rembrandt sought his neighbors frequently to model for his Old Testament scenes. In 1642 soon after Titus (the only of Remberandt's four childern to survive through adulthood) was born, Saskia died from tuberclulosis and would inspire his most inspiring works when Saskia was sick on her deathbed. Around this time, Rembrandt completed one of his most well known paintings, //The Night Watch// which decepts a group of musketeers maeching out from a courtyard into sunlight.Soon after, Rembrandt began to live with a maid by the name of Hendrickje Stoffels and began having financial troubles and was able to prevent himself from going into bankruptcy by selling his house,moving into a more modest accomidation, and auctioning his art collection. To help keep his financial troubles from getting worse than already was, he opened an art dealing business along with Titus and Hendrickje. In 1661, Rembrandt was contracted to make a decor for Amsterdam's newly built city hall, but the work he made called //The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilus//, was rejected by the local Government, returned to him, and cut up to be auctioned off. The painting would be the last secular history painting he ever finished and only the center portion of this work is still surviving. He would fulfil major commisions for portriats and other works until his death in 1669.


 * Gowing, L (2005). Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists:Volume 3. New York, NY: Facts on File, Inc..
 * Pioch, N (2002, September 19). WebMuseum:Rembrandt. Retrieved September 30, 2008, from ibilio.org Web site: http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/rembrandt/
 * Rembrandt. In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 28, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rembrandt
 * Rembrandt Van Rijn. In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved September 30, 2008, from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/497584/Rembrandt#tab=active~checked%2Citems~checked&title=Rembrandt%20van%20Rijn%20--%20Britannica%20Online%20Encyclopedia

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 * Rembrandt Van Rijn** (or just simply **Rembrandt**)was a renowned Dutch Baroque Era Painter and Engraver who is generally considered one of the greatest painters and etchers in the history of European art and the most important in Dutch history. Best known for his self-portraits, paintings, drawings, and etchings, his works are characterized by luxuriant brushwork, rich color, mastery of chiaroscuro (a contrast between light and dark), and his landscapes, which combine the spiritual and earthly like no other artist in Western art. Born in 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands, he was the son of a local miller. Rembrandt originally followed an academic path at the University of Leiden at his father’s request. He soon lost interest, left the University to study painting and later had an apprenticeship with a local painter by the name of Jacob Van Swanenburgh. Van Swanenburgh happened to be a specialist in architectural pieces and in scenes of hell and the underworld, with a special skill for painting fire and its reflections on surrounding objects, which inspired Rembrandt’s interest in the effects of light in his art. Rembrandt later completed his training with six months spent in the Amsterdam studio of the then famous Pieter Lastman, whose paintings inspired Rembrandt to become a historical painter and familiarized him with narrative techniques based on Italian artists such as Michelangelo Buonarroti, Titian Vecellio, and Raphael Sanzio. Over the course of 1625, Rembrandt settled in Leiden as an independent master artist. His earliest paintings relied heavily on Lastman’s work. In several instances, he took apart the colorful compositions by Lastman and reassembled them into new compositions as a method employed to develop a personal style under his master’s guidance. In 1631, when Rembrandt's work had become well known and his studio in Leiden was flourishing, he moved to Amsterdam where he became the leading portrait painter in Holland and received many commissions for portraits, as well as for paintings of religious subjects.During this time, he lived the life of a wealthy, respected citizen with a new membership in a local painter's guild, and moved in with an art dealer named Hendrick Van Uylenburgh. In 1634, he met Van Uylenburgh 's beautiful cousin, Saskia Van Uylenburgh, whom he married. She became the model for many of his paintings and drawings that were characterized by strong lighting effects. In 1639, Rembrandt and Siskia moved into their own house in Amsterdam's Jewish quarters, where Rembrandt frequently sought his neighbors to model for his Old Testament scenes. In 1642, soon after his son, Titus (the only of Rembrandt’s four children to survive through adulthood) was born, Saskia died from tuberculosis. While Saskia was sick on her deathbed, Rembrandt’s grief helped fuel his most inspiring works. Around this time, Rembrandt completed one of his most well known paintings, //The Night Watch,// which shows a group of musketeers marching out from a courtyard into sunlight, though the background looks like nighttime on closer inspection, hence the painting’s title. Soon after, Rembrandt began to live with a housemaid by the name of Hendrickje Stoffels and also began having financial troubles. He was able to prevent himself from going into bankruptcy by selling his house, moving into a more modest accommodation, and opening an art dealing business along with Titus and Hendrickje. In 1661, Rembrandt was contracted to make a mural for Amsterdam's newly built city hall, but the work he made, called //The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilus//, was rejected by the local Government, returned to him, and reduced in size to be auctioned off as the last secular history painting he ever finished. Only the center portion of this large masterpiece survives today. Rembrandt continued to fulfill major commissions for portraits and other works until his death in 1669 from natural causes, leaving behind an estimated total of 300 paintings (between 50 and 60 of them self-portraits), 300 etchings, and more than 2000 drawings as part of his artistic legacy.