Guiding Light

As the 350th anniversary of Rembrandt approaches, his biographer ROSALIND ORMISTON celebrates the life and work of an artist we can all continue to learn from

GUIDING LIGHT

This year marks the 350th anniversary of the death of the Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, who passed away on 4 October 1669 at the age of 63. His art defi ned what is now known as the Dutch Golden Age, a period in the 17th century when artists of the United Provinces of the Dutch Republic – the northern Netherlands – were much in demand to portray the material prosperity of a new nation, in still life, landscape and genre, portraiture, and grand history paintings.

Rembrandt lived and worked all his adult life in Amsterdam, which had emerged as one of the world’s most important centres for trade, refl ected in the affl uence of its citizens and growing commercial art market. Rembrandt was accomplished in every genre of art and utilised his talent to portray the whole spectrum of Dutch society, from the rich merchants and traditional guilds, to the poorer members. In his spare time, he depicted himself in around 90 self-portraits (including 40 paintings, 31 prints and various drawings) across a near 50-year career. Rembrandt’s family, including his parents, wives and children, often served as artist-models for his other works, depicting religious or mythological figures, or appearing in various guises for the popular tronie (face) – anonymous portraits with exaggerated expressions.

Born in Leiden sometime around 15 July 1606, Rembrandt was raised by prosperous parents. His father Harmen was the owner of a family mill on the banks of the Oude Rijn (old Rhine), where earlier generations had taken the ‘van de Rijn’ surname.