Creator story
Surprising fact
Rembrandt painted around 80 self-portraits across his life — a unique visual diary tracing his face from confident youth to bankrupt, weathered old age.
Source: Wikipedia / WikimediaBaroque
Rembrandt
Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) was the greatest master of the Dutch Golden Age, unmatched in his use of light, shadow and human empathy. From The Night Watch to a lifetime of unflinching self-portraits, he painted the inner life as no one had before.
His expressive light and psychological depth made him a touchstone for every later painter of the human condition.
- Painted The Night Watch, breaking the static group-portrait tradition with movement and drama.
- Left roughly 80 self-portraits, an unmatched record of a single face aging over decades.
- Despite fame, went bankrupt in 1656 and died poor — his genius outlived his fortune.
Key works
Two works that open the world of Rembrandt
These works make it easiest to see how the artist changed form, content, and the very way art could exist in culture.
1632
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a 1632 oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands. It was originally created to be displayed by the Surgeons Guild in their meeting room.
1642
The Night Watch
Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, also known as The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, but commonly referred to as The Night Watch, is a 1642 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn.