Rembrandt's Holland

Abstract

Rembrandt van Rijn and the Netherlands grew up together. The artist, born in Leiden in 1606, lived during the tumultuous period of the Dutch Revolt and the establishment of the independent Dutch Republic. He moved to Amsterdam, a cosmopolitan centre of world trade, and became the city's most fashionable portraitist. His attempts to establish himself with the powerful court at The Hague failed, however, and the final decade of his life was marked by financial hardship and personal tragedy. Rembrandt's Holland considers anew the life and work of this celebrated painter as it charts his career alongside the visual culture of urban Amsterdam and the new Dutch Republic. It brings to light his problematic relationship with the ruling court at The Hague and re-examines how his art developed, from large-scale, detailed religious imagery to more personal drawings and etchings, moving self-portraits and heartfelt close-ups of saintly figures. Featuring up-to-date scholarship and in-depth analysis of Rembrandt's major works, as well as numerous beautiful images, Rembrandt's Holland is essential reading for art students and those who enjoy the work of the Dutch Masters.