Home > Today's Christian > People of Faith > Spiritual Giants
Today's Christian, November/December 2000
Rembrandt van Rijn
Painter of light—and dark
By Mark Galli
The Dutch artists of Rembrandt's day gained respect painting landscapes, still lifes, and scenes glorifying the ordinary. But these subjects never held much interest for Rembrandt, who was captivated by the Bible stories his mother used to read to him. His contemporaries painted from the Bible, too, but not with the passion of Rembrandt, who remains famous for capturing the characters' emotions and involving his viewers in the stories.
Born in 1606 in the university town of Leyden, Rembrandt, the son of a well-to-do miller, began his education at age 7 at the Latin School where grammar, classical literature, and religious studies were emphasized. Before he decided to pursue painting, Rembrandt spent a few months at the University of Leyden. But his genius would be realized on canvas.
At 14, he left the university to study painting under an inconsequential painter of hell scenes. Three years later, however, he left Leyden to study art in Amsterdam under Pieter Lastman. Lastman introduced Rembrandt to the painting of historical and biblical subjects, with a dramatic, theatrical flair.
In Amsterdam, Rembrandt developed both his affinity for depicting human emotion and for chiaroscuro (painting in light and dark). In most of his paintings, light emerges from darkness, creating a timeless, emotional movement that draws the viewer into the scene.
By the late 1620s, he was already a renowned artist. "The Leyden miller's son is much praised, but before his time," wrote one critic, and a year later, the secretary of the Prince of Orange (who commissioned Rembrandt to paint a series illustrating the Passion of Christ) wrote an enthusiastic report commending Rembrandt's "penetration" into the essence of his subjects.
Love and sorrow
In 1634 Rembrandt married the wealthy and beautiful Saskia van Uylenburgh, who during the rest of her life was his inspiration. It was a time of professional triumph, as portrait commissions poured in and his paintings were highly praised.
But Rembrandt and Saskia also knew sorrow. Three children were born and died before a son, Titus, survived infancy. Unfortunately the pregnancy was too difficult for Saskia, and she died the following year, in 1642.
Financial difficulty also plagued Rembrandt. He tended to be extravagant, and when he purchased an expensive house in 1639, it placed him deep in debt.
He acknowledged this weakness by painting himself as the Prodigal Son, squandering money in the taverns with his wife, whom he depicted as a prostitute. In fact, Rembrandt featured himself in many of his biblical paintings. In The Raising of the Cross, he even kept himself in his modern clothes to emphasize his personal involvement in the crucifixion. He believed the personalities in the Bible were like those of his Amsterdam acquaintances, so he painted these characters as he would his friends, with "the greatest and most natural emotion."
Then, on top of sorrow and a growing debt, came scandal. Rembrandt's servant, Hendrickje Stoffels, was summoned to appear before the Reformed church council. The official records indicate that there, visibly pregnant, she "confesses to fornication with Rembrandt the painter, is gravely punished for it, admonished to penitence, and excluded from the Lord's Supper." Rembrandt himself was not censured, but his commissioned paintings, for which he could still command a good price, dwindled.
In 1656 Rembrandt was forced to declare bankruptcy. He lost his house, his art collection, and his pride. He was forbidden from selling his own works and had to work for a firm set up by his servant Hendrickje and his son Titus. In 1663 Hendrickje died, and in 1668 Rembrandt lost Titus.
The following year, Rembrandt died, leaving behind one daughter, 650 paintings, 280 etchings, and 1,400 drawings. Among his last works is one of his most famous, The Return of the Prodigal Son.
Visit www.ChristianHistory.net for more true stories from Christian History magazine.
Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today International/Today's Christian magazine (formerly Christian Reader).
Click here for reprint information.
November/December 2000, Vol. 38, No. 6, Page 11
Browse More Today's Christian
Home | People of Faith | Stories of Hope | Today's Culture
Build Your Faith | Laughing Matters | Archives | Contact Us
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Try Today's Christian Woman Free!
|
 |
|
No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only.
If you decide you want to keep Today's Christian Woman coming, honor your invoice for just $17.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless.
Give Today's Christian Woman as a gift
Order a gift subscription!
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
| |
|
