The Foremost Painter of His Day
When shakespear had but ten more years to live, there was born a boy in Leyden, Holland, a boy who was to become one of the greatest painters of all time. Just as the great English dramatist could make truth live through the reality of the men and women in his plays, so the artist Rembrandt Harmensz van Ryn, to give him his full name (note not spelt Rembrant) - painted men and women so that they seemed as alive now as they were 400 years ago.
Rembrandt's father, who was a miller, intended for a learned profession, but the bo showed so little interest in ordinary studies that they allowed him to follow his own bent - painting. He studied with artists in Lyden and Amsterdam. All his early work showed his intense desire to learn to represent the lines, light and shade, and color of the people he saw about him. Jewish beggars and verenable rabbis, prosperous merchants, soldiers and cripples were his subjects. When he had no one else, he used himself, not through any sort of vanity, but because he could use his own face as a mirror for the portrayal of all kinds of feeling.
In 1631 Rembrandt's work had become so well known that he moved to Amsterdam. Numerous orders for portraits were given to him as the foremost portrait painter of the day. The beautiful fair haired Saskia van Vylenborch, whom he married in 1634, was the model for many of his more fanciful pictures. In addition to portraits and set pieces, Rembrandt attained considerable fame for his landscapes, while as an etcher he takes his place among the foremost of all time.
During the later years of his life, Rembrandt lost some of his popularity. The Thirty Years' War had impoverished all northern Europe, and pictures and portraits were more thn ever luxuries. Many people objected to his free, independant method of work, and to his subjects. Then, too, Rembrandt displeased many staid burghers by his extravagance in buying the pictures of other artists. His vast collection of painting was sold at auction before his death, and he died poor and obscure.
