Brief biography of Rembrandt, creativity, interesting facts. Brief biography of Rembrandt and his work. The most famous works of Rembrandt Rembrandt harmens van content of creativity

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669), Dutch painter.

Entering the University of Leiden in 1620, Rembrandt soon left him and began to study painting. In 1625-1631. he worked in his hometown. The main in his work of the early period were paintings on religious subjects, as well.

1632 turned out to be a happy year for Rembrandt. He moved to Amsterdam and married a wealthy townswoman Saskia van Uylenburgh, and the canvas “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulip” brought the young painter universal recognition.

For the master began the most prosperous decade in his life. He had many students (the school of Rembrandt). During this period, he painted such masterpieces as "Self-portrait with Saskia" (1635) and "Danae" (1636).

The extremely cheerful art of Rembrandt of the 30s. combines the experience of Renaissance and Baroque masters and an innovative approach to classical subjects.

The period of success ended abruptly in 1642: the magnificent work "Night Watch" - a group portrait of members of the Shooting Guild of Amsterdam - was rejected by customers who did not appreciate the artist's innovations and subjected him to sharp criticism.

Rembrandt practically stopped receiving orders, almost all the students left him. Saskia died the same year.

From the 40s. Rembrandt abandoned theatrical effects in his work, and the mystical, contemplative beginning intensified in his painting. Often the artist turned to the image of his second wife - Hendrikje Stoffels.

The painting "The Holy Family" (1645), a series of self-portraits, and the best landscapes are marked by depth, calmness and emotional richness. But failures continued to haunt Rembrandt: in 1656 he was declared bankrupt, the property was sold at auction, and the family moved to a modest house in the Jewish quarter of Amsterdam.

The painting “The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis” (1661) commissioned by the town hall shared the fate of the “Night Watch”. In 1663 the artist buried his wife and son.

Despite the deterioration of vision, Rembrandt continued to paint. A peculiar result of his work was the canvas "The Return of the Prodigal Son" (1668-1669).

Why is Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn famous? His name should be known to every educated person. It's gifted Dutch painter, an engraver, an unsurpassed master of chiaroscuro, one of the largest representatives of the golden age - an outstanding era of Dutch painting, which fell on the 17th century. The article will tell about the life and work of this gifted person.

The beginning of the way

Rembrandt van Rijn came into this world in July 1606. He was born into the family of a wealthy miller. He was the ninth child, the youngest in the family. His parents were enlightened people. They noticed early on that the boy was gifted by nature with intelligence and talent, and instead of handicraft, they decided to send him "to science." So Rembrandt got into a Latin school, where he studied writing, reading, and studied the Bible. At the age of 14, he successfully completed school and became a student at the University of Leiden, which at that time was famous throughout Europe. Best of all, the young man was given painting, and again, his parents showed wisdom and foresight. They took their son from the university and gave him as an apprentice to the artist Jacob Isaac Swanenbürch. Three years later, Rembrandt van Rijn was so successful in drawing and painting that Peter Lastman himself, who headed the Amsterdam school of painting, took up the development of his talent.

Influence of authorities

The early work of Rembrandt van Rijn was formed under the influence of such authorities as the Dutch master of painting Peter Lastman, the German artist Adam Elsheimer, the Dutch artist Jan Lievens.

The variegation, brilliance and attention to detail inherent in Lastman are clearly visible in such works by Rembrandt as "The Stoning of St. Stephen", "The Baptism of a Eunuch", "Scene from ancient history", "David before Saul", "Allegory of Music".

Jan Lievens - a friend of Rembrandt, worked side by side with him in a common studio from 1626 to 1631. Their works have much in common, and the styles are so similar that even experienced art critics often confuse the hands of the masters.

The hero of our article was guided by Adam Elsheimer, comprehending the meaning of chiaroscuro for conveying mood and emotions on canvas. The influence of the German painter is clearly seen in the works "The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man", "Christ at Emmaus", "Simeon and Anna in the Temple".

