Rembrandt

{{Short description|Dutch painter and printmaker (1606–1669)}} {{About|the Dutch artist}} {{Good article}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Use British English|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox artist | name = Rembrandt | image = Rembrandt van Rijn - Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg | caption = ''[[Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar]]'' (1659) | birth_name = Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn | birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1606|7|15}}<ref name="BY">Or possibly 1607 as on 10 June 1634 he himself claimed to be 26 years old. See [http://www.codart.nl/news/82/ Is the Rembrandt Year being celebrated one year too soon? One year too late?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121211856/http://codart.nl/news/82/ |date=21 November 2010 }} and {{in lang|nl}} J. de Jong, [http://www.nd.nl/artikelen/2006/februari/03/rembrandts-geboortejaar-een-jaar-te-vroeg-gevierd Rembrandts geboortejaar een jaar te vroeg gevierd] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718111837/http://www.nd.nl/artikelen/2006/februari/03/rembrandts-geboortejaar-een-jaar-te-vroeg-gevierd |date=18 July 2010 }} for sources concerning Rembrandt's birth year, especially supporting 1607. However, most sources continue to use 1606.</ref> | birth_place = [[Leiden]], [[Dutch Republic]] | death_date = {{Death date and age|1669|10|4|1606|7|15|df=y}} | death_place = [[Amsterdam]], Dutch Republic | spouse = {{marriage|[[Saskia van Uylenburgh]]|1634|1642|end=died}} | children = 2, including [[Titus van Rijn|Titus]] | field = [[Painting]], [[printmaking]], [[drawing]] | training = [[Jacob van Swanenburg]] [[Pieter Lastman]] | movement = [[Dutch Golden Age painting|Dutch Golden Age]] [[Baroque painting|Baroque]] | works = [[Self-portraits by Rembrandt|Self-portraits]] ''[[The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp]]'' (1632) ''[[The Storm on the Sea of Galilee]]'' (1633) ''[[Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)|Belshazzar's Feast]]'' (1635–1638) ''[[The Night Watch]]'' (1642) ''[[The Hundred Guilder Print]]'' (etching, c. 1647–1649) ''[[Bathsheba at Her Bath (Rembrandt)|Bathsheba at Her Bath]]'' (1654) ''[[Syndics of the Drapers' Guild]]'' (1662) ''[[The Return of the Prodigal Son (Rembrandt)|The Return of the Prodigal Son]]'' (1661–1669) | patrons = | awards = | module = {{Infobox person|child=yes | signature = Rembrandt autograph.svg}} }}

'''Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɛ|m|b|r|æ|n|t|,_|ˈ|r|ɛ|m|b|r|ɑː|n|t}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rembrandt "Rembrandt"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200247/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rembrandt |date=4 March 2016 }}. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{IPA|nl|ˈrɛmbrɑnt ˈɦɑrmə(n)ˌsoːɱ vɑn ˈrɛin|lang|Rembrandtvanrijn.ogg}}}}{{family name footnote|[[van Rijn]]|Rijn|lang=Dutch}} (15 July 1606<ref name="BY" /> – 4 October 1669), known mononymously as '''Rembrandt''', was a [[Dutch Golden Age painter]], [[printmaker]], and [[Drawing|draughtsman]]. He is generally considered one of the greatest [[visual artists]] in the history of [[Art of Europe|Western art]].<ref name="Gombrich, p. 420">Gombrich, p. 420.</ref> It is estimated that Rembrandt's surviving works amount to about three hundred paintings, three hundred etchings, and several hundred drawings.

Unlike most Dutch painters of the 17th century, Rembrandt's works depict a wide range of styles and subject matter, from [[portrait painting|portraits]] and self-portraits to landscapes, [[genre scenes]], allegorical and historical scenes, biblical and mythological subjects and animal studies. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the [[Dutch Golden Age]].

Rembrandt never went abroad, but was considerably influenced by the work of the Italian [[Old Masters]] and [[Bentvueghels|Dutch and Flemish artists]] who had studied in Italy.  After he achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt's later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high,<ref>Gombrich, p. 427.</ref> and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters.<ref name="Clark_203">{{Harvnb|Clark|1969|p=203}}</ref> Rembrandt's portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible are regarded as his greatest creative triumphs. His approximately [[Self-portraits by Rembrandt|40 self-portraits]] form an intimate autobiography.<ref name="Gombrich, p. 420" /><ref>W. Liedtke (2007) Dutch painting in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 687</ref>

==Early life and education== [[File:Latijnse school Lokhorststraat 16 Leiden.jpg|thumb|upright|Latin school at Lokhorststraat 16, [[Leiden]]]]

Rembrandt{{efn|This version of his first name, "Rembrandt" with a "d," first appeared in his signatures in 1633. Until then, he had signed with a combination of initials or monograms. In late 1632, he began signing solely with his first name, "Rembrant". He added the "d" in the following year and stuck to this spelling for the rest of his life. Although scholars can only speculate, this change must have had a meaning for Rembrandt, which is generally interpreted as his wanting to be known by his first name like the great figures of the Italian Renaissance: Leonardo, Raphael etc., who did not sign with their last names, if at all.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rembrandt-signature-file.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409172243/http://www.rembrandt-signature-file.com/|title=Rembrandt Signature Files|archive-date=9 April 2016|website=www.rembrandt-signature-file.com}}</ref>}} Harmenszoon ({{abbr|abbr.|abbreviated patronymic surname}} Harmensz.) van Rijn was born on 15 July 1606 in Leiden,<ref name="BY" /> in the [[Dutch Republic]], now the [[Netherlands]]. He was the ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck.<ref>Bull, et al., p. 28.</ref> His family was quite well-to-do; his father was a [[miller]] and his mother was a baker's daughter. His mother was [[Catholic]], and his father belonged to the [[Dutch Reformed Church]]. Religion is a central theme in Rembrandt's works and the religiously fraught period in which he lived makes his faith a matter of interest.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Ruprecht |first=Louis A., Jr. |title=Rembrandt at 350: Light and Shadow in the Modern World |url=https://sacredmattersmagazine.com/rembrandt-at-350/ |magazine=Sacred Matters Magazine |access-date=26 February 2025}}</ref>

As a boy, he attended a [[Stedelijk Gymnasium Leiden|Latin school]]. In 1620, he was enrolled at the [[University of Leiden]], although he had a greater inclination towards painting and was soon apprenticed to [[Jacob van Swanenburg]], with whom he spent three years.<ref name="Houbraken">{{in lang|nl}} [https://archive.today/20120527043045/http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/houb005groo01_01/houb005groo01_01_0129.htm Rembrandt biography] in ''De groote schouburgh der Nederlantsche konstschilders en schilderessen'' (1718) by [[Arnold Houbraken]], courtesy of the [[Digital library for Dutch literature]]</ref> After a brief but important apprenticeship of six months with the [[history painter]] [[Pieter Lastman]] in Amsterdam, Rembrandt stayed a few months with [[Jacob Pynas]] in 1625, though [[:nl:Simon van Leeuwen|Simon van Leeuwen]] claimed that Rembrandt was taught by [[Joris van Schooten]] and then started his own workshop.<ref name=Houbraken/><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=le9GAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA189 Joris van Schooten as teacher of Rembrandt and Lievens]{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226043135/https://books.google.com/books?id=le9GAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA189 |date=26 December 2016 }} in Simon van Leeuwen's ''Korte besgryving van het Lugdunum Batavorum nu Leyden'', Leiden, 1672</ref>

==Career== In 1625, Rembrandt opened a studio in Leiden, which he shared with friend and colleague [[Jan Lievens]]. In 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, among them [[Gerrit Dou]] and [[Isaac de Jouderville]].<ref>Slive (1995) has a comprehensive biography, pp. 55ff.</ref> [[Joan Huydecoper van Maarsseveen (1599–1661)|Joan Huydecoper]] is mentioned as the first buyer of a Rembrandt painting in 1628.<ref>Schwarz, G. (1987) Rembrandt, p. 134.</ref> In 1629, Rembrandt was discovered by the statesman [[Constantijn Huygens]] who procured for Rembrandt important commissions from the court of The Hague. As a result of this connection, Prince [[Frederik Hendrik]] continued to purchase paintings from Rembrandt.<ref>Slive (1995), pp. 60, 65</ref>

[[File:SA 8422-De Kloveniersdoelen aan de Amstel-De Kloveniersburgwal op de hoek van de Amstel met de toren "Swijgh Utrecht".jpg|thumb|Rembrandt lived at the [[Amstel]] river almost next to [[Kloveniersdoelen, Amsterdam|Kloveniersdoelen]] where ''[[The Night Watch]]'' was exhibited for years; painting by [[Jan Ekels the Elder]] (1775)|left]]

At the end of 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, a city rapidly expanding as the business and trade capital. He began to practice as a professional portraitist for the first time, with great success. He initially stayed with an art dealer, [[Hendrick van Uylenburgh]], and in 1634, married Hendrick's cousin, [[Saskia van Uylenburgh]].<ref>Slive (1995), pp. 60–61</ref> Saskia came from a respected family: her father [[Rombertus van Uylenburgh|Rombertus]] was a lawyer and had been ''[[burgomaster]]'' (mayor) of Leeuwarden.  The couple married in the local church of [[St. Annaparochie|St. Annaparochie]] without the presence of Rembrandt's relatives.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120526210656/http://stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl/english/amsterdam_treasures/famous/rembrandt_and_saskia/index.en.html Registration of the banns of Rembrandt and Saskia], kept at the Amsterdam City Archives</ref> In the same year, Rembrandt became a [[poorter|citizen]] of Amsterdam and a member of the local [[guild of painters]]. He also acquired a number of students, among them [[Ferdinand Bol]] and [[Govert Flinck]].<ref name="Bull-28">Bull, et al., p. 28</ref>

In 1635, Rembrandt and Saskia rented a fashionable lodging with a view of the river Amstel.<ref name="Rijksmuseum">{{Cite web|url=https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-T-1930-53/catalogue-entry|title=Rijksmuseum|website=Rijksmuseum}}</ref> In 1637, Rembrandt moved upriver to [[Vlooienburg]], in a building on the previous site of the current [[Stopera]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://remdoc.huygens.knaw.nl/#/document/remdoc/e4458 | title=RemDoc }}</ref> In May 1639 they moved to a recently modernised house in the upscale [[Jodenbreestraat|'Breestraat']] with artists and art dealers; [[Nicolaes Pickenoy]], a portrait painter, was his neighbour. The [[mortgage loan|mortgage]] to finance the 13,000 [[guilder]] purchase would be a cause for later financial difficulties.{{Efn|Rembrandt promised the owner—a woman with mental problems—to pay a quarter of the purchase price within a year;<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CQNGDwAAQBAJ&dq=christoffel+thijs+magdalena&pg=PA25|title=Vijftien strekkende meter: Nieuwe onderzoeksmogelijkheden in het archief van de Bibliotheca Thysiana|first1=Wim van|last1=Anrooij|first2=Paul|last2=Hoftijzer|date=28 June 2017|publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren|isbn=9789087046842 |via=Google Books}}</ref> the rest within five to six years. For some reason the purchase was not registered at the town hall and had to be renewed in 1653.<ref name="DBNL">{{Cite web|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_els001191901_01/_els001191901_01_0002.php|title=Rembrandt's boedelafstand door jhr. mr. J.F. Backer., Elseviers Geïllustreerd Maandschrift. Jaargang 29|website=DBNL}}</ref>}}<ref name=Bull-28/> The neighborhood sheltered many immigrants and was becoming the Jewish quarter. It was there that Rembrandt frequently sought his Jewish neighbours to model for his Old Testament scenes.<ref>Adams, p. 660</ref> One of the great patrons at the early stages of his career was Amsterdam statesman [[Andries de Graeff]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.triomfdervrede.nl/images/andries_de_graeff_20100113.pdf|title=Pieter C. Vis: Andries de Graeff (1611–1678) 't Gezagh is heerelyk: doch vol bekommeringen}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theleidencollection.com/artwork/portrait-of-andries-de-graeff/|title=Portrait of Andries de Graeff (1611–1678), Burgomaster of Amsterdam|website=The Leiden Collection}}</ref>

[[File:Cornelis Springer, Afb 010001000785.jpg|thumb|[[Rembrandt House Museum|Rembrandt's house]] at [[Jodenbreestraat]] by [[Cornelis Springer]] (1853); in the background the [[Zuiderkerk]] where his children were buried]]

