Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
You can recognize a Rembrandt canvas by his play of light and
dark. Most of his paintings are a deep brown tone, with only a few
bright spots glowing from the darkness. This allows Rembrandt
to highlight the details he thinks are most important and express
moody emotions.
Light has a primal appeal to humans. (Dig deep into your
DNA and remember the time when fire was not tamed. Light! In
the middle of the night! This miracle separated us from our fellow
animals.) Rembrandt strikes at that instinctive level.
Rembrandt—
Maria Trip
(1639)
This debutante daughter of a wealthy citizen is shy and reserved—
maybe a bit awkward in her new dress and
adult role, but still self-assured. When he chose
to, Rembrandt could dash off a commissioned
portrait like nobody's business. The details
are immaculate—the lace and shiny satin, the
pearls behind the veil, the subtle face and hands.
Rembrandt gives us not just a person, but a per-
sonalit y.
Look at the red rings around her eyes, a
detail a lesser painter would have airbrushed out.
Rembrandt takes this feature, unique to her, and
uses it as a setting for her luminous, jewel-like
eyes. Without being prettified, she's beautiful.
Rembrandt—
A Young Woman
(a.k.a.
The Portrait of
Saskia,
1633)
It didn't take long for Amsterdam to recognize Rembrandt's great
talent. Everyone wanted a portrait done by the young master, and
he became wealthy and famous. He fell
in love with and married the rich, beauti-
ful, and cultured Saskia. By all accounts,
the two were enormously happy, enter-
taining friends, decorating their house
with fine furniture, raising a family, and
living the high life. In this wedding por-
trait, thought to be of Saskia, the bride's
face literally glows. A dash of white paint
puts a sparkle in her eye. Barely 30 years
old, Rembrandt was the most successful
painter in Holland. He had it all.
Other “Rembrandts”
The Rijksmuseum displays real Rembrandts, paintings by others
that look like his, portraits of Rembrandt by his students, and