Manifestation of individuality. Success

In 1630, Harmen van Rijn died, his property was divided among themselves by the elder brothers of Rembrandt. The young artist worked for some time in the workshop in his father's house, but in 1631 he left to seek his fortune in Amsterdam.

In the capital of the kingdom, he organized a workshop and began to specialize in portrait art. The skillful use of chiaroscuro, the characteristic facial expressions, the originality of each model - all this characterized the formation of a special style of the artist. Rembrandt van Rijn began to receive massive orders and achieved commercial success.

In 1632 he received a commission for a group portrait. As a result, the creation "The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulpa" saw the light of day. The brilliant work, for which Rembrandt received a large fee, not only glorified him, but also finally confirmed the creative maturity of the artist.

Muse

During a social visit, the fashionable young artist is introduced to the daughter of the burgomaster of the city, Saskia. Not so much the girl’s external data (she was not known as a beauty, although she was pretty and cheerful), but her solid dowry attracted Rembrandt, and six months after they met, the young people got engaged, and a year later they were legally married. Marriage allowed the hero of our article to enter the highest circles of society.

The newlyweds lived well. Rembrandt van Rijn painted many portraits of his wife, including her posing for him when creating the masterpiece Danae. His income at that time was colossal. He bought a mansion in the most prestigious area of ​​Amsterdam, furnished it with chic furniture, created an impressive collection of works of art.

Four children were born in the marriage, but only the youngest son Titus, born in 1641, survived. In 1642, Saskia died of an illness. She seems to have taken the master's luck with her.

The fading of glory. Life's hardships

Since 1642, the artist has been pursued by evil fate. Rembrandt van Rijn reaches the peak of his talent. His canvases, however, are becoming less and less popular, he is gradually losing customers and students. In part, biographers explain this by the waywardness of the master: he categorically refuses to be led by customers and creates as his heart tells him. The second reason for the fading of the glory of the great painter is called, oddly enough, his skill and virtuosity, which the townsfolk could not understand and appreciate.

Rembrandt's life is changing: he is gradually impoverished, moving from a luxurious mansion to a modest house on the outskirts of the city. But he continues to spend huge sums on works of art, which leads to his complete bankruptcy. The grown-up son Titus and Hendrikje, Rembrandt's mistress, take over financial affairs, from whom his daughter Cornelia was born.

"Company of Captain Frans Baning Cock" - a 4-meter canvas, the largest painting by the master, "Bathing Woman", "Flora", "Titus in a Red Beret", "Adoration of the Shepherds" - these are the works of the master, written by him in a difficult period of his life .

Later creations

AT last years life of Rembrandt van Rijn, whose biography is set out in the article, reached the heights of his work. He was two centuries ahead of his contemporaries and predicted the development of art in the 19th century in the era of realism and impressionism. hallmark his later works are monumentalism, large-scale compositions and clarity of images. The paintings "Aristotle with the Bust of Homer" and "The Conspiracy of Julius Civilis" are particularly characteristic in this respect. The canvases "The Return of the Prodigal Son", "Artaxerxes, Haman and Esther" and "The Jewish Bride" are permeated with deep drama. Many self-portraits were painted by the master in the last years of his life.

Rembrandt van Rijn, whose paintings are true masterpieces of art, died in poverty in 1969. He was quietly buried in the Amsterdam Westerkerk church. It was only appreciated a few centuries later.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn: Paintings of a Genius

During his short journey on Earth, Rembrandt painted about 600 paintings, created about 300 etchings (engravings on metal) and almost 1,500 drawings. Most of his work is kept in the Rijksmuseum, the Amsterdam Art Museum. His most famous paintings:

• "The Anatomy Lesson" (1632).
• "Self-portrait with Saskia" (1635).
• "Danae" (1636).
• "Night watch" (1642).
• "The Return of the Prodigal Son (166(7?)).

