Interesting Facts About Rembrandt

The mention of Rembrandt certainly sends many shock waves across the spines of people who know the history of European art work. This is mainly because Rembrandt is known to be the greatest painter in European art whose work has been able to provoke accolades from onlookers. Despite having been long gone, Rembrandt’s paintings are still able to send ripples across the painting world throughout Europe and the entire globe.

Without any doubt, it would be interesting to learn about the facts that are associated with the iconic figure of European and art history. Here is a look at 10 of the most notable facts about Rembrandt. Some of the facts may be shocking, while others may be expected.

He was the most dominant painter and etcher of the Dutch Golden Age; with art works that were devoid of error and ambiguity, it is not shocking that Rembrandt was the most prominent painter of the Dutch Golden Age.

1. Rembrandt’s first three children did not live into adulthood

Rembrandt suffered greatly during the first few years of his marriage. His first three children failed to survive beyond the age of three months. Only his fourth son made it to adulthood.

2. His portrait works dominated Europe during the Dutch Golden Age

Rembrandt is arguably the titan of the Golden Dutch Age who successfully managed to ward off rivalry from his arch contenders all over Europe to remain on top.

3. Rembrandt was apprenticed to Jacob van Swanenburch for six years

Rembrandt’s work has been largely influenced by Jacob. This is mainly because he spent six years with Jacob prior to starting his own studio

4. Rembrandt never left mainland Dutch to study art

Most artists of the Dutch Golden Age and before often had to go to Italy to further their studies in art. But, Rembrandt never left mainland Dutch. He spent his entire life in mainland Dutch and still managed to take the global art fraternity by storm.

5. Rembrandt’s recognised self-portraits exceed 50

Rembrandt had a deep affection for self-portraits as is reflected in his collection of art works. Today, over 50 self-portraits accredited to Rembrandt can be found around the world.

6. Rembrandt’s recognised works exceed 2, 000

This is a remarkable achievement considering that Rembrandt allowed most of his students to copy his work. No wonder it is sometimes hard to render credit to a specific painter when referring to certain art works. Up to this day, there is still confusion over certain historical paintings that are believed to have either been done by Rembrandt or one his students. But, this did not prevent Rembrandt from successfully producing art works exceeding 2, 000.

7. Rembrandt had a strong attachment to religion

Amongst his contemporaries, he is the only one who showed the strongest connection to religion. In particular, he had a great affection for biblical themes. This is mainly reflected in the way he presented biblical paintings and the many paintings with biblical themes.

8. At 21 years, he had his own studio

After spending around three years with one of the best artists of that time Jacob Van Swanenburch, Rembrandt chose to start his own start his own art studio. However, this was shortly after he spent about six months with another iconic painter of the time Pieter Lastman. It was after he started his own studio that he began to attract the likes of Gerrit Duo and Ferdinand, two students who sent shockwaves across the art fraternity across the whole globe.

9. Famous artist Gerrit Dou was Rembrandt’s student

Gerrit Dou may appear to have made a name for himself on his own. But, he was actually propelled to the top by Rembrandt. He was one of the many students that Rembrandt enrolled when he started his own art studio. Today, he remains one of the most celebrated artists of all time.

10. Rembrandt’s grave was initially unmarked

As shocking as though this may seem, it is actually true. At the time of his death, Rembrandt was very poor. In the evening of his life, he had started living beyond his own means and later lost most of his wealth as a result.