Although they were by now affluent, the couple suffered several personal setbacks; three children died within weeks of their births.{{Efn|Their son Rombartus died two months after his birth  and their daughter Cornelia died at just three weeks of age.  A second daughter, also named Cornelia, died after living barely over a month.}}{{Efn|His children were christened in Dutch Reformed churches in Amsterdam: four in the [[Oude Kerk, Amsterdam|Oude Kerk]], and Titus in the [[Zuiderkerk]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doopregisters, Zoek |url=https://archief.amsterdam/indexen/persons?sa=%7B%22person_1%22:%7B%22search_t_geslachtsnaam%22:%22r*n%22,%22search_t_tussenvoegsel%22:%22van%20%22,%22search_t_voornaam%22:%22remb*%22%7D,%22search_s_register_type_title%22:%5B%22DTB%20Dopen%22%5D%7D&sort=%7B%22order_i_datum%22:%22asc%22%7DD |access-date=7 March 2023 |publisher=Amsterdam City Archive |language=nl}}</ref>}} Only their fourth child, [[Titus van Rijn|Titus]], who was born in 1641, survived into adulthood. Saskia died in 1642, probably from [[tuberculosis]]. Rembrandt's drawings of her on her sick and death bed are among his most moving works.<ref name="Slive-71">Slive (1995), p. 71</ref><ref name="Rijksmuseum" />  After Saskia's illness, the widow [[Geertje Dircx]] was hired as Titus' caretaker and dry nurse; at some time, she also became Rembrandt's lover. In May 1649 she left and charged Rembrandt with [[breach of promise]]  and asked to be awarded [[alimony]].<ref name="Bull-28" /> Rembrandt tried to settle the matter amicably, but to pay her lawyer she pawned the diamond ring he had given her that once belonged to Saskia. On 14 October they came to an agreement; the court particularly stated that Rembrandt had to pay a yearly maintenance allowance, provided that Titus remained her only heir and she sold none of Rembrandt's possessions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archief.amsterdam/indexen/persons?f=%7B%22search_i_datum%22:%7B%22v%22:%5B%2216360000%22,%2216979999%22%5D,%22d%22:%221636+-+1697%22%7D%7D&ss=%7B%22q%22:%22+%22%7D&sa=%7B%22person_1%22:%7B%22search_t_voornaam%22:%22geer*%22%7D,%22person_2%22:%7B%22search_t_voornaam%22:%22rembr*%22%7D%7D&sort=%7B%22order_i_datum%22:%22asc%22%7D|title=Indexen|website=archief.amsterdam}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Rembrandt's bankruptcy: the artist, his patrons, and the art market in seventeenth-century Nederlands|last=Crenshaw|first=Paul|date=2006|publisher=University Press|isbn=978-0521858250|location=Cambridge|language=English|oclc=902528433}}</ref> As Dircx broke her promise, Rembrandt and members of Dircx's own family had her committed to a women's house of correction at [[Gouda, South Holland|Gouda]] in August 1650. Rembrandt also took measures to ensure she stayed in the house of correction for as long as possible.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Dircks|title=Dircks, Geertje (ca. 1610-1656?) |website=Resources Huygens ING |date=25 March 2024 }}</ref> Rembrandt paid for the costs.<ref>C. Driessen, pp. 151–157</ref>{{Efn|Five years later he did not support her release without the presence of her brother, a sailor.  In August 1656 Geertghe Dircx was listed as one of Rembrandt's seven major creditors.}}

In early 1649, Rembrandt began a relationship with the 23-year-old [[Hendrickje Stoffels]], who had initially been his maid. She may have been the cause of Geertje's leaving. In that year he made no (dated) paintings or etchings at all.<ref>Gary Schwartz (1987) Rembrandt. Zijn leven, zijn schilderijen, p. 248.</ref> In 1654 Rembrandt painted a nude [[Bathsheba at Her Bath (Rembrandt)|Bathsheba at Her Bath]]. In June Hendrickje received three summonses from the Reformed Church to answer the charge "that she had committed the acts of a whore with Rembrandt the painter". In July she admitted her guilt and was banned from receiving [[eucharist|communion]].<ref>G. Schwartz, pp. 292–293</ref> Rembrandt was not summoned to appear for the Church council.<ref>Slive (1995), p. 82</ref> In October they had a daughter, Cornelia. Had he remarried he would have lost access to a trust set up for Titus in Saskia's will.<ref name=Slive-71/>

===Insolvency===

Rembrandt, despite his artistic success, found himself in financial turmoil. His penchant for acquiring art, prints, and rare items led him to live beyond his means. In January 1653 the sale of the property formally was finalised but Rembrandt still had to cover half of the remaining mortgage. Creditors began pressing for [[hire purchase|instalments]] but Rembrandt, facing financial strain, sought a postponement. The  house required repairs prompting Rembrandt to borrow money from friends, including [[Jan Six]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rembrandt |url=https://voetnoot.org/tag/rembrandt/ |website=Voetnoot.org}}</ref>{{Efn|Quite a few people were in debt after the [[First Anglo-Dutch War]].<ref>Dehing, P. (2012). Geld in Amsterdam. Wisselbank en wisselkoersen, 1650–1725. [Universiteit van Amsterdam], p. 142</ref> The Dutch were driven from [[Dutch Brazil|Brazil]] too; the 'Brazilian Adventure' cost the Dutch merchant community dearly.<ref>Professor P. C. Emmer, review of The Rise of Commercial Empires England and the Netherlands in the Age of Mercantilism, 1650–1770, (review no. 345) https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/345 Date accessed: 26 March 2023</ref> }}

In November 1655, amid a year overshadowed by [[Plague (disease)|plague]] and the drafting of wills, Rembrandt's 14-year-old son Titus took a significant step by drafting a will that designated his father as the sole heir, effectively sidelining his mother's family.<ref name="oudholland.rkd.nl">Wexuan, Li. [https://oudholland.rkd.nl/index.php/reviews/32-review-of-machiel-bosman-rembrandts-plan-de-ware-geschiedenis-van-zijn-faillissement "Review of: 'Rembrandts plan: De ware geschiedenis van zijn faillissement"], ''Oud Holland Reviews'', April 2020.</ref><ref>Broos, B. (1999) Das Leben Rembrandts van Rijn (1606–1669). In: Rembrandt Selbstbildnisse, p. 79.</ref> In December Rembrandt orchestrated a sale of his paintings, yet the earnings failed to meet expectations.<ref name="Geschiedenis">{{cite web | url=https://geschiedenismagazine.nl/drie-vragen-aan-machiel-bosman | title=Drie vragen aan Machiel Bosman | Rembrandts plan | Faillissement Rembrandt van Rijn }}</ref> This tumultuous period deeply impacted the art industry, prompting Rembrandt to seek a high court arrangement known as [[cessio bonorum]].<ref>[https://www.aup-online.com/content/journals/10.5117/PM2019.1.004.VELD C.M. in ’t Veld (2019) Rembrandts boedelafstand: een institutionele en politieke benadering]</ref>  Despite the financial difficulties, Rembrandt's bankruptcy was not forced.<ref name="Geschiedenis"/><ref name="oudholland.rkd.nl"/> In July 1656, he declared his [[insolvency]], taking stock and willingly surrendered his assets.<ref name="Bosman">M. Bosman (2019) Rembrandts plan. De ware geschiedenis van zijn faillissement</ref> Notably, he had already transferred the house to his son.<ref name="DBNL"/>  Both the authorities and his creditors showed leniency, granting him ample time to settle his debts. [[Jacob J. Hinlopen#Jacob J. Hinlopen, son|Jacob J. Hinlopen]] allegedly played a role.<ref>Crenshaw, P. (2006) Rembrandt's Bankruptcy. The artist, his patrons and the art market in seventeenth-century Netherlands, pp. 61, 76.</ref>

In November 1657 another auction was held to sell his paintings, as well as a substantial number of etching plates and drawings, some of the latter by famous artists including [[Raphael]], [[Andrea Mantegna|Mantegna]] and [[Giorgione]].{{Efn|[[Jan van de Capelle]] bought 500 of the drawings/prints by [[Lucas van Leyden]], [[Hercules Seghers]] and [[Goltzius]] among others.}} Remarkably, Rembrandt was permitted to retain his tools  as a means of generating income.<ref name="DBNL"/> Rembrandt lost the guardianship of his son and thus control over his actions. A new guardian, Louis Crayers, claimed the house in settlement of Titus's debt.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://zenodo.org/records/5152798/files/A83(2021)Rembrandt'sInsolvency.pdf|title=Rembrandt's insolvency: The artist as legal actor|first1=Dave De|last1=Ruysscher |first2=Cornelis In ’T|last2=Veld|date=26 April 2021 |journal=Oud Holland – Journal for Art of the Low Countries |volume=134|issue=1|pages=9–24 |via=brill.com |doi=10.1163/18750176-13401002|s2cid=236619973 }}</ref>

The sale list comprising 363 items offers insight into Rembrandt's diverse collections, which encompassed [[Old Master]] paintings, drawings, busts of [[Roman emperors]], statues of [[Greek philosophers]], books (a bible), two [[globes]], bonnets, [[armour]], and various objects from Asia ([[porcelain]]), as well as a collections of [[natural history]] specimens (two lion skins, a [[bird-of-paradise]], [[corals]] and minerals).<ref>Schwartz (1984), pp. 288–291</ref> Unfortunately, the prices realised in the sale were disappointing.<ref>Slive (1995), p. 84</ref>

[[File:Stadsarchief Amsterdam, Afb ANWO00139000001.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|Rembrandt moved to [[Rozengracht]] 184, [[Stadsarchief Amsterdam]]]]

By February 1658, Rembrandt' house was sold at a [[foreclosure]] auction, and the family moved to more modest lodgings at [[Rozengracht]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archief.amsterdam/inventarissen/details/10009|title=Inventarissen|website=archief.amsterdam}}</ref>  In 1660, he finished ''[[Ahasuerus and Haman at the feast of Esther]]'' which he sold to [[Jan J. Hinlopen]].<ref>Dudok van Heel, S.A.C. (1969) De Rembrandt's in de verzamelingen Hinlopen. In: Maandblad Amstelodamum, pp. 233-237. (In Dutch.)</ref> Early December 1660, the sale of the house was finalised but the proceeds went directly to Titus' guardian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archief.amsterdam/inventarissen/details/5061/path/2.6.4.8|title=Inventarissen|website=archief.amsterdam}}</ref><ref name="oudholland.rkd.nl"/>

[[File:Rembrandt-Civilis-recto-1.jpg|thumb|Sketch for ''[[The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis]]'' (October 1661 or later)]]

Two weeks later, Hendrickje and Titus established a [[dummy corporation]] as art dealers, allowing Rembrandt, who had [[room and board|board and lodging]], to continue his artistic pursuits.<ref>Clark, 1974 p. 105</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amsterdam.nl/stadsarchief/nieuws/rembrandt-0/|title=De geldzaken van Rembrandt - Stadsarchief Amsterdam}}</ref> In 1661, they secured a contract for a major project at the newly completed [[Royal Palace (Amsterdam)|town hall]]. The resulting work, ''[[The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis]]'', was rejected by [[list of mayors of Amsterdam#17th century|the mayors]] and returned to the painter within a few weeks; the surviving fragment (in Stockholm) is only a quarter of the original.<ref>Clark 1974, pp. 60–61</ref>

Despite these setbacks, Rembrandt continued to receive significant portrait commissions and completed notable works, such as the [[Sampling Officials]] in 1662.<ref>Bull, et al., p. 29.</ref>  It remains a challenge to gauge Rembrandt's wealth accurately as he may have overestimated the value of his art collection.<ref name="Bosman" /> Nonetheless, half of his assets were earmarked for Titus' inheritance.<ref>[[Jan Veth]] (1906) [https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_gid001190601_01/_gid001190601_01_0060.php Rembrandt's verwarde zaken DBNL]</ref>

In March 1663, with Hendrickje's illness, Titus assumed a more prominent role. Isaac van Hertsbeeck, Rembrandt's primary creditor, went to the [[Hof van Holland|High Court]] and contested Titus' priority for payment, leading to legal battles that Titus ultimately won in 1665 when he came of age.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://zenodo.org/records/5152798/files/A83(2021)Rembrandt'sInsolvency.pdf|title=Rembrandt's insolvency: The artist as legal actor|first1=Dave De|last1=Ruysscher|first2=Cornelis In ’T|last2=Veld|date=26 April 2021|journal=Oud Holland – Journal for Art of the Low Countries|volume=134|issue=1|pages=9–24|via=brill.com|doi=10.1163/18750176-13401002|s2cid=236619973 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aIuiMMq96_gC&q=1665&pg=PA90|title=Hof van Holland, Zeeland en West-Friesland: de hoofdlijnen van het procederen in civiele zaken voor het Hof van Holland, Zeeland en West-Friesland zowel in eerste instantie als in hoger beroep|first1=M.-Ch le|last1=Bailly|first2=Maria Charlotte Le|last2=Bailly|date=28 June 2008|publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren|isbn=978-9087040567 |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name="oudholland.rkd.nl"/> During this time, Rembrandt worked on notable pieces like [[The Jewish Bride]] and his final self-portraits but struggled with rent arrears.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.garyschwartzarthistorian.nl/380-whitewashing-rembrandt-part-2/|title=380 Whitewashing Rembrandt, part 2 – Gary Schwartz Art Historian|date=1 March 2020}}</ref> Notably, [[Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany]], visited Rembrandt twice, and returned to Florence with one of the self-portraits.<ref>Clark 1978, p. 34</ref>

