Rembrandt – Dutch Baroque

The most famous of the Dutch Baroque artist is Rembrandt van Rijn. While many Dutch and Flemish artists of the period were very specialized, focusing on only one type of painting, Rembrandt had great success painting many different types of works. He created paintings and prints of portraits, militia paintings, landscapes and religious scenes. His style changed much over the years, featuring realistic paintings, ornate Baroque style works, and expressive painterly works.

Born in Leiden, Rembrandt van Rijn moved to Amsterdam at about age 26 and gained fame almost immediately, particularly after his early commission for the Amsterdam Surgeon’s Guild, «The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp_1632,» became a sensation. He remained one of Holland’s most popular artists in the 1630s and 1640s. A Girl at a Window_1645 is a gorgeous and seductive painting. Here is Rembrandt at 39 years old portraying a very young subject. Who is she? No one knows. Some speculate she was a servant; her shirt is open, she has jewellery against her bosom and an ornate hat. She looks back at you as if sharing a memory.

Rembrandt fell out of fashion in the 1650s when the Flemish Baroque style, popularized by Anthony van Dyck, became the new vogue. It’s easy to understand why scholars have often regarded the end of Rembrandt’s life as tragic: His wife of eight years died in 1642 at age 29, he went bankrupt in 1656 and had to auction off most of his possessions and sell their home. When he took up with one and then another of his housekeepers, he was socially reviled. He fell out of favor with city officials and patrons in The Hague and wasn’t selected for major public commissions. And by the time he died at 63, he was so poor that he was buried in an unmarked grave.