Rembrandt van Rijn | |
---|---|
Born | Rembrant Harmenszoon van Rijn 15 July 1606[1] |
Died | 4 October 1669 Amsterdam, Dutch Republic (now Netherlands) | (aged 63)
Nationality | Dutch |
Known for | Painting, Printmaking |
Movement | Dutch Golden Age Baroque |
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (Leiden, 15 July 1606 – Amsterdam, 4 October 1669) was a famous Dutch painter and artist.
He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history, and the most important in Dutch history.[3]p420 His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.
After his success as a young portrait painter, he had personal tragedy and financial hardships in his later years. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, and his reputation as an artist remained high.[3]p427 For twenty years he taught nearly every important Dutch painter.[2]p203
Rembrandt's greatest creative work is seen in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. His self-portraits are a unique biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.[3]p420