Rembrandt outlived both [[Hendrickje Stoffels|Hendrickje]] and Titus;  he died on Friday 4 October 1669 and was buried four days later in a rented grave in the [[Westerkerk#Rembrandt|Westerkerk]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120526210656/http://stadsarchief.amsterdam.nl/english/amsterdam_treasures/death/rembrandt/index.en.html Burial register of the Westerkerk with record of Rembrandt's burial], kept at the Amsterdam City Archives</ref>  His [[illegitimate child]], Cornelia (1654–1684), eventually moved to [[Old Batavia|Batavia]] in 1670 accompanied by an obscure painter  and her mother's inheritance.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vondel.humanities.uva.nl/ecartico/persons/8528 | title=Cornelia van Rijn }}</ref> Titus' considerable inheritance passed to his only child, Titia (1669-1715) who married her cousin and lived at [[Blauwburgwal]].<ref>Dudok van Heel, S.A.C. (1987) Dossier Rembrandt, pp. 86–88</ref> Rembrandt's life was marked by more than just artistic achievements; he navigated numerous legal and financial challenges, leaving a complex legacy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2021/11/rembrandt-made-a-mess-of-his-legal-and-financial-life|title=Rembrandt made a mess of his legal and financial life|date=16 November 2021|website=Leiden University}}</ref><ref>[https://www.vub.be/en/news/rembrandts-insolvency-no-preconceived-plan-but-smart-entr Rembrandt’s insolvency: No preconceived plan, but smart entrepreneurship. VUB, 2021] </ref>

== Works ==

=== Overview === {{see also|List of paintings by Rembrandt|List of etchings by Rembrandt|List of drawings by Rembrandt}}

[[File:Rembrandt Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Rembrandt's only known [[seascape]], ''[[The Storm on the Sea of Galilee]]'' (1633), is still missing after the [[Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft|robbery from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]] in 1990.|left]]

In a letter to Huygens, Rembrandt offered the only surviving explanation of what he sought to achieve through his art, writing that, "the greatest and most natural movement", translated from ''de meeste en de natuurlijkste beweegelijkheid''. The word "''beweegelijkheid''" translates to "emotion" or "motive". Whether this refers to objectives, material, or something else, is not known but critics have drawn particular attention to the way Rembrandt seamlessly melded the earthly and spiritual.<ref>Hughes, p. 6</ref>

Earlier 20th century connoisseurs claimed Rembrandt had produced well over 600 paintings,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://staff.science.uva.nl/~fjseins/RembrandtCatalogue/r_stats.html|title=A Web Catalogue of Rembrandt Paintings|date=28 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728230138/http://staff.science.uva.nl/~fjseins/RembrandtCatalogue/r_stats.html|archive-date=28 July 2012}}</ref> nearly 400 etchings and 2,000 drawings.<ref name="Rembrandtart">{{Cite web|url=https://westernciv.com/profile/login/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929010501/http://www.westernciv.com/courses/2004/noeuart.shtml|title=Institute Member Login – Institute for the Study of Western Civilisation|archive-date=29 September 2007}}</ref> More recent scholarship, from the 1960s to the present day (led by the [[Rembrandt Research Project]]), often controversially, has winnowed his oeuvre to nearer 300 paintings.{{efn|Useful totals of the figures from various different oeuvre catalogues, often divided into classes along the lines of: "very likely authentic", "possibly authentic" and "unlikely to be authentic" are given at [http://staff.science.uva.nl/~fjseins/RembrandtCatalogue/ the Online Rembrandt catalogue]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://staff.science.uva.nl/~fjseins/RembrandtCatalogue/ |title=A Web Catalogue of Rembrandt Paintings |access-date=10 July 2007 |archive-date=13 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513080039/http://staff.science.uva.nl/~fjseins/RembrandtCatalogue/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} His [[old master print|prints]], traditionally all called etchings, although many are produced in whole or part by [[engraving]] and sometimes [[drypoint]], have a much more stable total of slightly under 300.{{efn|Two hundred years ago Bartsch listed 375. More recent catalogues have added three (two in unique impressions) and excluded enough to reach totals as follows: Schwartz, pp. 6, 289; Münz 1952, 279; Boon 1963, 287 [https://web.archive.org/web/20000831232904/http://www.printcouncil.org/search.html Print Council of America] – but Schwartz's total quoted does not tally with the book.}} It is likely Rembrandt made many more drawings in his lifetime than 2,000 but those extant are rarer than presumed.{{efn|It is not possible to give a total, as a new wave of scholarship on Rembrandt drawings is still in progress – analysis of the Berlin collection for an exhibition in 2006/7 has produced a probable drop from 130 sheets there to about 60. [http://www.codart.nl/exhibitions/details/911/ Codart.nl]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.codart.nl/exhibitions/details/911/ |title=Rembrandt, der Zeichner |access-date=3 October 2007 |archive-date=27 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160527001029/http://www.codart.nl/exhibitions/details/911/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The British Museum is due to publish a new catalogue after a similar exercise.}} Two experts claim that the number of drawings whose autograph status can be regarded as effectively "certain" is no higher than about 75, although this is disputed. The list was to be unveiled at a scholarly meeting in February 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schwartzlist 301 – Blog entry by the Rembrandt scholar Gary Schwartz | date=3 January 2010 |url=http://www.garyschwartzarthistorian.nl/schwartzlist/?id=148 |access-date=17 February 2012 |publisher=Garyschwartzarthistorian.nl |archive-date=22 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222115235/http://www.garyschwartzarthistorian.nl/schwartzlist/?id=148 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Rembrandt van Rijn - A Polish nobleman.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''[[A Polish Nobleman]]'' (1637)]]

At one time, approximately 90 paintings were counted as [[Self-portraits by Rembrandt|Rembrandt self-portraits]] but it is now known that he had his students copy his own self-portraits as part of their training. Modern scholarship has reduced the autograph count to over forty paintings, as well as a few drawings and thirty-one etchings, which include many of the most remarkable images of the group.<ref>White and Buvelot 1999, p. 10.</ref> Some show him posing in quasi-historical fancy dress, or pulling faces at himself. His oil paintings trace the progress from an uncertain young man, through the dapper and very successful portrait-painter of the 1630s, to the troubled but massively powerful portraits of his old age. Together they give a remarkably clear picture of the man, his appearance and his psychological make-up, as revealed by his richly weathered face.{{efn|While the popular interpretation is that these paintings represent a personal and introspective journey, it is possible that they were painted to satisfy a market for self-portraits by prominent artists. Van de Wetering, p. 290.}}

In his portraits and self-portraits, he angles the sitter's face in such a way that the ridge of the nose nearly always forms the line of demarcation between brightly illuminated and shadowy areas. A Rembrandt face is a face partially eclipsed; and the nose, bright and obvious, thrusting into the riddle of halftones, serves to focus the viewer's attention upon, and to dramatise, the division between a flood of light—an overwhelming clarity—and a brooding duskiness.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taylor |first=Michael |title=Rembrandt's nose: of flesh & spirit in the master's portraits |date=2007 |publisher=Distributed art publishers |isbn=978-1-933045-44-3 |location=New York}}</ref>

[[File:Rembrandt Winterlandschap 1646.jpg|thumb|''Winter Landscape'' (1646), his only composition in this genre|left]]

In some of his biblical works, including ''The Raising of the Cross'', ''Joseph Telling His Dreams'', and ''[[The Stoning of Saint Stephen]]'', Rembrandt painted himself as a character in the crowd. Durham suggests that this was because the Bible was for Rembrandt "a kind of diary, an account of moments in his own life".<ref>Durham, p. 60.</ref>

Among the more prominent characteristics of Rembrandt's work are his use of [[chiaroscuro]], the theatrical employment of light and shadow derived from [[Caravaggio]], or, more likely, from the [[Utrecht Caravaggism|Dutch Caravaggisti]] but adapted for very personal means.<ref>Bull, et al., pp. 11–13.</ref> Also notable are his dramatic and lively presentation of subjects, devoid of the rigid formality that his contemporaries often displayed, and a deeply felt compassion for mankind, irrespective of wealth and age. His immediate family—his wife Saskia, his son Titus and his common-law wife Hendrickje—often figured prominently in his paintings,<ref>{{cite web |last=Wheelock |first=Arthur K., Jr. |author-link=Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. |title=Rembrandt as Universal Artist |url=https://www.theleidencollection.com/essays/rembrandt-as-universal-artist/ |publisher=The Leiden Collection |date=2020}}</ref> many of which had [[mythology|mythical]], biblical or historical subjects.<ref>{{cite web |last=Vaizey |first=Marina |author-link=Marina Vaizey |title=Schama on Rembrandt: Masterpieces of the Late Years, BBC Two |url=https://theartsdesk.com/tv/schama-rembrandt-masterpieces-late-years-bbc-two |website=The Arts Desk |date=19 October 2014}}</ref>

===Periods, subjects and styles=== [[File:Rembrandt - The Abduction of Europa - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[The Abduction of Europa (Rembrandt)|''The Abduction of Europa'']] (1632) has been described as "...a shining example of the 'golden age' of [[Baroque]] painting".<ref>Clough, p. 23</ref>]]

Throughout his career, Rembrandt took as his most common subjects portraits, narrative or "[[history painting]]s", mostly biblical, and [[landscape painting|landscapes]]. He was especially praised by his contemporaries for his biblical subjects, for his skill in representing emotions, and attention to detail.<ref>van der Wetering, p. 268.</ref> Stylistically, his paintings progressed from the early "smooth" manner, characterised by fine technique in the portrayal of illusionistic form, to the late "rough" treatment of richly variegated paint surfaces, which allowed for an illusionism of form suggested by the tactile quality of the paint itself. Rembrandt must have realised that if he kept the paint deliberately loose and "paint-like" on some parts of the canvas, the perception of space became much greater.<ref>van de Wetering, pp. 160, 190.</ref>

A parallel development may be seen in Rembrandt's skill as a printmaker. In the etchings of his maturity, particularly from the late 1640s onward, the freedom and breadth of his drawings and paintings found expression in the print medium as well. The works encompass a wide range of subject matter and technique, sometimes leaving large areas of white paper to suggest space, at other times employing complex webs of line to produce rich dark tones.<ref>Ackley, p. 14.</ref>

[[File:Rembrandt, Portret van Haesje v.Cleyburg 1634.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Portrait of Haesje Jacobsdr. van Cleyburg from Rotterdam (1634) completed during the height of his commercial success|left]]

Lastman's influence on Rembrandt was most prominent during his period in Leiden from 1625 to 1631.<ref name="Wetering-284">van de Wetering, p. 284.</ref> Paintings were rather small but rich in details (for example, in costumes and jewelry). Religious and [[allegory|allegorical]] subjects were favoured, as were [[tronie]]s.<ref name=Wetering-284/> In 1626 Rembrandt produced his first etchings, the wide dissemination of which would largely account for his international fame.<ref name=Wetering-284/> In 1629, he completed ''[[Judas Repentant, Returning the Pieces of Silver]]'' and ''[[Artist in his studio|The Artist in His Studio]]'', works that evidence his interest in the handling of light and variety of paint application and constitute the first major progress in his development as a painter.<ref>van de Wetering, p. 285.</ref>

During his early years in Amsterdam (1632–1636), Rembrandt began to paint dramatic biblical and mythological scenes in high contrast and of large format (''[[The Blinding of Samson]]'', 1636, ''[[Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)|Belshazzar's Feast]]'', c. 1635 ''[[Danaë (Rembrandt)|Danaë]]'', 1636 but reworked later), seeking to emulate the baroque style of [[Rubens]].<ref>van de Wetering, p. 287.</ref> With the occasional help of assistants in Uylenburgh's workshop, he painted numerous portrait commissions both small (''[[Jacob de Gheyn III (painting)|Jacob de Gheyn III]]'') and large (''Portrait of the Shipbuilder Jan Rijcksen and his Wife'', 1633, ''[[Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp]]'', 1632).<ref>van de Wetering, p. 286.</ref>

[[File:Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606-Amsterdam 1669) - Self-Portrait in a Flat Cap - RCIN 404120 - Royal Collection.jpg|thumb|Self-Portrait with a flat cap (1642) [[Royal Collection]]]]

By the late 1630s, Rembrandt had produced a few paintings and many etchings of [[landscape painting|landscapes]]. Often these landscapes highlighted natural drama, featuring uprooted trees and ominous skies (''Cottages before a Stormy Sky'', c. 1641; ''[[The Three Trees]]'', 1643). From 1640 his work became less exuberant and more sober in tone, possibly reflecting personal tragedy. Biblical scenes were now derived more often from the [[New Testament]] than the [[Old Testament]], as had been the case before. In 1642 he painted ''[[The Night Watch]]'', the most substantial of the important group portrait commissions which he received in this period, and through which he sought to find solutions to compositional and narrative problems that had been attempted in previous works.<ref>van de Wetering, p. 288.</ref>

