Rembrandt: Three Faces of the Master

by Rembrandt van Rijn

Universally acclaimed as one of the greatest artists of all time, Rembrandt often turned to Scripture for inspiration. Many of his works, crafted with vitality and emotion that stir the spirit, depict events of the Christmas story. This unique collection of reproductions of color oils, drawings, and black and white etchings depict everything from the angel Gabriel's announcement of Jesus' birth to the adoration of shepherds and wise men. Each piece is accompanied by the Scripture that inspired the seventeenth century artist. This a lavish, beautiful gift book that will become a treasured Christmas tradition. Hardcover. 80 Pages.

96 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2016

About the author

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1606 - October 04, 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher.

He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.

Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, his later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship. Yet his drawings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high and for twenty years he taught nearly every important Dutch painter. Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. The self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.

In both painting and printmaking he exhibited a complete knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of the Jewish population of Amsterdam. Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called "one of the great prophets of civilization."

Reviews

[Jim Razinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took an art appreciation course back in 1982 that was a waste of time and money. A waste because I was too immature to appreciate art appreciation. Over the years, the immaturity has diminished and the appreciation inversely increased. I’ve liked Rembrandt’s work for decades and when we bought a membership to the Cincinnati Art Museum a few years ago, we got to choose a free book. This was it. I still don’t buy into a lot of art interpretation - I feel the only source of actual meaning of a piece would be the actual words of the artist (though Ursula Le Guin maintained that meaning is subjective… her own work meant something at the time of writing, and perhaps something very different later in life; meaning of art is changed by who reads/sees it, when and even where.) Regardless, the three essays here give perspectives on one element of Rembrandt - his self portraits. These are perspectives that largely are new to me, so I learn. And appreciate more.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The king of chiaroscuro! I’m not a huge fan of Rembrandt, but it was interesting to see how his work affected other artists. I particularly liked the comparison to Van Gogh!