Rembrandt is one of the greatest artists in history. repeat it characteristic style so far no one has succeeded. The gifted and talented son of a miller left behind an invaluable legacy - masterpieces of world art.

The future reformer of fine arts was born into the family of a wealthy miller in Leiden. boy with early childhood showed interest in painting, so at the age of 13 he was apprenticed to the Leiden artist Jacob van Swanenbürch. Later, Rembrandt studied with the Amsterdam painter Pieter Lastman, who specialized in historical, mythological and biblical subjects.

Already in 1627, Rembrandt managed, together with his friend Jan Lievens, to open his own workshop - the young painter, who was barely 20 years old, began to recruit students himself.

Already in the early works of Rembrandt, a special pictorial style is beginning to take shape - the artist seeks to write out his characters as emotionally as possible, literally every centimeter of the canvas is filled with drama. At the very beginning of the journey, the future unsurpassed master of working with chiaroscuro realized the power of this technique for conveying emotions.

In 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, where he was extremely enthusiastically received, art connoisseurs compared the young artist’s painting style with the works of Rubens himself - by the way, Rembrandt was happy to focus on many of the aesthetics of this artist.

The period of work in the Dutch capital has become a landmark for the portrait genre in Rembrandt's work - it is here that the master paints many studies of female and male heads, carefully working out every detail, comprehending all the subtleties of facial expressions of a human face. The artist paints wealthy citizens - his fame spreads quickly and becomes the key to commercial success - and also works a lot on self-portraits.

The fate of Rembrandt - both personal and creative - was not easy. Early caressed by fame and success, the talented painter also suddenly lost wealthy clients who failed to realize the revolutionary courage of his work. Rembrandt's legacy was truly appreciated only two centuries later - in the 19th century, realist artists were inspired by the canvases of this master, one of the brightest representatives of the golden age of Dutch painting.

"Evening Moscow"suggests to recall the most famous paintings by Rembrandt, which are the pearls of the collections of the largest museums in the world.

1. "Danae" (1633-1647)

Even if you know nothing about Rembrandt and are not interested in painting at all, this picture is definitely familiar to you. The canvas, stored in the St. Petersburg Hermitage, was almost irretrievably lost in 1985 due to a vandal who doused it with sulfuric acid and then cut the canvas with a knife.

The painting, which depicts a naked girl lying on a bed in the rays of unearthly light, was painted by Rembrandt for his home - the well-known ancient Greek myth about the beautiful Danae, the future mother of the winner Medusa Perseus, and Zeus the Thunderer was chosen as the plot. The very appearance of Danae posed a riddle to researchers of creativity, which they managed to solve quite recently: it is known that Rembrandt's model was his wife Saskia van Uilenbürch, but the Danae that has come down to us is not at all like the artist's wife. An x-ray study of the canvas showed that Rembrandt partially rewrote Danae's face after the death of his wife - and made it look like the face of his second lover, the nanny of his son Titus Gertier Dirks. Cupid, hovering over Danae, also initially looked different - the winged god laughed, and in the final version, suffering froze on his face.

After the attack on the painting in 1985, it took 12 years to restore it. The loss of painting was 27%, Rembrandt's masterpiece was being restored the best masters However, there were no guarantees of success. Fortunately, the canvas still managed to be saved, now the picture is reliably protected by armored glass.

2. "Night watch", (1642)

The colossal, almost four-meter canvas became truly fatal in the career of its creator. The correct name of the painting is "Speech of the Rifle Company of Captain Frans Banning Cock and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburg". She became the "Night Watch" after she, forgotten for two centuries, was discovered by art historians. It was decided that the painting depicted musketeers during a night service - and only after restoration it turned out that a completely different original color was hidden under a layer of soot - the shadows speak eloquently about this - the action on the canvas takes place around 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

The work was commissioned to Rembrandt by the Shooting Society, a detachment of the civil militia of the Netherlands. A group portrait of six companies was supposed to decorate the new building of the society - Rembrandt was asked to paint the rifle company of Captain Frans Banning Cock. A traditional formal portrait was expected from the artist - all the characters in a row - however, he decided to depict the musketeers in motion. The bold composition, where each figure is as dynamic as possible, did not find understanding with the customer - the dissatisfaction was caused by the fact that one of the figures was clearly visible, and someone was in the background. "Night Watch" literally broke Rembrandt's career - it was after this picture that the constant rich clients turned away from the painter, and the manner of his writing changed dramatically.