In the decade following ''[[The Night Watch]]'', Rembrandt's paintings varied greatly in size, subject, and style. The previous tendency to create dramatic effects primarily by strong contrasts of light and shadow gave way to the use of frontal lighting and larger and more saturated areas of colour. Simultaneously, figures came to be placed parallel to the picture plane. These changes can be seen as a move toward a classical mode of composition and, considering the more expressive use of brushwork as well, may indicate a familiarity with Venetian art (''[[Susanna and the Elders (Rembrandt)|Susanna and the Elders]]'', 1637–47).<ref>van de Wetering, pp. 163–165.</ref> At the same time, there was a marked decrease in painted works in favour of etchings and drawings of landscapes.<ref>van de Wetering, p. 289.</ref>

[[File:Rembrandt - Zelfportret - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''Self Portrait'' (1658), now [[Frick Collection]], New York, has been described as "the calmest and grandest of all his portraits".<ref>Clark 1978, p. 28</ref>|left]]

In the 1650s, Rembrandt's style changed again. Colours became richer and brush strokes more pronounced. With these changes, Rembrandt distanced himself from earlier work and current fashion, which increasingly inclined toward fine, detailed works. His use of light becomes more jagged and harsh, and shine becomes almost nonexistent. His singular approach to paint application may have been suggested in part by familiarity with the work of [[Titian]], and could be seen in the context of the then current discussion of 'finish' and surface quality of paintings. Contemporary accounts sometimes remark disapprovingly of the coarseness of Rembrandt's brushwork, and the artist himself was said to have dissuaded visitors from looking too closely at his paintings.<ref>van de Wetering, pp. 155–165.</ref> The tactile manipulation of paint may hearken to medieval procedures, when mimetic effects of rendering informed a painting's surface. The result is a richly varied handling of paint, deeply layered and often apparently haphazard, which suggests form and space in both an illusory and highly individual manner.<ref>van de Wetering, pp. 157–158, 190.</ref>

In later years, [[Bible|biblical]] subjects were often depicted but emphasis shifted from dramatic group scenes to intimate portrait-like figures (''James the Apostle'', 1661). In his last years, Rembrandt painted his most deeply reflective self-portraits (from 1652 to 1669 he painted fifteen), and several moving images of both men and women (''[[The Jewish Bride]]'', c. 1666)—in love, in life, and before God.<ref>"In Rembrandt's (late) great portraits we feel face to face with real people, we sense their warmth, their need for sympathy and also their loneliness and suffering. Those keen and steady eyes that we know so well from Rembrandt's self-portraits must have been able to look straight into the human heart." Gombrich, p. 423.</ref><ref>''The Jewish Bride'' "is a picture of grown-up love, a marvelous amalgam of richness, tenderness, and trust... the heads which, in their truth, have a spiritual glow that painters influenced by the classical tradition could never achieve." Clark{{year needed|date=January 2026}}, p. 206.</ref>

===Graphic works=== {{main|Rembrandt's prints}}

{{Further|List of etchings by Rembrandt}} [[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - Christ with the Sick around Him, Receiving Little Children (The 'Hundred Guilder Print') - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The ''[[Hundred Guilder Print]]'' (c. 1647–1649)]]

Rembrandt produced [[etching]]s for most of his career, from 1626 to 1660, when he was forced to sell his printing-press and practically abandoned etching. Only the troubled year of 1649 produced no dated work.<ref>Schwartz, 1994, pp. 8–12</ref> He took easily to etching and, though he learned to use a [[Burin (engraving)|burin]] and partly [[engraving|engraved]] many plates, the freedom of etching technique was fundamental to his work. He was very closely involved in the whole process of printmaking, and must have printed at least early examples of his etchings himself. At first he used a style based on drawing but soon moved to one based on painting, using a mass of lines and numerous bitings with the acid to achieve different strengths of line. Towards the end of the 1630s, he reacted against this manner and moved to a simpler style, with fewer bitings.<ref>White 1969, pp. 5–6</ref>

He worked on the so-called ''[[Hundred Guilder Print]]'' in stages throughout the 1640s, and it was the "critical work in the middle of his career", from which his final etching style began to emerge.<ref>White 1969, p. 6</ref> Although the print only survives in two [[state (printmaking)|states]], the first very rare, evidence of much reworking can be seen underneath the final print and many drawings survive for elements of it.<ref>White 1969, pp. 6, 9–10</ref>

[[File:Die landschaft mit den drei baeumen.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''[[The Three Trees]]'' (1643)|left]]

In the mature works of the 1650s, Rembrandt was more ready to improvise on the plate and large prints typically survive in several states, up to eleven, often radically changed. He now used [[hatching]] to create his dark areas, which often take up much of the plate. He also experimented with the effects of printing on different kinds of paper, including [[Japanese paper]], which he used frequently, and on [[vellum]]. He began to use "[[surface tone]]", leaving a thin film of ink on parts of the plate instead of wiping it completely clean to print each impression. He made more use of [[drypoint]], exploiting, especially in landscapes, the rich fuzzy burr that this technique gives to the first few impressions.<ref>White, 1969 pp. 6–7</ref>

[[File:B159 Rembrandt.jpg|thumb|''[[Conus Marmoreus (print)|Conus Marmoreus]]'' or ''The Shell'' is Rembrandt's only [[still life]] etching]]

His prints have similar subjects to his paintings, although the 27 self-portraits are relatively more common, and portraits of other people less so. The landscapes, mostly small, largely set the course for the graphic treatment of landscape until the end of the 19th century. Of the many hundreds of drawings Rembrandt made, only about two hundred have a landscape motif as their subject, and of the approximately three hundred etchings, about thirty show a landscape. As for his painted landscapes, one does not even get beyond eight works.<ref>

Christiaan Vogelaar & Gregor J.M. Weber (2006) Rembrandts Landschappen</ref> One third of his etchings are of religious subjects, many treated with a homely simplicity, whilst others are his most monumental prints. A few erotic, or just obscene, compositions have no equivalent in his paintings.<ref>See Schwartz, 1994, where the works are divided by subject, following [[Adam Bartsch|Bartsch]].</ref> Rembrandt owned, until forced to sell it, a magnificent collection of works by other artists. He was influenced by artists including [[Caravaggio]] with his chiaroscuro lighting.<ref name="NG overview">{{cite web |title=Rembrandt 1606 - 1669 |url=https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/rembrandt |publisher=The National Gallery |access-date=26 February 2025}}</ref> Borrowings and influences in his work can be traced to artists as diverse as [[Andrea Mantegna]] (with his ''Entombment''),<ref>{{cite web |title=The Entombment: Andrea Mantegna |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/mantegna-the-entombment.html |publisher=National Gallery of Art |access-date=26 February 2025 |quote=Rembrandt, among others, used Mantegna's Entombment as a model. |archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226143941/https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/mantegna-the-entombment.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Anthony van Dyck]], [[Raphael]], [[Titian]], [[Peter Paul Rubens]],<ref name="Liedtke 2003">{{cite web |last1=Liedtke |first1=Walter A. |title=Rembrandt (1606–1669): Paintings |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/essays/rembrandt-van-rijn-1606-1669-paintings |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |access-date=26 February 2025 |date=1 October 2003}}</ref> [[Hercules Seghers]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Under the Spell of Hercules Segers: Rembrandt and the Moderns |url=https://www.rembrandthuis.nl/en/exhibition/under-the-spell-of-hercules-segers-rembrandt-and-the-moderns/ |publisher=Museum Rembrandt Huis |access-date=26 February 2025}}</ref> and [[Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Self-Portrait: Rembrandt van Rijn |url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/rembrandt-self-portrait.html |publisher=National Gallery of Art |access-date=26 February 2025 |archive-date=26 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250226144534/https://www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/rembrandt-self-portrait.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Drawings by Rembrandt and [[list of Rembrandt pupils|his pupils]] have been extensively studied by many artists and scholars{{efn|Such as [[Otto Benesch]],<ref>Benesch, Otto: ''The Drawings of Rembrandt: First Complete Edition in Six Volumes''. (London: Phaidon, 1954–57)</ref><ref>Benesch, Otto: ''Rembrandt as a [[Drawing|Draughtsman]]: An Essay with 115 Illustrations''. (London: Phaidon Press, 1960)</ref><ref>Benesch, Otto: ''The [[List of drawings by Rembrandt|Drawings of Rembrandt]]. A Critical and Chronological Catalogue'' [2nd ed., 6 vols.]. (London: Phaidon, 1973)</ref> [[David Hockney]],<ref name="Hockney2014">{{Cite web |last=Lewis, Tim |date=16 November 2014 |title=David Hockney: 'When I'm working, I feel like Picasso, I feel I'm 30' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/16/david-hockney-interview-i-feel-like-picasso |access-date=16 June 2020 |website=[[The Guardian]] |archive-date=16 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516011950/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/nov/16/david-hockney-interview-i-feel-like-picasso |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Nigel Konstam]], [[Jakob Rosenberg (art historian)|Jakob Rosenberg]], [[Gary Schwartz (art historian)|Gary Schwartz]], and [[Seymour Slive]].<ref>Slive, Seymour: ''The Drawings of Rembrandt: A New Study''. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2009)</ref><ref>Silve, Seymour: ''The Drawings of Rembrandt''. (London: Thames & Hudson, 2019)</ref>}} through the centuries.

===Asian inspiration=== {{main|Rembrandt's Mughal drawings}} [[File:Rembrandt 208 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Rembrandt's drawing of an Indian [[Mughal painting]] (detail)]]

Rembrandt was interested in [[Mughal painting|Mughal miniatures]], especially around the 1650s. He drew versions of some 23 Mughal paintings and may have owned an album of them. These miniatures include paintings of [[Shah Jahan]], [[Akbar]], [[Jahangir]] and [[Dara Shikoh]] and may have influenced the costumes and other aspects of his works.<ref>Schrader, Stephanie; et al. (eds.): ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=V45FDwAAQBAJ Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801033700/https://books.google.com/books?id=V45FDwAAQBAJ |date=1 August 2020 }}''. (Los Angeles, CA: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2018) {{ISBN|978-1606065525}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Rembrandt and the Inspiration of India (catalogue) |url=http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/rembrandt_india/downloads/rembrandt_india_checklist.pdf |access-date=18 October 2019 |archive-date=18 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018133124/http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/rembrandt_india/downloads/rembrandt_india_checklist.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=3 September 2017 |title=In Paintings: Rembrandt & his Mughal India Inspiration |url=http://www.theheritagelab.in/rembrandt-mughal-india |access-date=12 May 2018 |archive-date=23 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180523124056/http://www.theheritagelab.in/rembrandt-mughal-india/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ganz |first=James |title=Rembrandt's Century |publisher=San Francisco, CA: Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco |year=2013 |isbn=978-3791352244 |page=45}}</ref>

===''The Night Watch''=== {{main|The Night Watch}}

[[File:La ronda de noche, por Rembrandt van Rijn.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|''[[The Night Watch]]'' or ''The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq'' (1642), an oil on canvas portrait now [[Rijksmuseum]], Amsterdam|left]]

Rembrandt painted ''The Militia Company of Captain [[Frans Banninck Cocq]]'', known as ''[[The Night Watch]]'', between 1640 and 1642, and it became his most famous work.<ref>Beliën, H. & P. Knevel (2006) Langs Rembrandts roem, pp. 92–121</ref><ref name="Boffey 2021"/> The piece was commissioned for the new hall of the ''[[Kloveniersdoelen, Amsterdam|Kloveniersdoelen]]'', the musketeer branch of the [[schutterij|civic militia]].<ref name="Boffey 2021">{{cite news |last1=Boffey |first1=Daniel |title=Hidden sketch revealed beneath Rembrandt's The Night Watch |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/dec/08/rembrandt-hidden-sketch-revealed-beneath-night-watch |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=8 December 2021}}</ref> Rembrandt departed from convention on both narrative painting and portraits, which ordered that such genre pieces should be stately and formal. Instead, he created a complex layering of figures in a dramatic depiction of an action, the firing of a musket, affecting some of the characters but not others. The painting is not set at night, its darkness being caused by ageing; and it is not of a watch or patrol, but a ceremony.<ref name="Manca 2022"/>

The painting has received many interpretations; if as Joseph Manca suggests it was meant to function at multiple levels, many of the interpretations may be correct. Thus, unlike in a conventional narrative painting, the people depicted are represented in lifelike individual portraits. The style seems to show a real event in a real place, but its complex structure appears contrived or theatrical, while the street setting is invented. It can be seen as a picture of a militia charged with keeping order, but it equally looks like a disorderly scene. It alludes to serious works like ''[[The School of Athens]]'' by [[Raphael]], and has been seen as humorous or parodic.<ref name="Manca 2022"/> Manca suggests that the calmness of the two officers in the foreground, continuing to carry out their duty despite the disturbance behind them, indicates their "moral excellence"; certainly, their status is clearly indicated, even flattered.<ref name="Manca 2022">{{cite journal |last=Manca |first=Joseph |title=3. The Moment in Rembrandt's Night Watch: The Musket Blast, Narrative Drama, and Moral Excellence |journal=Journal of Interdisciplinary History of Ideas |volume=11 |issue=21 |year=2022 |at=Item 4 |url=https://ojs.unito.it/index.php/jihi/article/download/5548/5868}}</ref>

