Rembrandt

Rembrandt van Rijn is indisputably the greatest artist of the 17th century, and many would say the greatest artist of all time. His mastery of composition, paint, and line—he was a superlative etcher—over a lifetime’s work has rarely been emulated, let alone surpassed. At a time when other artists specialized, his themes covered history, pastoral and Biblical scenes, group paintings, and most celebrated of all, portraits. Although excruciatingly little is known about Rembrandt’s personal thoughts and musings—he had no contemporary biographer and left no letters or diary—he did leave over 90 authenticated self portraits, which offer the details of his outward appearance as he progressed from a young adult to an elderly man. For the majority of his life, Rembrandt enjoyed success and wealth as he catered to the artistic proclivities of the wealthy Dutch merchants in Amsterdam, but personal and financial tragedy dogged him as well. Forced to declare bankruptcy a decade before he died, he continued painting to pay the bills, creating some of his most noteworthy works of art in the process.