By the way, the fate of this canvas is no less tragic than that of Danae. To begin with, in the 18th century it was completely barbarously cut off to fit in the new hall of the Shooting Society. So the musketeers Jacob Dirksen de Rooy and Jan Brugman disappeared from the picture. Fortunately, a copy of the original canvas has been preserved. "Night Watch" three times survived the attack of vandals: the first time a large piece of canvas was cut out, the second time the painting was stabbed 10 times, and the third time it was doused with sulfuric acid.

Now the canvas is stored in the Rijksmuseum - the National Museum of Amsterdam. You can look at this picture for many hours - all the characters are written in such detail on a huge canvas, both "custom-made" (actually, musketeers - there are 18 of them), and added by Rembrandt at his own discretion (16 figures, the most mysterious - a little girl in the place of the "golden section" of the picture)

3. "Prodigal son in a tavern" (1635)

This self-portrait of the artist with his beloved wife Saskia on his knees is kept in the Old Masters Gallery in Dresden (aka the Dresden Gallery). There is no doubt that the artist painted this picture, being absolutely happy. It was during this period of his life that Rembrandt worked hard and fruitfully, was popular, received high fees for his work, among his customers were famous and wealthy people. The master reworked the plot from the Gospel of Luke in the spirit of the times - the prodigal son is dressed in a camisole and a wide-brimmed hat with a feather, the harlot on his knees is also dressed in the fashion of that time. By the way, this is the only painting-self-portrait of the artist together with his wife - another image of himself and Saskia in the same picturesque space Rembrandt made in the technique of engraving in 1638. Despite the general cheerful tone of the picture, the author did not forget to remind you that sooner or later you will have to pay for everything in this life - the slate in the background speaks eloquently about this, where the revelers will be billed very soon. Could Rembrandt have guessed how big his own payback for talent would be?

4. "The Return of the Prodigal Son" (1666-1669)

This is the largest painting by Rembrandt on a religious theme, it is kept in the Hermitage. The semantic center of the picture is strongly shifted to the side, the main figures are highlighted with light, the rest of the characters are covered with a shadow, which makes it impossible to make a mistake when reading the image. By the way, all Rembrandt's canvases are united by one important detail - with the general clarity of the main plot, in each picture there are riddles that art critics are unable to solve. Like the girl from The Night's Watch, The Return of the Prodigal Son has characters shrouded in mystery. There are four of them - someone conditionally calls them "brothers and sisters" of the protagonist. Some researchers interpret female figure behind the column as a second, obedient son - although traditionally this role is assigned to a man in the foreground. This man, bearded, with a staff in his hands, raises no less questions - in the Gospel of Luke, a dean brother came running to meet his prodigal relative right from the field, and here it is rather a noble wanderer, perhaps even the Eternal Jew. By the way, it is possible that Rembrandt portrayed himself in this way - self-portraits, as you know, are not uncommon in his paintings.

5. "Saskia as Flora" (1634)

Majority female images on the canvases of Rembrandt of the period 1934-1942 are written from the beloved wife of the artist Saskia van Uilenbürch. In the image of the ancient goddess of spring Flora, the master portrayed Saskia three times - the portrait we are considering was created in the year of their wedding - it can be seen with the naked eye that Rembrandt idolized his wife, admired her and put all his tenderness into the picturesque creation.

Saskia was 22 years old at the time of her marriage, at the age of 17 she remained an orphan. A chance brought her to her future husband - she came to Amsterdam to visit her cousin, the wife of the preacher Johann Cornelis Silvius, who was familiar with Rembrandt. The wedding took place on June 10, 1634. In 1942 - just a year after the birth of the long-awaited son Titus - Saskia died.