==Expert assessments== {{see also|Rembrandt catalogue raisonné, 1968}} {{Further|Man in a Plumed Beret}} [[File:Rembrandtselfportraitweb.jpg|thumb|upright|''Self-Portrait with Raised Sabre'' (c. 1634)]]

In 1968, the Rembrandt Research Project began under the sponsorship of the Netherlands Organisation for the Advancement of Scientific Research; it was initially expected to last a highly optimistic ten years. Art historians teamed up with experts from other fields to reassess the authenticity of works attributed to Rembrandt, using all methods available, including state-of-the-art technical diagnostics, and to compile a complete new [[catalogue raisonné]] of his paintings. As a result of their findings, many paintings that were previously attributed to Rembrandt have been removed from their list, although others have been added back.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rembrandt Research Project: Past, Present, Future |url=http://www.paintyourlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Preface.pdf |access-date=11 August 2014 |archive-date=22 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140822083100/http://www.paintyourlife.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Preface.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Rembrandt - De Poolse ruiter, c.1655 (Frick Collection).jpg|thumb|''[[The Polish Rider]]'' (c. 1655) is possibly a [[Lisowczycy|Lisowczyk]] on horseback.|left]]

One example of activity is ''[[The Polish Rider]]'', now in the [[Frick Collection]] in New York. Rembrandt's authorship had been questioned by at least one scholar, Alfred von Wurzbach, at the beginning of the twentieth century but for many decades later most scholars, including the foremost authority writing in English, [[Julius S. Held]], agreed that it was indeed by the master. In the 1980s, however, Dr Josua Bruyn of the Foundation Rembrandt Research Project cautiously and tentatively attributed the painting to one of Rembrandt's closest and most talented pupils, [[Willem Drost]], about whom little is known. But Bruyn's remained a minority opinion, the suggestion of Drost's authorship is now generally rejected, and the Frick itself never changed its own attribution, the label still reading "Rembrandt" and not "attributed to" or "school of". More recent opinion has shifted even more decisively in favour of the Frick; In his 1999 book ''Rembrandt's Eyes'', [[Simon Schama]] and the Rembrandt Project scholar Ernst van de Wetering (Melbourne Symposium, 1997) both argued for attribution to the master. Those few scholars who still question Rembrandt's authorship feel that the execution is uneven and favour different attributions for different parts of the work.<ref>See "Further Battles for the 'Lisowczyk' (Polish Rider) by Rembrandt" Zdzislaw Zygulski, Jr., ''Artibus et Historiae'', Vol. 21, No. 41 (2000), pp. 197–205. Also ''New York Times'' [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06EEDE103EF937A15753C1A961958260 story] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080108022401/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D06EEDE103EF937A15753C1A961958260 |date=8 January 2008 }}. There is a book on the subject:''Responses to Rembrandt; Who painted the Polish Rider?'' by Anthony Bailey (New York, 1993)</ref>

[[File:Mann mit dem Goldhelm.jpg|thumb|upright|''[[The Man with the Golden Helmet]]'', now [[Gemäldegalerie, Berlin]], was considered one of the most famous Rembrandt portraits but is no longer attributed to the master.<ref>{{Cite news |last=John Russell |date=1 December 1985 |title=Art View; In Search of the Real Thing |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/01/arts/art-view-in-search-of-the-real-thing.html |access-date=12 February 2017 |archive-date=1 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701071518/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/01/arts/art-view-in-search-of-the-real-thing.html |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

A similar issue was raised by Schama concerning the verification of titles associated with the subject matter depicted in Rembrandt's works. For example, the exact subject being portrayed in ''[[Aristotle with a Bust of Homer]]'', recently retitled by curators at the Metropolitan Museum, has been directly challenged by Schama applying the scholarship of Paul Crenshaw.<ref>Schama, Simon (1999). ''Rembrandt's Eyes''. Knopf, p. 720.</ref> Schama presents a substantial argument that it was the famous ancient Greek painter [[Apelles]] who is depicted in contemplation by Rembrandt and not Aristotle.<ref>Schama, pp. 582–591.</ref>

Another painting, ''Pilate Washing His Hands'', is also of questionable attribution. Critical opinion of this picture has varied since 1905, when Wilhelm von Bode described it as "a somewhat abnormal work" by Rembrandt. Scholars have since dated the painting to the 1660s and assigned it to an anonymous pupil, possibly Aert de Gelder. The composition bears superficial resemblance to mature works by Rembrandt but lacks the master's command of illumination and modelling.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rembrandt Pilate Washing His Hands Oil Painting Reproduction |url=http://www.outpost-art.org/pilate-washing-his-hands-p-37320.html |access-date=1 January 2015 |publisher=Outpost Art |archive-date=12 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150112111138/http://www.outpost-art.org/pilate-washing-his-hands-p-37320.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The attribution and re-attribution work is ongoing. In 2005 four oil paintings previously attributed to Rembrandt's students were reclassified as the work of Rembrandt himself: ''Study of an Old Man in Profile'' and ''Study of an Old Man with a Beard'' from a US private collection, ''[[Study of a Weeping Woman]]'', owned by the [[Detroit Institute of Arts]], and ''Portrait of an Elderly Woman in a White Bonnet'', painted in 1640.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 September 2005 |title=Entertainment | Lost Rembrandt works discovered |work=BBC News |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4276034.stm |access-date=7 October 2009 |archive-date=22 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061222210306/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4276034.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Old Man Sitting in a Chair'' is a further example: in 2014, Professor [[Ernst van de Wetering]] offered his view to ''[[The Guardian]]'' that the demotion of the 1652 painting ''Old Man Sitting in a Chair'' "was a vast mistake...it is a most important painting. The painting needs to be seen in terms of Rembrandt's experimentation". This was highlighted much earlier by [[Nigel Konstam]] who studied Rembrandt throughout his career.<ref>{{Citation |last=Brown |first=Mark |title=Rembrandt expert urges National Gallery to rethink demoted painting |date=23 May 2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/may/23/rembrandt-expert-national-gallery-painting-old-man-armchair |work=The Guardian |access-date=21 December 2015 |archive-date=21 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921205546/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/may/23/rembrandt-expert-national-gallery-painting-old-man-armchair |url-status=live }}</ref>

Rembrandt's own studio practice is a major factor in the difficulty of attribution, since, like many masters before him, he encouraged his students to copy his paintings, sometimes finishing or retouching them to be sold as originals, and sometimes selling them as authorised copies. Additionally, his style proved easy enough for his most talented students to emulate. Further complicating matters is the uneven quality of some of Rembrandt's own work, and his frequent stylistic evolutions and experiments.<ref>"...Rembrandt was not always the perfectly consistent, logical Dutchman he was originally anticipated to be." Ackley, p. 13.</ref> As well, there were later imitations of his work, and restorations which so seriously damaged the original works that they are no longer recognisable.<ref>van de Wetering, p. x.</ref>

Technical investigation of Rembrandt's paintings in the possession of the [[Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister]]<ref>Kühn, Hermann. 'Untersuchungen zu den Pigmenten und Malgründen Rembrandts, durchgeführt an den Gemälden der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden'(Examination of pigments and grounds used by Rembrandt, analysis carried out on paintings in the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden), Maltechnik/Restauro, issue 4 (1977): 223–233</ref> and in the [[Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Kassel)]]<ref>Kühn, Hermann. 'Untersuchungen zu den Pigmenten und Malgründen Rembrandts, durchgeführt an den Gemälden der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Kassel' (Examination of pigments and grounds used by Rembrandt, analysis carried out on paintings in the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Kassel), Maltechnik/Restauro, volume 82 (1976): 25–33</ref> was conducted by Hermann Kühn in 1977. The pigment analyses of some thirty paintings have shown that Rembrandt's palette consisted of the following pigments: [[lead white]], various [[ochres]], [[van Dyke brown]], bone black, [[charcoal black]], [[lamp black]], [[vermilion]], [[madder lake]], [[azurite]], [[ultramarine]], yellow lake and [[lead-tin-yellow]]. Synthetic [[orpiment]] was shown in the shadows of the sleeve of the jewish groom. This toxic arsenic yellow was rarely used in oil painting.<ref>Van Loon, A., Noble, P., Krekeler, A., van der Snickt, G., Janssens, K., Abe, Y., Nakai, I., & Dik, J. 2017. "Artificial orpiment, a new pigment in Rembrandt's palette". Heritage Science, 5 (26)</ref> One painting (Saskia van Uylenburgh as Flora)<ref>[http://colourlex.com/project/rembrandt-saskia-van-uylenburgh-as-flora/ Rembrandt, Saskia as Flora] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315130325/http://colourlex.com/project/rembrandt-saskia-van-uylenburgh-as-flora/ |date=15 March 2016 }}, ColourLex</ref> reportedly contains [[gamboge]]. Rembrandt very rarely used pure blue or green colours, the most pronounced exception being [[Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)|''Belshazzar's Feast'']] in the [[National Gallery in London]].<ref name="bomford">Bomford, D. et al., Art in the making: Rembrandt, New edition, Yale University Press, 2006</ref><ref>[http://colourlex.com/belshazzars-feast-pigment-analysis/ Rembrandt, Belshazzar's Feast, Pigment analysis] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407160341/http://colourlex.com/belshazzars-feast-pigment-analysis/ |date=7 April 2016 }} at ColourLex</ref>

The book by Bomford<ref name=bomford/> describes more recent technical investigations and pigment analyses of Rembrandt's paintings predominantly in the National Gallery in London. The entire array of pigments employed by Rembrandt can be found at ColourLex.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://colourlex.com/project/resources-rembrandt/|title=Resources Rembrandt|website=ColourLex|access-date=23 February 2021|archive-date=24 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224022601/https://colourlex.com/project/resources-rembrandt/|url-status=live}}</ref> The best source for technical information on Rembrandt's paintings on the web is the Rembrandt Database containing all works of Rembrandt with detailed investigative reports, infrared and radiography images and other scientific details.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rembrandt Database |url=http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/Rembrandt/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823032221/http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/Rembrandt |archive-date=23 August 2015 |access-date=6 July 2015}}</ref>

==Name and signature== [[File:Rembrandt, bue squartato, 1655, 02.JPG|thumb|upright=1|''[[Slaughtered Ox]]'' (1655), [[Louvre]]]]

"Rembrandt" is a modification of the spelling of the artist's first name that he introduced in 1633. The [[patronymic]] "Harmenszoon" indicates that his father's name is Harmen. "van Rijn" indicates that his family lived near the [[Rhine]].<ref>Roberts, Russell. ''Rembrandt''. Mitchell Lane Publishers, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1612287607}}. p. 13.</ref>

Rembrandt's earliest signatures (c. 1625) consisted of an initial "R", or the monogram "RH" (for Rembrant Harmenszoon), and starting in 1629, "RHL" (the "L" stood, presumably, for Leiden). In 1632, he used this monogram early in the year, then added his family name to it, "RHL-van Rijn" but replaced this form in that same year and began using his first name alone with its original spelling, "Rembrant". In 1633 he added a "d", and maintained this form consistently from then on, proving that this minor change had a meaning for him (whatever it might have been). This change is purely visual; it does not change the way his name is pronounced. Despite the large number of paintings and etchings signed with this modified first name, most of the documents that mentioned him during his lifetime retained the original "Rembrant" spelling. (Note: the rough chronology of signature forms above applies to the paintings, and to a lesser degree to the etchings; from 1632, presumably, there is only one etching signed "RHL-v. Rijn", the large-format "Raising of Lazarus", B 73).<ref>[http://www.rembrandt-signature-file.com/remp_texte/remp050.pdf Chronology of his signatures (pdf)] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171107/http://www.rembrandt-signature-file.com/remp_texte/remp050.pdf |date=3 March 2016 }} with examples. Source: www.rembrandt-signature-file.com</ref>

His practice of signing his work with his first name, later followed by [[Vincent van Gogh]], was probably inspired by [[Raphael]], [[Leonardo da Vinci]] and [[Michelangelo]] who, then as now, were referred to by their first names alone.<ref>Slive (1995), p. 60</ref>

==Workshop== [[File:Rembrandt.fallhut.jpg|thumb|One of [[Jan van de Cappelle|van de Cappelle's]] 500 Rembrandt drawings]]

Rembrandt ran a large workshop and had many pupils. The [[list of Rembrandt pupils]] from his period in Leiden as well as his time in Amsterdam is quite long, mostly because his influence on painters around him was so great that it is difficult to tell whether someone worked for him in his studio or just copied his style for patrons eager to acquire a Rembrandt. A partial list should include [[Ferdinand Bol]], [[Adriaen Brouwer]], [[Gerrit Dou]], [[Willem Drost]], [[Heiman Dullaart]], [[Gerbrand van den Eeckhout]], [[Carel Fabritius]], [[Govert Flinck]], [[Hendrick Fromantiou]], [[Aert de Gelder]], [[Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten]], [[Abraham Janssens]], [[Godfrey Kneller]], [[Philip de Koninck]], [[Jacob Levecq]], [[Nicolaes Maes]], [[Jürgen Ovens]], [[Christopher Paudiß]], [[Willem de Poorter]], [[Jan Victors]], and [[Willem van der Vliet]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120908193020/http://www.rkd.nl/rkddb/dispatcher.aspx?action=search&database=ChoiceArtists&search=priref=66219 Rembrandt pupils (under ''Leraar van'')] in the [[RKD]], who list 29, plus another list of followers.</ref>

