Dutch artist Rembrandt Van Rijn is one of the most influential painters the world has ever seen. The art subjects he opts for in his creative paintings redefined the Dutch Golden Age.
It is to this date that art museums and galleries showcase Rembrandt artwork. Once in a while, every corner of the world celebrates his art legacy through vivid exhibitions or art feats. His contribution to art history can never go out of mind.
Suppose you are interested to know more about the renowned artist, his famous artworks and painting style. In that case, the segment below will fill your curious cravings about the unforgettable artist Rembrandt Van Rijn and his influence on the Dutch Golden Age.
The Dutch Master’s Life
Rembrandt Van Rijn was born in Leiden in 1606. His entire career bloomed in the city of Amsterdam, which back then experienced an economic boom known as the Dutch Golden Age.
Rembrandt is considered one of the very influential artists of the Dutch Golden Age. A prolific sculptor Auguste Rodin referred to him as a “colossus of art.” Another post-impressionist pioneer Vincent Van Gogh, a great artist, cherished Rembrandt’s many artworks.
The premier artist gathered a lifetime of achievements through the portraits he painted. Then, finally, he and his wife Saskia moved into a stately home, presently known as the Rembrandt House Museum.
He is now one of Holland’s most esteemed artists from the Dutch golden age. Rembrandt collected his precious artifacts and great paintings throughout his life and documented them to avoid bankruptcy. Later in his life, he moved to a rented house on the Rozengracht and died in 1669.
Rembrandt Painting Style
The dramatic rendition of light and shadow and the contrast creation between highly saturated colors and darkness were the identifying features of his paintings. The foremost artist is widely known for his portraits. However, the portraits by Rembrandt are much more than reality. Its facial features and mannerism was always on point and left everyone awe-inspired by the expertise of Vijn.
Rembrandt was a remarkable painter and was a very versatile one as well. Many of his portrayals were centralized on biblical and historical narratives. However, his paintings showed a profound psychological understanding of people and surroundings. Through his paintings, his devotion to the Christian faith is also palpable.
Famous Paintings by Rembrandt Van Rijn
Some of the classic paintings by Rembrandt Van Rijn left an imprint in art history. These paintings give us a legacy from the dutch golden age and the kind of art it carried. His paintings were a unique blend of luxuriant brushwork and splendid colors.
The Storm of The Sea Galilee
Painted in 1633, The Storm of The Sea Galilee is the only seascape by Van Rijn. This iconic painting remains a mystery in the art world. It was earlier housed at the Isabella Gardner Stewart Museum in Boston, US. However, in 1990 the painting was stolen and is still missing.
The depiction of the painting narrates a biblical scene where Jesus is calming the tyrant storm on the Sea of Galilee. It is segmented into two triangles at the edge of a diagonal position from the boat’s mast. A dramatic portrayal where the golden light illuminates from the dark clouds and angry waves from the sea keep rushing. The painting comprises a figure dressed in blue colored who is looking directly towards the viewer.
The blue figurine engages one on one with the viewer and shares similar features with the artist. Rembrandt painted himself in his artworks to share his emotional connection and urged the viewer to be equally involved in the painting.
The Night Watch
Rembrandt painted The Night Watch in1642. It is quite a spectacle because of its sheer size, nearly four meters tall from the Dutch Golden Age.
The Night Watch is a depiction of a night scene. Contrary to the belief around the mid-1940s that the painting was set in the daylight. Rembrandt used dramatic illumination to create a contrast between the shadow and light. There is also a skillful perception of motion in the portrait. It is a group portrait in which Van Vijn chose to represent the crowd figures in a bustling scene. He did not showcase the military in motion but opted for presenting it in a formal and stately pose.
The figures in the painting illuminate an ever-grand magnitude which makes them appear life-like. It seems as if all the 34 characters inside the artwork are moving towards the viewer. The pioneer painting by Rembrandt is class-apart group portraiture by him or any other portrait artist.
The Return of The Prodigal Son
It took almost eight years for Rembrandt to complete this elegant painting. The Return of The Prodigal Son was his last painting and was accomplished before he died in 1669. It is a life-size artwork with a biblical story of a prodigal son asking his father for forgiveness.
The painting altogether evokes human sentiments and religious moods. One can easily witness the gloom of human experience with a tinge of tenderness, a symbol of homecoming, and dreary actions of humanity in God’s mercy. While the painting is hauntingly magnificent, it somehow depicts an intimate fatherly-son bond.
The sensational painting is presently kept in the Hermitage Museum with other famous paintings by Van Vijn. The Return Of The Prodigal Son is considered extra-special because of its ability to capture beyond realistic facial expressions and evoke the message of forgiveness. Many critics designated this one as a tremendous accomplishment in Baroque art from the Dutch Golden Age.
The Bottom Line
The Dutch Golden Age would have been incomplete if Rembrandt’s art had no contribution to it. Not only did the golden era experience economic rise, but it captured a legacy of artworks as well. Rembrandt Van Rijn’s paintings will forever live in our hearts because an artist like him is born once in a millennium.