A copy of the painting artist Michael Bezak
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn
(15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669) is generally considered one of the greatest painters
and printmakers of the 17th century. He produced about three hundred paintings,
three hundred etchings and two thousand drawings. Rembrandt’s extraordinary ability
to capture the effects of light and shadow, often producing stark contrasts (clair-obscure),
made it possible for him to create extremely lively and dramatic scenes.
Having 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, and for twenty years
he taught many important Dutch painters.
Rembrandt considered himself mostly a history- and portrait painter. His painted and etched
self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography. His wife Saskia van Uylenburgh,
his son Titus van Rijn, as well as his later mistresses, Geertje Dircx en Hendrickje Stoffels,
were often used as models for biblical, mythological or historical figures in his work.