== Museum collections == [[File:Rembrandts house, Amsterdam.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The [[Rembrandt House Museum]], Amsterdam ]]

The United States has the largest number of Rembrandt's paintings, spread over several museums including the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (mostly portraits) and the [[Frick Collection]] in New York City, the [[National Gallery of Art]] in Washington, D.C., [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]] in Boston, and [[J. Paul Getty Museum]] in Los Angeles, in total 86 paintings.<ref>Clark 1974, pp. 147–150. See the catalogue in Further reading for the location of all accepted Rembrandts (at that time)</ref> Other large groups are in Germany, with 69 paintings, at the [[Gemäldegalerie, Berlin|Gemäldegalerie]] in Berlin, [[Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister]] in Dresden, and [[Schloss Wilhelmshöhe]] in Kassel, and elsewhere. The UK has a total of 51, especially in the [[National Gallery]] and [[Royal Collection]]. There are 49 in the Netherlands, many in the [[Rijksmuseum]], which has ''[[The Night Watch]]'' and ''[[The Jewish Bride]]'', and the [[Mauritshuis]] in The Hague.<ref>G. Schwartz (1987) Rembrandt, zijn leven, zijn schilderen.</ref> Others can be found in [[The Louvre]], the [[Hermitage Museum]], and [[Nationalmuseum, Stockholm]]. The [[Royal Castle, Warsaw|Royal Castle]] in Warsaw has two paintings by Rembrandt.<ref name=zamek/>

Large collections of Rembrandt's drawings are held in the [[Rijksmuseum]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Rembrandt |url=https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/search?collectionSearchContext=Art&page=1&sortingType=Popularity&facets%5B0%5D.id=ba2dc062acd137ffeac364321b7b10df&facets%5B0%5D.nodeRelationType=HasPrimaryMaker |publisher=Rijksmuseum |access-date=26 February 2025 |quote=Artworks (1745 [pieces])}}</ref> [[Louvre]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Rembrandt van Rijn, Harmensz, oeuvre en rapport |url=https://collections.louvre.fr/en/recherche?q=Rembrandt+van+Rijn%2C+Harmensz%2C+oeuvre+en+rapport |publisher=Louvre |access-date=26 February 2025 |quote=221 results}}</ref> and [[British Museum]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Rembrandt |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG43386 |publisher=[[British Museum]] |access-date=26 February 2025 |quote=3,210 Related objects}} though the majority of both of these are prints</ref> The [[Rembrandt House Museum]] holds many of his drawings and "almost all" the etchings, a selection of which are on rotating display in the house.<ref>{{cite web |title=Collection |date=9 January 2023 |url=https://www.rembrandthuis.nl/en/find-out-more/collection/ |publisher=Rembrandt House Museum |access-date=26 February 2025 |quote=The Rembrandt House Museum has built up a large collection of artworks of not only paintings and drawings, but also almost all of Rembrandt’s etchings.}}</ref>

Apart from a few very rare prints, mostly less important early studies,<ref>For example Hinterding et al., no. 2, with 2 impressions known; unique or very rare states of prints are more frequent.</ref> or "the informal printed scribbles from the artist's early years",<ref>Hinterding et al., 21</ref> most of his prints are not very rare by museum standards, and major [[print room]]s have good collections. Both the Rijksmuseum and the British Museum, who claim to have the best collections, have over 1,000 impressions of the 300-odd prints;<ref>Hinterding et al., 7</ref> most of these can be viewed in great detail online. The degree to which these collections are displayed to the public or can easily be viewed by them in the print room, varies greatly. [[The Morgan Library & Museum]] in New York claims to have the best collection in the United States, with "impressions of most of the three hundred or so known etchings by Rembrandt, as well as multiple, often exceedingly rare impressions of various states"; it has "almost 500" images online.<ref>[https://www.themorgan.org/rembrandt "Rembrandt etchings", Morgan Library]</ref>

Impressions often continued to be printed by others until at least the 19th-century, with many of the plates reworked as they became worn. In 1986, 79 of Rembrandt's [[Rembrandt's prints#Copper plates|original copper plates]] still existed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hinterding |first=Erik |title=The history of Rembrandt's copperplates: with a catalogue of those that survive |date=1995 |publisher=Zwolle |isbn=90-400-9744-5}}</ref>

==Selected works== [[File:Rembrandt laughing.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''[[Rembrandt Laughing]]'' (1628), [[J. Paul Getty Museum]], Malibu]]

* ''[[The Entombment of Christ (Rembrandt)|The Entombment of Christ]]'' ({{Circa|1624}}) – [[Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery]], Glasgow * ''[[The Stoning of Saint Stephen]]'' (1625) – [[Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon|Musée des Beaux-Arts]], Lyon * ''[[Andromeda Chained to the Rocks]]'' (1630) – [[Mauritshuis]], The Hague * ''[[Old Man with a Gold Chain]]'' ({{Circa|1631}}) – [[Art Institute of Chicago]] * ''[[Portrait of Jacob de Gheyn III|Jacob de Gheyn III]]'' (1632) – [[Dulwich Picture Gallery]], London * ''[[Philosopher in Meditation]]'' (1632) – [[The Louvre]], Paris * ''[[The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp]]'' (1632) – Mauritshuis, The Hague * ''[[Judith at the Banquet of Holofernes]]'' (1634) – [[Museo del Prado]], Madrid * ''[[The Descent from the Cross (Rembrandt, 1634)|Descent from the Cross]]'' (1634) – [[Hermitage Museum]], St. Petersburg. * ''[[Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)|Belshazzar's Feast]]'' ({{Circa|1635-1638}}) – [[National Gallery]], London * ''[[The Prodigal Son in the Tavern]]'' ({{Circa|1635}}) – [[Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister]], Dresden * ''[[Danaë (Rembrandt painting)|Danaë]]'' ({{Circa|1635}}, reworked before 1643) – Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg * ''[[The Scholar at the Lectern]]'' (1641) – [[Royal Castle in Warsaw|Royal Castle]], Warsaw * ''[[The Girl in a Picture Frame]]'' (1641) – Royal Castle, Warsaw * ''[[The Night Watch]]'', formally ''The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq'' (1642) – [[Rijksmuseum]], Amsterdam * ''[[Boaz and Ruth (paintings)|Boaz and Ruth]]'' (1643) – [[Woburn Abbey]], Bedfordshire & [[Gemaldegalerie, Berlin|Gemaldegalerie]], Berlin * ''[[The Mill (Rembrandt)|The Mill]]'' (1645/48) – [[National Gallery of Art]], Washington, D.C. * ''[[Susanna and the Elders (Rembrandt)|Susanna and the Elders]]'' (1647) – Gemäldegalerie, Berlin * ''Christ Healing the Sick,'' also known as the ''[[Hundred Guilder Print]] (''{{Circa|1648}}'')'' – [[Allen Memorial Art Museum]], Oberlin, Ohio. Name derives from a print seller who claimed to have sold an impression of the print back to Rembrandt for 100 Guilders. * ''[[Head of Christ (Rembrandt)|Head of Christ]]'' (1648) – Gemäldegalerie, Berlin * ''[[Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer]]'' (1653) – [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York * ''[[The Three Crosses]]'' (1653) – [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]], Boston * ''[[Bathsheba at Her Bath (Rembrandt)|Bathsheba at Her Bath]]'' (1654) – The Louvre, Paris * ''[[Christ Presented to the People]]'' ({{Circa|1655}}) – Various versions at different museums. One of the two largest prints made by Rembrandt. * ''[[Pallas Athena (Rembrandt)|Pallas Athena]]'' ({{Circa|1657}}) – [[Calouste Gulbenkian Museum]], Lisbon * ''[[Portrait of Dirck van Os]]'' ({{Circa|1658}}) – [[Joslyn Art Museum]], Omaha, Nebraska * ''[[Self-Portrait with Beret and Turned-Up Collar]]'' (1659) – National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. * ''[[Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther]]'' (1660) – [[Pushkin Museum]], Moscow * ''[[The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis]]'' ({{Circa|1661-1662}}) – [[Nationalmuseum]], Stockholm. The majority of the original painting is now lost as Rembrandt cut it up in order for it to be sold. It is also his last secular history painting. * ''[[Syndics of the Drapers' Guild]]'' (1662) – Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam * ''[[The Jewish Bride]]'' ({{Circa|1665-1669}}) – Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam * ''Haman before Esther'' (1665) – [[National Museum of Art of Romania]], Bucharest<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mnar.arts.ro/en/discover/permanent-galleries/113-the-european-art-gallery/discover-the-works-in-the-european-art-gallery/265-rembrandt-haman-before-esther|title=The National Museum of Art of Romania – Rembrandt – Haman before Esther|website=www.mnar.arts.ro|access-date=15 July 2020|archive-date=7 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107223619/https://www.mnar.arts.ro/en/discover/permanent-galleries/113-the-european-art-gallery/discover-the-works-in-the-european-art-gallery/265-rembrandt-haman-before-esther|url-status=live}}</ref> * ''[[Self-Portrait at the Age of 63]]'' (1669) – National Gallery, London. One of Rembrandt's last self-portraits. * ''[[The Return of the Prodigal Son (Rembrandt)|The Return of the Prodigal Son]]'' (1669) – Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. One of Rembrandt's last paintings.

