A brief biography of Rembrandt and his work

Biography of Rembrandt is tragic. The artist died in poverty, but before he lost all his relatives. His paintings were not valued during his lifetime, and his disciples betrayed him during the most difficult period. But the trials did not break the great painter, the strength of his spirit was so great that he could laugh at his own sorrows, and even over death itself.

Century of Rembrandt

In the seventeenth century Holland was one of the richest states in Europe. In Amsterdam, flocked various goods from all over the world. Bankers and merchants wanted to see works that would reflect their life as truly as possible. In such conditions painting was the most popular and developed kind of art. Every self-respecting Dutchman believed that the picture must certainly be present in his home. And it was in such conditions that the creative biography of Rembrandt developed.

Dutch artists

Some masters wrote paintings, others - still lifes, the third was brilliantly given genre scenes. The fourth preferred to depict nature. However, they all tried to portray reality truthfully and without embellishment. But, however great the skill of the Dutch painters was, Rembrandt surpassed all.

Such people are born once in a century, and even less often. Simplicity and humanity lived in his mastery, but in him there is an entire universe. Like no other, Rembrandt was able to know the inner world of man and his complex emotional experiences. A brief biography of this master is set forth today in various sources, and after reading it, you wonder how this man could create his canvases, when the need made them give up for nothing, and his brethren scornfully called him "a heretic in painting". Indeed, a true artist creates even when stones are thrown at him.

Lonely painter

He was never surrounded by admirers. No poet sang it during his lifetime. This painter was not invited to the official celebrations, and in the days of grandiose celebrations, too, he was forgotten. However, he was not upset. Familiar beloved company of Rembrandt consisted of shopkeepers, burghers, peasants and artisans. The ordinary people were extremely close to him. The favorite place of the artist was one of the port zucchini, where sailors, wandering actors and petty thieves were scurrying. There he sat for hours, watching and making sketches. In the world of art, which is nothing but a special reflection of reality, seen only by the elect, Rembrandt lived all his life. The biography, which summarizes only the most significant facts from life, is set out below. However, in order to experience the incredible skill of this genius personality, one must see the works. After all, the artist's life is transferred to his paintings.

Birth of a genius

In 1606, in the family of a Dutch wealthy miller named Kharmens, a son was born who became the sixth child. They called him Rembrandt. The mill was located near the city of the Rhine, and because of the name of all family members was added to the Van Rijn. The full name of one of the greatest figures in world painting is Rembrandt Harmens Van Rijn.

A brief biography of this person can be described in just a few words: continuous work and constant creative search. Perhaps it was talent that saved him. In the artist's life there were so many losses and disappointments that, perhaps, only art could save us from despair. But before moving on to the tragic events in his life, we should say a few words about that time, which was characterized by serene and unprecedented success in creativity. It is worth to pay tribute to the fate of the great master. Rembrandt van Rijn was not always alone and unhappy.

short biography

As a child, Rembrandt studied Latin and other important sciences. Parents did not skimp on the education of their beloved son, because they dreamed that he would become an official or a famous scientist. However, the craving for drawing, which in the early years manifested itself in nice drawings, later, already in adolescence, led Rembrandt to the studio of one of the local painters. There he studied for only six months, and then opened his own.

Rembrandt's teachers were contemporaries and artists of the past. He mastered the technique of painting and engraving, he studied the art of Italy on copies. One of the first paintings - "The lesson of the anatomy of the Tulp." We can say that it was from this canvas that the independent creative path began with Rembrandt the artist. His biography says that the first few years after the end of the painting's training in his life were only joyful events.

Sachsia

At twenty-five the artist moved to the capital, and three years later he married the daughter of the mayor. The girl's name was Sachsia. And she became the master muse of the master. The image of his wife is immortalized by the famous portraitist with extraordinary tenderness.

Family happiness coincided with the creative rise - Rembrandt began to receive high-paid orders from wealthy people. And at the same time he had many students. The artist was finally able to buy his own house. Rembrandt Van Rijn, whose brief biography is set forth in the article, not only wrote a lot, but also revered the talent of other masters. He was engaged in collecting, collecting authentic Persian miniatures, shells, vases and antique busts. In his new house there was enough space for the workshop, for living rooms, and for a special room where the works of Raphael, Dürer and Mantegna were kept.

Thus began his career, Rembrandt, whose brief biography includes only one small period of recognition and success, namely, the 1930s. At this time, the artist wrote more than sixty portraits. The most famous of them is Danae. In the period of work on this painting the painter was at the zenith of fame.

But suddenly everything changed: three children died, the beloved wife passed away. Soon he lost his mother and sisters. Rembrandt was left alone with his youngest son. Life gave a break, which did not last until the end of his days.

Poverty

In the 50 years of orders became less and less. Wealthy people no longer needed his portraits. In the churches, paintings were also not required. This was explained by the fact that Protestantism still won in Holland, whose representatives very negatively looked at the use of religious motives in the visual arts.

In addition, unpaid debts made themselves felt. Rembrandt was filed an official lawsuit. He was declared insolvent, and all the property was sold. But even after that, not all creditors were satisfied, and the court ruled that the pictures, which will be created in the future, should also go towards repayment of the remaining debts. All this meant an absolutely beggarly existence.

