Happy Birthday Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn! (PHOTOS)

by Priscilla Frank, huffingtonpost.com
July 15th 2012

Today we commemorate the birth of painter, etcher and self-portraitist extraordinaire, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. (We can see why he chose to go by Rembrandt...) The Dutch master would turn 343 if he were miraculously alive today.

Rembrandt was born in 1606 in what is now the Netherlands as the ninth child of a wealthy family. After attending Latin school and university Rembrandt took up painting, opening up a studio and taking commissions from the court of The Hague. He married the cousin of his art dealer, named Saskia, but their relationship was one fraught with troubles. Rembrandt began facing financial difficulties despite his large income, and his first three children died nearly immediately. His wife passed away after the birth of their fourth child, at which time Rembrandt took his son's caretaker as a lover.

Rembrandt's artistic career was so prolific it is nearly impossible to attribute a distinct style or subject to his work. His work was dramatic, compassionate and intense. His attention to detail and passion for his craft combined a precise understanding of reality with a transcendent spirituality that made his work extend beyond the beauty of the real world. One defining aspect of his work was his mysterious chiaroscuro, dark smoky browns that made every event gain a foul aftertaste.

His work encompassed historical scenes, mythological allegories, and of course self-portraits, of which he is estimated to have made 40 of his own. However, including the portraits of himself he assigned his students, the count rises to 90. His portraits provide a vivid timeline of his progression from awkward youth to fame and glory to weathered old age. Well before social media, his self-portraits provide a rare chance to witness the physical evolution and devolution of an artistic legend. Rembrandt's obsessive self-portraits have served as a model to artists for years to come; Marc Quinn cited Rembrandt in his series of self-portraits made of his own frozen blood.

On that strange note... Happy birthday, Rembrandt! We are sad you are not alive to see the frozen blood portraits made in your honor.

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• Artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) Title The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp Date 1632 Medium oil on canvas Wikimedia Commons

• Artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) Title Four Orientals seated under a tree Description Zeichnung nach einer indischen Miniatur Date after 1656 (1656-1661) Wikimedia Commons

• Artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) Title The Three Crosses Date 1653 Medium drypoint on burin Wikimedia Commons

• Artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) Title Self-portrait. Date 1669 Medium oil on canvas Wikimedia Commons

• Artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) Title Rembrandt drawing at a window.[1] Alternate title(s): Zelfportret tekenend aan een venster.[2] Date 1648 Wikimedia Commons

• Description Self-potrait with risen sword.[1] Etching. Alternate title(s): Self-portrait as an oriental Potentate with a Kris. Wikimedia Commons

• Artist Rembrandt (1606-1669) Title Self-portrait in oriental attire with poodle. Date from 1631 until 1633 The paintig is signed "Rembrandt f. 1631". Rembrandt, however, only used this style of signature in the years 1632 and 1633. He probably completed this painting in one of these years and subsequently antedated it. Medium oil on oak panel Wikimedia Commons

• Artist Govert Flinck (1615-1660) Title English: Rembrandt as Shepherd [shortened title]. Nederlands: Rembrandt als herder [verkorte titel].[1] Alternate titles: English: Rembrandt as sheperd with staff and flute [full title].[2] Nederlands: Rembrandt als herder met staf en fluit [volledige titel].[2] Nederlands: Rembrandt als fluitspelende herder.[3] Date ± 1636 (1635-1657) Medium oil on canvas Wikimedia Commons

Original Page: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/15/happy-birthday-rembrandt-_n_1672082.html

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