 Master of the Darkness and Light
Rembrandt, the Dutch
master of chiaroscuro (meaning play of the light and dark in painting), has created
over 600 paintings besides several etchings and drawings. When he painted, he took
"Nature as the only guide." By ‘nature’ he meant the totality of life
as it appeared and appealed to him. He was always opposed to the kind of theory of art
that prevailed during his time, especially during the late 17th century.
Joachim Von Sandrart said of him that, " he did not hesitate to oppose or contradict
our rules of art, such as anatomy and the proportions of the human body, perspective and
the usefulness of classical statues, Raphael’s drawings and judicious pictorial
deposition, and the academies which are so particularly necessary for our
professions."
The Genius
According to him the
talent of the artist depends not only on his love for art but also on his "being in
love with the task of representing the charms of nature." His approach to art was
more emotional than the rational and aesthetic one of his contemporaries.
His work excelled in the
selection and organization of his subject, which he says, is the first role in good
composition. His deviation from the set standards of the day seems to have caused as much
resentment as the respect that his formidable genius commanded.
About one third of his
paintings have Biblical subjects, most of which are dramatic, in keeping with his Baroque
style. He is unusual in the atmosphere of stillness and mystery that he creates in the
setting of his paintings.
A Search Within
| The 60 odd self-portraits that he made, have probably no parallel in the history of art. There are also two etchings and about 10 drawings. He subjected himself to penetrating self-analysis and self-contemplation. If seen together, we would find very little repetition of expression and arrangement. The number of portraits shows an untiring interest in his own features and more than that he probably felt the need to know himself first in order to be able to penetrate the problem of man’s inner life. He was on a search of spiritual ascension through the path of his own personality. All his self-portraits show his immense power of expression. It is only in the self-portrait of 1669, the year of his death that this power seems to fail him and the picture that we see is that of a man who looks mild and empty as compared to his other self-portraits. His self-portraits reveal the blend of the subjective and the universal that marks his genius. |
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The Portraits Besides the
self-portraits, there are his single  portraits and
group portraits. His interest in portraiture was probably because of it being profitable.
His special field of calling though was Biblical painting. There are more than 400 of
these paintings, which form about two-thirds of the bulk of his work. For the most part he
chose his own subjects rather than taking on commissions. He did take no commission but
this meant that he was then confined to a narrower formula. He could not have the amount
of freedom to work; that he allowed himself in portraying his chosen subjects. In his
later years there was an increase in his power of characterization and pictorial
treatment. He painted a series of portraits of his wife Saskia and also of Hendrickje.
There aren’t many
group or double portraits. Just six double portraits and one family portrait are known to
be in existence.
There are also the
large-scale productions of his, the corporation portraits. His dramatic Anatomy Lesson
of Doctor Tulp caused a sensation. The much-discussed Nightwatch and The
Syndics of the Drapers Guild are two of his most acclaimed works. With his landscapes,
he interpreted nature as he did man in his portraiture. He followed in both, a romantic
trend combined with realism.
The Creative Urge
Rembrandt painted,
especially the portraits, for money, but the etchings, he made to feed his creative urge
and for his personal pleasure. He created during his lifetime nearly 350 etchings, of
which about 220 plates are lost to us. His etchings had an international reputation even
during his own lifetime. Baldinucci says about his etching –
 "This manner
was too entirely his own, neither used by others nor seen again; with certain scratches of
varying strength and irregular and isolated strokes, he produced a deep chiaroscuro of
great strength . . . And truth to tell in this particular branch of engraving, Rembrandt
was much more highly esteemed by the professors of art than in painting, in which it seems
he had exceptional luck than merit."
In his etching, as in his
painting, he went his own way. He was always experimenting and developing new techniques. |
