(After) Rembrandt van Rijn

"Beggars Receiving Alms at the Door of a House" etching

Circa 1880

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (15 July 1606[1] – 4 October 1669), was a master Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker (creating etchings) and draughtsman. Rembrandt is considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art and the most important in the Netherlands. Rembrandt’s paintings, Unlike most Dutch Masters of the 17th century, depict a wide range of style and subject matter, including portraits of contemporaries and self portraits, landscapes, allegorical and historical scenes, biblical and mythological themes as well as animal studies. He painted during the Dutch Golden Age which was a time of great wealth and cultural achievement. Like many artists of the Dutch Golden Age, such as Jan Vemeer, Rembrandt was an avid art collector and art dealer. Rembrandt didn’t travel abroad but his paintings were influenced by artists who travelled such as the Italian masters and Dutch artists including the Utrecht Caravaggists, Paul Peter Rubens and Pieter Lastman. In his early years Rembrandst was a successful portrait painter. During his later years he suffered personal tragedy and financial hardships. Despite his misfortunes his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters. He remains to this day one of the greatest artists who ever lived.