Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) A Woman in Bed (Sarah Awaiting Tobias) 1647

Biography

Born 1606
Died 1669
Nationality Dutch
Birth place Leiden
Death place Amsterdam

Rembrandt is perhaps the most renowned, influential and inventive of all Dutch artists. In his oil paintings, he represented a wide range of subjects, including single portraits, group portraits, self-portraits and biblical and mythological scenes. He explored the dramatic potential of light and shadow not only through paintings, but also through his innovative printmaking (etching) and fluid, inventive draughtsmanship. Rembrandt’s began his career in his native Leiden. After moving to Amsterdam, he enjoyed great success, which continued throughout his long career. Towards the end of his life, he underwent personal and financial difficulties, but remained a respected artist until his death in 1669.

Glossary terms

Glossary terms

Etching

A form of printmaking in which a metal plate is covered with a substance called a 'ground', usually wax, into which an image is drawn with a needle. Acid is applied, eroding the areas of the plate exposed but not the areas covered by wax. The action of the acid creates lines in the metal plate that hold the ink from which a print is made when the plate is pressed against paper under pressure.

Exhibitions

Ended
Rembrandt | Britain's Discovery of the Master
  • Ended Sun 14 Oct 2018
National
Ended
Facing the World | Self-Portraits Rembrandt to Ai Weiwei
  • Ended Sun 16 Oct 2016
Portrait