Portrait of Rembrandt Oil on Canvas
Rembrandt was born in Leiden on 15th July 1606. His father was a miller and reasonably well to do. At the age of 14yrs Rembrandt enrolled at the University of Leiden where he was uninterested in study and left to study art for 3 years with Jacob Van Swanenburgh. He then spent 6 months with Pieter Lastman and in 1622 opened his own studio which he shared with his collegue and friend Jan Lievens. Having been discovered by a statesman Constantijn Hygens, he was given important commissions by the court of the Hague and his success was on the ascendence.In 1631 he moved to Amsterdam where he practised as a professional portraitist and married Saskia Van Ulenburgh a cousin of a successful art dealer.
In 1639 Rembrandt and his wife moved to a prominent house in the Joden Breestraat and today it is a museum. The purchasing of this house was partly the cause of his financial problems which plagued him throughout his life. He lived way beyond his means and although he was a successful artist he made some unsuccessful investments which compounded his problems.
He had 4 children but only one survived to adulthood, Titus, and Saskia died soon after his birth. During Saskia's illness Rembrandt employed Geertj Dircx as a nurse and she became his lover. After an acrimoneous split he began a relationship with Hendrickje Stoffels who had been a house maid and in 1654 she bore him a daughter Cornelia.
Oil on canvas Hendrickje Stoffel
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He left an amazing record of his life in a series of self portraits from his youth to his old age. His penchant for exuberancy led him to bankruptcy but his portraits were full or warmth and emotion EH Gombrich described his work as 'the workings of the soul' Gombrich described his drawings as masterful and full of movement. EHGombrich. The Story of Art Phaidon Press Ltd 2008. He used a new technic called etching which had replaced wood cutting and copper engraving allowing Rembrandt to draw much more freely using a burin and copper plate covered in wax allowing him to etch into the wax with a needle which produced a freer and easier style. EHGombrich. The Story of Art Phaidon Press Ltd 2008
The Drawings of Rembrandt
Rembrandt's drawings are full of emotion and expression, his use of hatching and cross hatching is inspirational. The story telling in his pictures is complex and lively, every mark means something.
The Angel Departing from the Family Tobias Pen and Ink on Paper
I have enjoyed looking at this picture as there is so much going on. The angel has an almost comical look departing through the window but the expression on the figures show sorrow and sadness which adds to the solemnity of the
scene. Having discovered the small figure underneath the window by the knee of the figure on the far right I wanted to know more about the scene and the story. The story is part of the Catholic and Orthodox Biblical Canon and it tells of the story of Tobit who was blinded one night as he slept outside by bird droppings and he prays for death. Meanwhile a young woman far away in Media also prays for death as she has lost 7 husbands to the demon of
lust who abducts and kills all men she marries on their wedding night. God sends Angel Raphael to help them and when Tobias Tobit's son is sent with his dog to Media to collect money Raphael goes with him. When Raphael hears about Sarah's plight he helps her by freeing the demon and she and Tobias marry. He also restores sight to Tobit. So the painting depicts a story and Rembrandt has cleverly included all aspects of it.
The sketches and etchings he has done of people have a lovely feel of movement with the way he uses curved line.
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I love the the way he has made these sketches look effortless and alive. I think that the etching of Saskia has a Mona Lisa look about her.
The body language on this picture with the head bowed shows a man down on his luck. I wonder if Rembrandt ever thought that with his recklessness with money that picture could of been him.
Self Portrait Etching
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One of many self portraits but I think that I like this one particularly because of the startled expression and the use of the hatching to show depth. It also shows an exuberance and I half feel as if he is going to burst into a smile or a laugh.
My second choice of a modern drawing master has to be Max Beckmann. I had never seen or heard of him until I started to look around for a subject to do some research on. I also found out that like Rembrandt he did many self-portraits over the years and his painting and drawings were prolific.
Brief History of Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann was born in Leipzig in 1884, the youngest of three children. His father a grain merchant died when he was 10yrs old and from then on spent much of his education in boarding schools. At the age of 15yrs he decided he wanted to be a painter. He was accepted into an academic school of art in Weimar in 1900 where he met a fellow student Mina Tube whom he married in 1906 and he had one child named Peter.
His work gained recognition and he moved to Berlin where he exhibited his work. His early work before World War One displayed characteristics of impressionism and he also worked in the tradition on Rembrandt and Rubens. However, his work took a dramatic change following his experiences as a medic during World War One when he had a breakdown and was discharged in 1915. http://www.artchive.com/artchive/B/beckmann.html. I was looking at drawings of Max Beckmann pre and post war and the change in content, mood and style is quite startling and can be viewed on this website
http://www.moma.org/collection_ge/browse_results.php?criteria=O:AD:E:429|A:AR:E:1&role=1&view_all=1 . Most of the drawing are in chronological order and it is easy to see the change in this artists mind. I do not like some of his subject matter but the self protrait in Bowler Hat is brilliant. I particularly like the use of straight lines depicting tone, there is nothing comfortable about this picture and it is in total contrast to the Rembrandt self portrait etching. Owing to the copyright I can only use web links for the work of Max Beckmann.
His success continued after the war and his popularity grew and in 1927 he received the Honary Empire Prize for German Art. His fortunes were about to change as the rise of Adolf Hitler whose hatred of modern art meant that over 500 pieces of his work were confiscated from German Museums. Some of them were exhibited at the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich. The exhibition mounted by the Nazi's displayed modern art with derisive labels designed to inflame public opinion against them.
For 10yrs Max Beckmann lived in exile in Amsterdam and his work became more intense. After the war he moved to the United States of America where he taught at the art schools of Washington University of St Louis and the Brooklyn Museum. He died in 1950 following a heart attack in Manhattan. http: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Beckmann
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