Rembrandt is known as one of the greatest artists of the 17th century. He is also known as oneof the greatest painters in western art. Rembrandt earned these titles rightfully so. He belonged to the Baroque period. The Baroque period had works ofart that were emotional, dramatic, and included real people as the primarysubjects. Rembrandt showed all of this in his work. Rembrandt was influencedby nature, religion, the Bible, and humanity. His paintings showed his moods andfeelings towards all of these. He would study people, especially members of hisfamily, including himself to use as the basis for his work. He created over twothousand works of art including; ninety self-portraits, sixty paintings, and the restwere mainly drawings and etchings.Rembrandts full name was Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. He was born on July 15,1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands. He was the ninth of ten children. His father was a miller, andeven though he came from a family of modest means, his parents took great pride in education. Rembrandt began his studies at the Latin school. At the age of fourteen, he enrolled at theUniversity of Leiden. This did not interest him and he soon left to study art. He was fascinatedby the work of many Italian artists. He began his studies with a local master, Jacob vanSwanenburch. he then went to Amsterdam to study with Pieter Lastman. After six months,Rembrandt had mastered everything so he went back to Leiden. Even though he was onlytwenty-two, he was so highly respected that he took on his first students. He continued to teachthroughout his entire life.In 1631, he moved to Amsterdam and married Saskia van Uylenburgh. Herrelation to an art dealer enhanced his career. Saskia was one of his favoritemodels for his work. Together they had a son, Titus. Soon after his birth Saskiadied. Rembrandts housekeeper, Hendrickje Stiffels eventually became hiscommon-law wife. She was also a model for many of Rembra...