==Exhibitions== [[File:Moving Rembrandt's 'Nightwatch'.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Moving Rembrandt's ''[[The Night Watch]]'' for the 1898 Rembrandt Exhibition]] * Sept–Oct 1898: ''Rembrandt Tentoonstelling'' (''Rembrandt Exhibition''), Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.<ref name="Rembrandt tentoonstilling" /> * Jan–Feb 1899: ''Rembrandt Tentoonstelling'' (''Rembrandt Exhibition''), Royal Academy, London.<ref name="Rembrandt tentoonstilling">{{Cite web |title=Rembrandt tentoonstilling |url=https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections/features/rembrandt-tentoonstilling.html |access-date=14 August 2019 |website=www.nga.gov |archive-date=14 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190814194405/https://www.nga.gov/research/library/imagecollections/features/rembrandt-tentoonstilling.html |url-status=live }}</ref> * 30 January – 1 May 2005: ''Rembrandt's Religious Etchings'', National Gallery of Art<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-01-30 |title=Rembrandt's Religious Etchings |publisher=National Gallery of Art |url=https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/rembrandts-religious-etchings |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=www.nga.gov |language=en}}</ref> * 30 January – 1 May 2005: ''Rembrandt's Late Religious Portraits'', National Gallery of Art, traveled to the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 7 June - 28 August 2005 catalogue by [[Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.|Arthur K. Wheelock Jr]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-01-30 |title=Rembrandt's Late Religious Portraits |publisher=National Gallery of Art |url=https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/rembrandts-late-religious-portraits |access-date=2025-08-08 |website=www.nga.gov |language=en}}</ref> * 21 April 2011 – 18 July 2011: ''Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus'', Musée du Louvre.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rembrandt and the Face of Jesus.|url=http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/Rembrandt-and-the-Face-of-Jesus-/34EBCEDD3805A5E5|access-date=13 January 2015|archive-date=31 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131131831/http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/Rembrandt-and-the-Face-of-Jesus-/34EBCEDD3805A5E5|url-status=live}}</ref> * 23 February – 20 May 2012: ''Rembrandt and Degas: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man'', Metropolitan Museum of Art.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rembrandt and Degas |url=https://localhost:5000/exhibitions/listings/2012/rembrandt-and-degas |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art}}</ref> * 16 September 2013 – 14 November 2013: ''Rembrandt: The Consummate Etcher'', Syracuse University Art Galleries.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Rembrandt: The Consummate Etcher.|url=http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/Rembrandt--The-Consummate-Etcher/80423471A2CC62FC|access-date=13 January 2015|archive-date=13 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150113164353/http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/Rembrandt--The-Consummate-Etcher/80423471A2CC62FC|url-status=live}}</ref> * 19 May 2014 – 27 June 2014: ''From Rembrandt to Rosenquist: Works on Paper from the NAC's Permanent Collection'', National Arts Club.<ref>{{Cite web |title=From Rembrandt to Rosenquist: Works on Paper from the NAC's Permanent Collection. |url=http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/From-Rembrandt-to-Rosenquist--Works-on-P/C68FD89DD0131A49 |access-date=11 January 2015 |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131131827/http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/From-Rembrandt-to-Rosenquist--Works-on-P/C68FD89DD0131A49 |url-status=live }} Retrieved 11 January 2015. {{cite web|title=MutualArt.com|url=http://www.mutualart.com|access-date=11 January 2015|archive-date=10 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110051445/http://www.mutualart.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> * 19 October 2014 – 4 January 2015: ''Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough and the Golden Age of Painting in Europe'', Jule Collins Smith Museum of Art.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rembrandt, Rubens, Gainsborough and the Golden Age of Painting in Europe. |url=http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/Rembrandt--Rubens--Gainsborough-and-the-/088DD8543A6DF305 |access-date=11 January 2015 |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131131800/http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/Rembrandt--Rubens--Gainsborough-and-the-/088DD8543A6DF305 |url-status=live }} Retrieved 11 January 2015. {{cite web|title=MutualArt.com|url=http://www.mutualart.com|access-date=11 January 2015|archive-date=10 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110051445/http://www.mutualart.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> * 15 October 2014 – 18 January 2015: ''Rembrandt: The Late Works'', The National Gallery, London.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rembrandt: The Late Works. |url=http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/Rembrandt--The-Late-Works/E7F46145AD9CC881 |access-date=11 January 2015 |archive-date=31 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131151514/http://www.mutualart.com/Exhibitions/Rembrandt--The-Late-Works/E7F46145AD9CC881 |url-status=live }} {{cite web|title=MutualArt.com|url=http://www.mutualart.com|access-date=11 January 2015|archive-date=10 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110051445/http://www.mutualart.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> * 12 February 2015 – 17 May 2015: ''Late Rembrandt'', The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mutualart.com/|title=MutualArt – Auctions, Exhibitions and Analysis for over 400,000 artists|website=www.mutualart.com|access-date=10 October 2018|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010130902/https://www.mutualart.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> * 16 September 2018 – 6 January 2019: ''Rembrandt – Painter as Printmaker'', Denver Art Museum, Denver.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Rembrandt--Painter-as-Printmaker/ED7B08298C74B1EA|title=MutualArt.com – The Web's Largest Art Information Service.|website=www.mutualart.com|access-date=10 October 2018|archive-date=10 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181010213547/https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Rembrandt--Painter-as-Printmaker/ED7B08298C74B1EA|url-status=live}}</ref> * 24 August 2019 – 1 December 2019: ''Leiden circa 1630: Rembrandt Emerges'', Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leiden circa 1630: Rembrandt Emerges |publisher=Agnes Etherington Art Centre |url=https://agnes.queensu.ca/exhibition/leiden-circa-1630-rembrandt-emerges/ |access-date=15 January 2019 |website=agnes.queensu.ca |archive-date=15 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190115234532/https://agnes.queensu.ca/exhibition/leiden-circa-1630-rembrandt-emerges/ |url-status=live }}</ref> * 4 October 2019 – 2 February 2020: ''Rembrandt's Light'', Dulwich Picture Gallery, London.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/about/press-media/press-releases/rembrandts-light/|title=Rembrandt's Light | Dulwich Picture Gallery|website=www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk|access-date=12 February 2020|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806180308/https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/about/press-media/press-releases/rembrandts-light/|url-status=live}}</ref> * 18 February 2020 – 30 August 2020: ''Rembrandt and Amsterdam portraiture, 1590–1670 '', Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid.<ref name="Thyssen">{{cite web |title=Exhibitions Rembrandt and Amsterdam portraiture, 1590–1670 |url=https://www.museothyssen.org/en/exhibitions/rembrandt-and-amsterdam-portraiture-1590-1670 |publisher=Museo Nacional Thyssen Bornemisza |access-date=19 September 2020 |location=Madrid |language=en |date=2020 |archive-date=9 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009120745/https://www.museothyssen.org/en/exhibitions/rembrandt-and-amsterdam-portraiture-1590-1670 |url-status=live }}</ref> * 10 August 2020 – 1 November 2020: ''Young Rembrandt'', Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ashmolean.org//|title=Welcome | Ashmolean Museum|access-date=23 September 2020|archive-date=24 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924010145/https://www.ashmolean.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> * 18 November 2023 – 19 February 2024 ''Rembrandt: Etchings from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen'', Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rembrandt: Etchings from the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen |publisher=Worcester Art Museum |url=https://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/rembrandt-etchings/ |website=www.worcesterart.org |access-date=4 December 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250907210015/https://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/rembrandt-etchings/ |archive-date=7 September 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Paintings== ===Self-portraits=== {{main|Self-portraits by Rembrandt}}

<gallery heights="150"> File:Self-portrait_(1628-1629),_by_Rembrandt.jpg|''A young Rembrandt'' ({{Circa|1628}}) when he was 22. Partly an exercise in [[chiaroscuro]]. [[Rijksmuseum]] File:Rembrandt van Rijn 184.jpg|''[[Self-Portrait in a Gorget]]'' ({{Circa|1629}}), [[Germanisches Nationalmuseum]], [[Nuremberg]] File:Selfportrait_(Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn)_-_Nationalmuseum_-_22374.tif|''Self-portrait'' (1630), [[Nationalmuseum]], [[Stockholm]] File:Rembrandt - Self-Portrait with Velvet Beret - Google Art Project.jpg|''Self-Portrait with Velvet Beret and Furred Mantle'' (1634) File:Rembrandt1640.png|''[[Self-Portrait at the Age of 34]]'' (1640), [[National Gallery London]] File:Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn - Large Self-Portrait - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Self-Portrait (Rembrandt, Vienna)|Self-Portrait]]'', an oil on canvas portrait (1652), [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]], [[Vienna]] File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 132.jpg|''Self-portrait'' (1655) an oil on walnut portrait cut down in size, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna File:Rembrant Self-Portrait, 1660.jpg|''[[Self-portraits by Rembrandt|Self-Portrait]]'' (1660) File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 142.jpg|''[[Self-Portrait as Zeuxis Laughing|Self Portrait as Zeuxis]]'' ({{Circa|1662}}), one of two self-portraits in which Rembrandt is turned to the left,<ref name="W1">White, 200</ref> [[Wallraf–Richartz Museum]], [[Cologne]] File:Rembrandt Self-portrait (Kenwood).jpg|''[[Self-Portrait with Two Circles]]'' ({{circa|1665}}–69), [[Kenwood House]], London File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 134.jpg|''Self-portrait'' (1669) File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 135.jpg|''[[Self-Portrait at the Age of 63]]'' (1669, the year he died), [[National Gallery|National Gallery, London]] File:Rembrandt, Self-portrait, 1668–1669, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.jpg|Self-portrait, 1668–69, [[Galleria degli Uffizi]], Florence </gallery>

===Other major paintings=== <gallery widths="170" heights="170"> File:Rembrandt-Lapidation-Saint-Étienne-MBA-Lyon.jpg|''[[The Stoning of Saint Stephen]]'' (1625), Rembrandt's first painting completed at the age of 19,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Starcky |first=Emmanuel |title=Rembrandt |publisher=Hazan |year=1990 |isbn=978-2850252129 |page=45}}</ref> [[Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon]]. File:Rembrandt Two old men disputing 1628.jpg|''Two old men disputing'' (1628) at the [[National Gallery of Victoria]] in [[Melbourne]] File:Rembrandt The Artist in his studio.jpg|''[[The Artist in his Studio|Artist in His Studio]]'' (1628) at the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston|Museum of Fine Arts]] in [[Boston]] File:Rembrandt van Rijn - Borststuk van een oude man met bontmuts (1630).jpg|''Bust of an old man with a fur hat'' (1630), a painting of Rembrandt's father File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - Jeremia treurend over de verwoesting van Jeruzalem - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem]]'' (c. 1630) File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 011.jpg|''[[Andromeda Chained to the Rocks|Andromeda]]'' (c. 1630) File:Rembrandt - The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp.jpg|''[[Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp]]'' (c. 1632) File:Aeltje Uylenburgh, by Rembrandt.jpg|''Portrait of Aeltje Uylenburgh'' (1632) at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston File:Rembrandt, Portrait of Saskia van Uylenburgh (1612–1642), circa 1633–1634, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel.jpg|''Portrait of Saskia van Uylenburgh'' (c. 1633–34) File:Harmensz van Rijn Rembrandt - Флора - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Flora (Rembrandt, Hermitage)|''Flora'']] (1634), [[Hermitage Museum]], [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia File:Rembrandt Abraham en Isaac, 1634.jpg|''[[The Sacrifice of Isaac (Rembrandt)|Sacrifice of Isaac]]'' (1634), [[Hermitage Museum]], [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia File:Descent from the Cross (Rembrant).jpg|''[[The Descent from the Cross (Rembrandt, 1634)|The Descent from the Cross]]'' (1634), [[Hermitage Museum]], [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia File:Rembrandt - The Abduction of Ganymede - Google Art Project - cropped.jpg|''[[The Rape of Ganymede (Rembrandt)|The Rape of Ganymede]]'' (1635), [[Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden]] File:The Blinding of Samson (SM 1383).png|''[[The Blinding of Samson]]'' (1636), which Rembrandt gave to Huyghens File:Suzanna, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1636, Mauritshuis, The Hague.jpg|''Susanna'' (1636) File:Rembrandt-Belsazar.jpg|''[[Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt)|Belshassar's Feast]]'' (c. 1636–38) File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 026.jpg|''[[Danaë (Rembrandt painting)|Danaë]]'' (c. 1636–43), [[Hermitage Museum]], [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia File:Rembrandt De aartsengel verlaat Tobias en zijn gezin. 1637.jpg|''[[The Archangel Raphael Leaving Tobias' Family]]'' (1637), [[Louvre]] File:Landscape with the Good Samaritan - Rembrandt.jpg|''[[Landscape with the Good Samaritan|The Landscape with Good Samaritan]]'' (1638), [[Czartoryski Museum]], [[Kraków]], Poland File:Rembrandt Scholar at the Lectern.jpg|''[[The Scholar at the Lectern|Scholar at his Writing Table]]'' (1641), [[Royal Castle, Warsaw]] File:Rembrandt van Rijn 195.jpg|''[[Joseph's Dream (Rembrandt, 1645)|Joseph's Dream]]'' (c. 1645) File:Rembrandt - Susanna and the Elders - WGA19104.jpg|''[[Susanna and the Elders (Rembrandt)|Susanna and the Elders]]'' (1647) File:Rembrandt van Rijn - The Mill - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[The Mill (Rembrandt)|The Mill]]'' (1648) File:Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn - An Old Man in Red.JPG|''An Old Man in Red'' (c. 1652–54), [[Hermitage Museum]], [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 013.jpg|''[[Aristotle with a Bust of Homer]]'' (1653), [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York File:The Kitchen Maid (Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn) - Nationalmuseum - 17587.tif|''[[The Kitchen Maid (Rembrandt)|Young Girl at the Window]]'' (1654), [[Nationalmuseum]], [[Stockholm]] File:JanSix.jpg|''[[Portrait of Jan Six]]'', a painting of a wealthy friend of Rembrandt (1654) File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 016.jpg|''[[Bathsheba at Her Bath (Rembrandt)|Bathsheba at Her Bath]]'', modelled by Hendrickje (1654) File:A Woman Bathing in a Stream by Rembrandt.jpg|''[[A Woman Bathing in a Stream]]'', modelled by Hendrickje (1654) File:Pallas Athena by Rembrandt Museu Calouste Gulbenkian 1488.jpg|''[[Pallas Athene (Rembrandt)|Pallas Athene]]'' (c. 1655) File:Rembrandt - Anatomische les van Dr. Jan Deijman.jpg|''[[The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Deijman]]'' (1656) File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 062.jpg|''[[Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph (Rembrandt)|Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph]]'' (1656) File:Rembrandt - Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels - Google Art Project.jpg|''Woman in a Doorway'' (1657–58) File:Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn - Ahasuerus, Haman and Esther - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther]]'' (1660), [[Pushkin Museum]], Moscow File:Rembrandt - The Incredulity of St Thomas - WGA19095.jpg|''The Incredulity of St Thomas'' (1660), [[Pushkin Museum]], Moscow File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Dutch - St. Bartholomew) - Google Art Project.jpg|''Saint Bartholomew'' (1661), [[J. Paul Getty Museum]], Malibu File:Netherlands-4183 - The Syndics, Rembrandt.jpg|''The [[Syndics of the Drapers' Guild]]'' (1662) File:The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis (Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn) - Nationalmuseum - 17581.tif|''[[The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis]]'' (cut-down) (1661–62) File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - Lucretia - 34.19 - Minneapolis Institute of Arts.jpg|''[[Lucretia (Rembrandt, 1666)|Lucretia]]'' (1666), [[Minneapolis Institute of Art]] File:Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn - Return of the Prodigal Son - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[The Return of the Prodigal Son (Rembrandt)|The Return of the Prodigal Son]]'' ({{circa|1669}}), [[Hermitage Museum]], [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia </gallery>

