Rembrandt van Rijn (1606 to 1669) was born in Leiden and moved to Amsterdam in the early 1630s, where he became the city's leading portrait painter. He painted, drew and etched: portraits, Bible stories, landscapes and himself. Like Caravaggio, he used strong light and dark, but his shadows are warm and full of half-seen detail.
Looking closely: The Night Watch
Describe. A militia company, the citizen guards of one district of Amsterdam, pours out from under an archway. The captain in black and the lieutenant in pale yellow stride toward us; around them men load and raise muskets, a banner is unfurled, a dog barks and a drummer beats the drum. Analyze. Earlier group portraits lined members up in rows, each face equally clear. Rembrandt made a scene of motion instead: diagonals of spears and muskets, bright light on the two officers and on a girl in gold, and deep shadow elsewhere. Interpret. It is a portrait of the company, paid for by its members, and a picture of civic pride: Amsterdam's citizens ready to defend their city.
Key idea
Common mistake
Why it works
A life in self-portraits
Rembrandt made more than eighty self-portraits in paintings, etchings and drawings, more than any major artist before him. In this one, painted at 53, three years after his bankruptcy, he looks straight at us under a dark beret. The face is built of thick, worked paint that catches the light; the clothes melt into brown shadow. The portrait does not flatter. It records age and experience with honesty.
Worked example: Why the nickname?
- The scene is set in daylight, but large areas are in shadow.
- Old varnish turns yellow-brown and darkens with time and dirt.
- Under that darkened varnish, the daylight scene looked like night.
Answer: Darkened varnish and Rembrandt's deep shadows made a daylight scene look like night.