The masters behind our paintings
Rembrandt – the master of light and shadow
* 15 July 1606, Leiden · † 4 October 1669, Amsterdam
He was celebrated, became rich and lost it all again. Rembrandt painted merchants, militia companies, biblical scenes and, again and again, himself – more honestly than any painter before him.
A life between splendour and loss
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A miller's son from Leiden
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is born in Leiden in 1606, the son of a miller. He briefly enrols at the university but only wants to paint. After an apprenticeship in Leiden he spends half a year with Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam.
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The leap to Amsterdam
Around 1631 he moves to Amsterdam, then the richest city in Europe. With “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp” he becomes famous overnight in 1632. Wealthy citizens commission portraits, and pupils want to learn from him.
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Saskia
In 1634 he marries Saskia van Uylenburgh, a burgomaster's daughter from Friesland and cousin of his art dealer. He paints her over and over – as a bride, as the goddess Flora, laughing, pensive. In 1639 the couple buy a splendid house in the Jodenbreestraat.
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The fateful year 1642
Three of their four children die soon after birth; only their son Titus survives. In June 1642 Saskia dies too, aged just 29. That same year Rembrandt completes his largest group portrait, “The Night Watch”.
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Light in the dark
Rembrandt lets faces and fabrics glow out of deep darkness, as if a single ray of light fell into the room. He applies paint thickly, scratches into it with the end of the brush and paints his late pictures almost roughly – and that is exactly why they feel so alive.
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Bankruptcy
Rembrandt collects art, shells and armour passionately and lives beyond his means. In 1656 he is insolvent; house and collection are auctioned. From then on his partner Hendrickje Stoffels and Titus run the art business on paper so that he can keep painting.
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The late years
It is in these very years that masterpieces such as “The Syndics” and “The Jewish Bride” are created – and self-portraits of unsparing honesty. Hendrickje dies in 1663, Titus in 1668. Rembrandt dies in 1669 and is buried in the Westerkerk; the exact spot is unknown.
His most famous paintings
Five pictures between Amsterdam, London and Dresden – from the grand entrance to the quiet self-portrait.
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The Night Watch Actually a daytime scene: darkened varnish gave the picture its famous name. -
The Syndics The officials of the drapers' guild look up as if we had just walked in. -
The Jewish Bride A couple in gold and red – van Gogh would have given ten years of his life to sit in front of it for two weeks. -
Self-Portrait with Two Circles The old master with palette and brushes – calm, dignified, without flattery. -
Saskia with a Red Flower Saskia a year before her death, holding a flower – a picture full of tenderness.
The story behind the picture
Saskia with a Red Flower
Saskia was Rembrandt's wife, his favourite model and the centre of his happiest years. In the nine years of their marriage he paints and draws her again and again, often dressed up and adorned, sometimes quite privately.
In 1641 he paints the portrait with the red flower: Saskia in a precious red dress, strings of pearls around her neck, a flower in her outstretched hand. That same year Titus is born. A year later Saskia is dead.
Today the picture hangs in Dresden. We painted it with Lotte, a calico cat – with Rembrandt's warm light, the red dress and the pearls.
In the green salon: Lotte as Saskia in a gold frame.
Your pet in Rembrandt's light
We keep Rembrandt's composition – warm light, precious fabrics, pearls and jewellery – and put your pet into it. Fur, markings and expression come from your photo. The preview is free.
Images of the original paintings: public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.