==Drawings and etchings== <gallery> File:Rembrandt van Rijn - Zelfportret.jpg|''Self-portrait'', {{Circa|1628}}–29, pen and brush and ink on paper File:B320 Rembrandt.jpg|''Self-portrait in a cap, with eyes wide open'', 1630, etching and [[Burin (engraving)|burin]] File:Rembrandt Seated Old Man.jpg|''Seated Old Man'' (c. 1630), red and black chalk on paper, [[Nationalmuseum|Nationalmuseum, Stockholm]] File:Rembrandt Susanna Zeichnung.jpg|''Suzannah and the Elders'', 1634, drawing in [[Sanguine (red chalk)|Sanguine]] on paper, [[Kupferstichkabinett Berlin]] File:Self-portrait with Saskia.jpg|''Self-portrait with Saskia'', 1636, etching File:Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn - An Elephant, 1637 - Google Art Project.jpg|''An elephant'', 1637, drawing in black chalk on paper, [[Albertina]], Austria File:Self portrait leaning on si 373x470.jpg|''Self-portrait leaning on a Sill'', 1639, etching File:Jesus und Ehebrecherin.jpg|''Christ and the woman taken in adultery'', c. 1639–41, drawing in ink, [[Louvre]] File:Rembrandt Beggars I.jpg|''Beggars I.'', c. 1640–42, ink on paper, [[Warsaw University Library]] File:Rembrandt - The windmill - Google Art Project.jpg|''The Windmill'', 1641, etching File:Rembrandt 254.jpg|''The Diemerdijk at Houtewael'' (near Amsterdam), 1648–49, pen and brown ink, brown wash, [[Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen]] File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn - Christ Crucified Between the Two Thieves ("The Three Crosses") - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[Rembrandt's The Three Crosses|The Three Crosses]]'', 1653, drypoint etching, [[State (printmaking)|state]] III of V File:Virgin and child with cat.jpg|''[[Virgin and Child with a Cat]]'', 1654, original copper etching plate above (the original copper plate), in [[Victoria and Albert Museum]], example of the print below File:Rembrandt Christus aan het volk getoond.jpg|''Christ presented to the People'', [[drypoint]] etching, 1655, state I of VIII File:Rembrandt Two Jews in Discussion, Walking.jpg|''Two Old Men in Conversation /Two Jews in Discussion, Walking'', year unknown, black chalk and brown ink on paper, [[Teylers Museum]] File:Rembrandt A Child Being Taught to Walk.jpg|A child being taught to walk (c. 1635) File:Amsterdam - Late Rembrandt Exposition 2015 - Young Woman Sleeping 1654 B (cropped).jpg|''A young woman sleeping'' (c. 1654). Shows Rembrandt's calligraphic-style draughtsmanship.<ref name="Mendelowitz">Mendelowitz, Daniel Marcus: ''Drawing''. (New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc., 1967), p. 305.</ref><ref name="Sullivan">Sullivan, Michael: ''The Meeting of Eastern and Western Art''. (Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1989), p. 91</ref> </gallery>

== Works about Rembrandt == {{main|List of works about Rembrandt}} [[File:Rembrandt Girl in a Picture Frame.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''[[The Girl in a Picture Frame]]'' (1641), [[Royal Castle, Warsaw]]]] [[File:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 049.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''The evangelist Matthew and the Angel'' (1661)]]

=== Literary works (e.g. poetry and fiction) === * ''To the Picture of Rembrandt'', a Russian-language poem by [[Mikhail Lermontov]], 1830 * ''[[Gaspard de la Nuit (poetry collection)|Gaspard de la nuit: Fantaisies à la manière de Rembrandt et de Callot]]'', a series of French-language poems by [[Aloysius Bertrand]], 1842 * ''[[Picture This (novel)|Picture This]]'', a novel by [[Joseph Heller]], 1988 * ''Moi, la Putain de Rembrandt'', a French-language novel by Sylvie Matton, 1998 * ''Van Rijn'', a novel by Sarah Emily Miano, 2006 * ''[[I Am Rembrandt's Daughter]]'', a novel by Lynn Cullen, 2007 * ''[[The Rembrandt Affair]]'', a novel by [[Daniel Silva (novelist)|Daniel Silva]], 2011 * ''The Anatomy Lesson'', a novel by Nina Siegal, 2014 * ''Rembrandt's Mirror'', a novel by Kim Devereux, 2015

=== Music === *The [[Donna Summer]] song "[[Dinner with Gershwin]]" contain the lyrics "I want to watch Rembrandt sketch." *The [[Scott Walker (singer)|Scott Walker]] song "Duchess" features the lyrics "It's your bicycle bells / and your Rembrandt swells" *The song on the [[Dreamville]] album ''[[Revenge of the Dreamers III]]'' "Rembrand... Run it Back"

=== Films === * ''[[The Stolen Rembrandt]]'', a 1914 film directed by [[Leo D. Maloney]] and [[J. P. McGowan]] * ''[[The Tragedy of a Great]]'' / ''Die Tragödie eines Großen'', a 1920 film directed by Arthur Günsburg * ''[[The Missing Rembrandt]]'', a 1932 film directed by [[Leslie S. Hiscott]] * ''[[Rembrandt (1936 film)|Rembrandt]]'', a 1936 film directed by [[Alexander Korda]] * ''[[Rembrandt (1940 film)|Rembrandt]]'', a 1940 film * ''Rembrandt in de schuilkelder'' / ''Rembrandt in the Bunker'', a 1941 film directed by Gerard Rutten * ''[[Rembrandt (1942 film)|Rembrandt]]'', a 1942 film directed by [[Hans Steinhoff]] * ''[[Rembrandt: A Self-Portrait]]'', a 1954 documentary film by Morrie Roizman * ''Rembrandt, schilder van de mens'' / ''Rembrandt, Painter of Man'', a 1957 film directed by Bert Haanstra * ''[[Rembrandt fecit 1669]]'', a 1977 film directed by [[Jos Stelling]] * ''Rembrandt: The Public Eye and the Private Gaze'', a 1992 documentary film by [[Simon Schama]] * ''[[Rembrandt (1999 film)|Rembrandt]]'', a 1999 film directed by [[Charles Matton]] * ''{{Ill|Rembrandt: Fathers & Sons|it}}'', a 1999 film directed by David Devine * ''[[Stealing Rembrandt]]'', a 2003 film directed by [[Jannik Johansen]] and [[Anders Thomas Jensen]] * ''[[Simon Schama's Power of Art]]: Rembrandt'', a 2006 [[BBC]] documentary film series by Simon Schama * ''[[Nightwatching]]'', a 2007 film directed by [[Peter Greenaway]] * ''[[Rembrandt's J'Accuse]]'', a 2008 documentary film by [[Peter Greenaway]] * ''{{Ill|Rembrandt en ik|nl}}'', a 2011 film directed by Marleen Gorris * ''Schama on Rembrandt: Masterpieces of the Late Years'', a 2014 documentary film by Simon Schama

== Notes == {{notelist|30em}}

== References == {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="zamek">{{Cite web |title=The Lanckoroński Collection – Rembrandt's Paintings |url=http://www.zamek-krolewski.pl/en/your-visit/permanent-exhibitions/the-lanckoronski-collection-rembrandts-paintings.-gallery-of-paintings,-sculpture-and-the-decorative-arts |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520215927/http://www.zamek-krolewski.pl/en/your-visit/permanent-exhibitions/the-lanckoronski-collection-rembrandts-paintings.-gallery-of-paintings%2C-sculpture-and-the-decorative-arts |archive-date=20 May 2014 |access-date=20 May 2014 |website=zamek-krolewski.pl |quote=The works of art which Karolina Lanckorońska gave to the Royal Castle in 1994 was one of the most invaluable gift's made in the museum's history.}}</ref> }}

=== Works cited === {{refbegin|30em}} * Ackley, Clifford, et al., ''Rembrandt's Journey'', Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 2004. {{ISBN|0-87846-677-0}} * {{Cite book |last=Adams |first=Laurie Schneider |title=Art Across Time. Volume II |publisher=McGraw-Hill College |year=1999 |location=New York}} * Bomford, David, et al., ''Art in the Making: Rembrandt'', New edition, Yale University Press, 2006. * Bull, Duncan, et al., ''Rembrandt-Caravaggio'', Rijksmuseum, 2006. * Buvelot, Quentin, White, Christopher (eds), ''Rembrandt by himself'', 1999, National Gallery * {{Cite book |last=Clark |first=Kenneth |author-link=Kenneth Clark |url=https://archive.org/details/civilisationpers00kenn |title=Civilisation: A Personal View |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1969 |isbn=978-0-06-010801-4 |location=New York}} * [[Kenneth Clark|Clark, Kenneth]], ''An Introduction to Rembrandt'', 1978, London, John Murray/Readers Union, 1978 * {{Cite book |last=Clough |first=Shepard B. |author-link=Shepard B. Clough |url=https://archive.org/details/europeanhistoryi0000clou |title=European History in a World Perspective |publisher=D.C. Heath and Company, Los Lexington, MA |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-669-85555-5 |url-access=registration}} * Driessen, Christoph, ''Rembrandts vrouwen'', Bert Bakker, Amsterdam, 2012. {{ISBN|978-90-351-3690-8}} * {{Cite book |last=Durham |first=John I. |url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalrembrand00durh |title=Biblical Rembrandt: Human Painter in a Landscape of Faith |publisher=Mercer University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-86554-886-2}} * [[Ernst Gombrich|Gombrich, E. H.]], ''The Story of Art'', Phaidon, 1995. {{ISBN|0-7148-3355-X}} *Hinterding, Eric, Luijten, Ger, Royalton-Kisch, Martin, ''Rembrandt the Printmaker'', 2000, British Museum Press/Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, {{ISBN|071412625X}} * {{Citation |title=The God of Realism |work=The New York Review of Books |volume=53 |issue=6 |date=April 6, 2006 |surname1=Hughes |given1=Robert |author-link=Robert Hughes (critic)}} * ''The Complete Etchings of Rembrandt Reproduced in Original Size'', Gary Schwartz (editor). New York: Dover, 1988. {{ISBN|0-486-28181-7}} * [[Seymour Slive|Slive, Seymour]], ed. (1995), ''Dutch Painting, 1600–1800'', Yale University Press {{ISBN|0-300-07451-4}} * [[Ernst van de Wetering|van de Wetering, Ernst]] in ''Rembrandt by himself'', 1999 National Gallery, London/Mauritshuis, The Hague, {{ISBN|1-85709-270-8}} * [[Ernst van de Wetering|van de Wetering, Ernst]], ''Rembrandt: The Painter at Work'', Amsterdam University Press, 2000. {{ISBN|0-520-22668-2}} * White, Christopher, ''The Late Etchings of Rembrandt'', 1999, British Museum/Lund Humphries, London {{ISBN|978-90-400-9315-9}} {{refend}}

==Further reading== {{Further|List of works about Rembrandt}} {{refbegin}} * [[Catalogue raisonné]]: Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project: ** ''A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings – Volume I'', which deals with works from Rembrandt's early years in Leiden (1629–1631), 1982 ** ''A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings – Volume II: 1631–1634''. Bruyn, J., Haak, B. (et al.), Band 2, 1986, {{ISBN|978-90-247-3339-2}} ** ''A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings – Volume III, 1635–1642''. Bruyn, J., Haak, B., Levie, S.H., [[Pieter J.J. van Thiel|van Thiel, P.J.J.]], van de Wetering, E. (Ed. Hrsg.), Band 3, 1990, {{ISBN|978-90-247-3781-9}} ** ''A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings – Volume IV''. [[Ernst van de Wetering]], Karin Groen et al. Springer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands. {{ISBN|1-4020-3280-3}}. p. 692. (Self-Portraits) * [[Christian Tümpel|Christian and Astrid Tümpel]] (2006). ''Rembrandt: Images and Metaphors''. London: Haus Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1-904950-92-9}} * {{Cite book |last1=Anthony M. Amore |title=Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists |last2=Tom Mashberg |year=2012 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing |isbn=978-0-230-33990-3}} {{refend}}

==External links== {{Commons}} {{Wikiquote|Rembrandt}}

* [http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/rembrandt A biography of the artist Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn from the National Gallery, London] * [http://www.pubhist.com/person/1/rembrandt Works and literature on Rembrandt from Pubhist.com] * [http://www.rembrandtcatalogue.net The Drawings of Rembrandt: a revision of Otto Benesch's catalogue raisonné by Martin Royalton-Kisch (in progress)] * [http://www.rembrandthuis.nl/ Rembrandt's house in Amsterdam] Site of the Rembrandt House Museum in Amsterdam, with images of many of his etchings * {{Art UK bio}} * {{Internet Archive author}} * [http://colourlex.com/project/resources-rembrandt/ Rembrandt van Rijn, General Resources] * [https://garyschwartzarthistorian.wordpress.com|2015/09/19/341-the-transparent-connoisseur-3-the-30-million-pound-question/ The transparent connoisseur 3: the 30 million pound question] by [[Gary Schwartz (art historian)|Gary Schwartz]] * [http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/ The Rembrandt Database] research data on the paintings, including the full contents of the first volumes of ''A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings'' by the Rembrandt Research Project * [https://books.google.com/books?id=6LWbImajETkC&pg=PA56 Some Rembrandt drawings] at the [[Albertina]] * [https://resolver.kb.nl/resolve?urn=MMSFUBA02:000015245:pdf Die Urkunden über Rembrandt] by [[C. Hofstede de Groot]] (1906). * [https://www.mfa.org/exhibition/reality-and-imagination-rembrandt-and-the-jews-in-the-dutch-republic Reality and Imagination: Rembrandt and the Jews in the Dutch Republic] Exhibition at the [[Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]], December 15, 2025 – December 1, 2026.

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