The painter, who in the past knew fame and fortune, turned into a lonely, forgotten by all the poor man, at the age of fifty. Although he still wrote a lot, but all his paintings were immediately taken away by creditors. Consolation was the second wife, with whom Rembrandt was only in a civil marriage, which was very disapprovingly perceived by society. However, marrying this woman for him meant losing custody of her son.

Thus began a new difficult period, which Rembrandt Harmens Van Rijn, however, bravely courageously transferred. Biography of the artist from this moment consists more of sorrows, and even if there were moments of enlightenment, then for quite a while, and then again there was some tragedy.

Hendrikje

The image of his second wife is also depicted on the canvases of the famous painter. She was inferior to the first by her youth and beauty, but the artist looked at her with the eyes of love and depicted with great warmth. But the church came out with a condemnation of his way of life, and the daughter, whom the second wife gave to Rembrandt, was declared illegitimate. The plight caused the painter's family to move to one of the poorest quarters in Amsterdam.

Rembrandt, whose biography contains many sad facts, has learned true love. And Hendrikje was not only a caring and loving wife, but also distinguished by extraordinary kindness. This woman was able to replace his mother with the son of Rembrandt from his first marriage.

For the time managed to correct the financial situation. In this artist helped the son, who, along with his stepmother, opened an antique store. But fate continued to experience the artist. In 1663, lost his beloved Hendrikya Rembrandt.

Biography and books devoted to the life of the great master, narrate that in his life there was another muse. This woman was much younger than Rembrandt, but her unfortunate artist survived.

The son died five years after the death of Hendrikje. With Rembrandt there was only a daughter, who at that time was fourteen. But, despite everything, the painter did not stop there and did not drop his hands. He still continued to paint pictures, cut engravings ...

In 1669 the great painter died at the hands of his daughter. He left quietly and unnoticed. And his talent was assessed only after his death.

Creation

Biography of Rembrandt - the life of the martyr. His work is the pinnacle of Dutch painting. This master, however, was extremely alone among his fellow artists. His contemporaries did not recognize him. But the great influence on the work of the Dutch painter was the art of the Baroque, and above all the work of Michelangelo.

The artist wrote what he saw with his own eyes in real life. Biography Rembrandt says that his life was such that he had the opportunity to see the surrounding world without embellishment. He transferred the sad experience of contemplation to the canvas. But the way he did it was very unusual poetry. On the canvases of Van Rijn, the twilight always reigns. A gentle golden light separates the figures from it.

Biblical motifs

An important place in the work of the Dutch artist was occupied by religion. It was here that he showed the originality of his skill. The main source of inspiration throughout the creative path for Rembrandt was the biblical stories. Even when paintings on religious topics were no longer in demand, he wrote them for himself, because he felt in this an irresistible need. In the canvases devoted to this topic, he put his soul, his prayer, and also a profound reading of the Gospel.

The artist's recent works are amazing. And the first thing that catches your eye is the elegance of the style, the depth of penetration into the inner world of artistic images. The biography of Rembrandt and his paintings seem to have no connection. The images on the canvases are so peaceful that it does not combine with the uneasy tragic fate of the author.

New genre

In recent years, the artist often wrote self-portraits. When you look at them, you get the impression that Rembrandt tried to unravel his own life. Looking at them as in a mirror, he sought to know his destiny and the plan of God, which so bizarrely led him through life. His self-portraits have become not only the pinnacle of creativity. There is nothing like this in the world of art. These paintings have no analogues in the history of portraiture.

The last self-portraits are a person with a spiritual face who heroically endures hard trials and overcomes the bitterness of loss. Rembrandt is the founder of a kind of genre of portrait-biography. Such pictures convey not only the external appearance, but also the destiny of man, his inner world.

Biography and work of Rembrandt of the fifties are marked first of all by outstanding achievements in writing a portrait. During this period of his work, it was distinguished, as a rule, by an impressive size, monumentality of forms and calm, peaceful poses. Sitters often sat in grandiose deep armchairs, folding their hands in the lap and turning their faces toward the viewer. One of the characteristic features of the great portraitist is the allocation of light to the face and hands.

As a rule, the models were old people, wise old life experiences - old men and old women with a deep seal of sad thoughts on the face and overwork on their hands. Such models allowed the artist to brilliantly demonstrate not only the external signs of old age, but also the inner world of man. In the unusually penetrating portraits of the great Rembrandt, one can feel, with a long study, the life lived by man. When the master portrayed relatives, friends, unfamiliar old people, urban beggars, he could with amazing vigilance transmit slightly perceptible mental movements, lively trembling in the face and even a change of mood.

The legacy of this master is enormous. Rembrandt was incredibly efficient: he created more than two hundred and fifty paintings, three hundred engravings and thousands of drawings. The great master died in poverty. And only after death, valued paintings, created by Rembrandt, were valued highly.

A brief biography and the work of the Dutch painter is presented in this article. But this gives a very superficial notion of the difficult path of genius, which played an outstanding role in the development of the world of fine art. Today, master paintings are in many museums around the world and are in private collections.