15.07.1666 – 04.10.1669

The life of the legendary Rembrandt van Rijn was full of love, and suffering, and luxury, and poverty. Such are his pictures – cheerful and compassionate, portraits of the Dutch aristocracy and genre scenes, his works reflect timeless human experiences.

One of the brightest masters of painting of the XVII century was born July 15, 1606 in the family of a prosperous miller. The father wished to give his younger son a good education – Latin school, then Leiden University, which, however, the artist did not finish, entering the workshop of Peter Lastman in 1624 in Amsterdam.

Peter Lastman had a great influence on Rembrandt, but returning to his native Leiden, the artist begins to search for his own way – the sharp polychromy of the first paintings is replaced by the harmony of brown tones and the mysterious effects of chiaroscuro. In the field of transferring the game of light and shadow, Rembrandt stands at an unattainable height.

Masterly technique, ease of composition and special color harmony – the artist’s works were highly appreciated by contemporaries, in the shortest possible time Rembrandt managed to secure a quite comfortable existence.

In 1634, Rembrandt married Saskia van Eilenburh. The young wife became a muse and favorite model of the artist. Between 1635 and 1640 Saskia gave birth to three children, but all of them died, having lived only a few weeks in the world. In 1641 she gave birth to the fourth, and the last, her child. Parents named their son Titus. Titus survived, but Saskia soon died. She was 29 years old. In the life of Rembrandt, a period of personal loss began.

In the 1640s, the number of orders was sharply reduced, the tastes of the public did not coincide with the logic of the artist’s creative development. The picturesque fashion of that time was inclined towards meticulous detailing, the wide, juicy strokes of Rembrandt, the sharp contrasts of light and shade in his works ceased to appeal to art lovers. The financial position of the artist has significantly worsened. In 1663 his faithful companion Hendrikieu died, in 1668 the only son Titus died. Rembrandt died in extreme poverty, in the early days of October 1669.