Flora-Saskia is the embodiment of youth, freshness and chastity, there is so much charming shyness and girlish freshness in her appearance. Rembrandt skillfully combined pastoral and historical portrait in this picture. By the way, of the three Flores painted from his wife (two other paintings were created in 1935 and 1941), the first one most of all refers to antiquity, the other two portraits hint at the myth only in barely noticeable details. "Saskia as Flora" is kept in the Hermitage.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) was a Dutch artist, draftsman and engraver, a great master of chiaroscuro, the largest representative of the golden age of Dutch painting. He managed to embody in his works the whole range of human experiences with such emotional richness, which fine art did not know before him. Rembrandt's works, extremely diverse in genre, open to the viewer the timeless spiritual world of human experiences and feelings.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon ("son of Harmen") van Rijn was born on July 15, 1606 (according to some sources, in 1607) in large family wealthy mill owner Harmen Gerritsson van Rijn in Leiden. The mother's family, even after the Dutch Revolution, remained faithful to the Catholic faith.

In Leiden, Rembrandt attended the Latin school at the university, but showed the greatest interest in painting. At the age of 13, he was sent to study fine art with the Leiden historical painter Jacob van Swanenbürch, a Catholic by faith. Researchers have not been able to find Rembrandt's works related to this period, so the question of Swanenbürch's influence on the formation of Rembrandt's creative manner remains open: too little is known today about this Leiden artist.

In 1623, Rembrandt studied in Amsterdam with Pieter Lastman, who had trained in Italy and specialized in historical, mythological and biblical subjects. Returning to Leiden in 1627, Rembrandt, together with his friend Jan Lievens, opened his own workshop and began to recruit students. Within a few years he gained wide popularity.

Lastman's passion for variegation and detail in execution had a huge impact on the young artist. It clearly comes through in his first surviving works - "The Stoning of St. Stephen" (1629), "A Scene from Ancient History" (1626) and "The Baptism of a Eunuch" (1626). In comparison with his mature works, they are unusually colorful, the artist strives to carefully write out every detail of the material world, as accurately as possible to convey the exotic setting of the biblical story. Almost all the characters appear before the viewer dressed up in bizarre oriental outfits, shining with jewels, which creates an atmosphere of majority, splendor, festivity (“Allegory of Music”, 1626; “David before Saul”, 1627).

The final works of the period - "Tobit and Anna", "Balaam and the donkey" - reflect not only the artist's rich imagination, but also his desire to convey the dramatic experiences of his heroes as expressively as possible. Like other masters of the Baroque, he begins to comprehend the meaning of sharply sculpted chiaroscuro in conveying emotion. His teachers in relation to working with light were the Utrecht caravagists, but he was even more guided by the works of Adam Elsheimer, a German who worked in Italy. The most caravaggist paintings by Rembrandt are “The Parable of the Foolish Rich Man” (1627), “Simeon and Anna in the Temple” (1628), “Christ at Emmaus” (1629).

Adjacent to this group is the painting The Artist in His Studio (1628; perhaps this is a self-portrait), in which the artist captured himself in the studio at the moment of contemplating his own creation. The canvas that is being worked on is brought to the forefront of the picture; in comparison with him, the author himself seems a dwarf.

One of the unresolved issues of Rembrandt's creative biography is his artistic overlap with Lievens. Working side by side, they took on the same subject more than once, such as Samson and Delilah (1628/1629) or The Resurrection of Lazarus (1631). In part, both were drawn to Rubens, who was then known as the best artist in all of Europe, sometimes Rembrandt borrowed the artistic finds of Livens, sometimes it was exactly the opposite. For this reason, the distinction between the works of Rembrandt and Lievens of 1628-1632 presents certain difficulties for art historians. Among his other famous works is "Valaam's donkey" (1626).

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