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Rembrandt: The Painter's Drama

'Classical artistic composition must tinuous struggle for its independence express a valid idea which is not 'Rembrandt's Journey: from Hapsburg Spain. It has been esti­ explicitly stated in the composition Painter-Draftsman -Etcher' mated that, in just the final 30 years of itself, which is transmitted to the European warfare, between 7 and 8 mil­ audience, not as an explicit statement, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston lion people died-approximately one­ but rather, as a prescience of a well­ Oct. 26, 2003-Jan. 18, 2004 third the total population living within

defined quality and significance. ' ,. the Hapsburg Empire. -Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr. Art Institute of Chicago The Treaty of Westphalia called on Feb. 14-May 9, 2004 all parties to put the nightmare of war embrandt van Rijn (1606-1 669) behind them, to look to the fu ture by Rlived through a period of intense fo rgiving their enemies and putting the upheaval in Europe, including the "ad vantag e of the other" before the genocidal Thirty Years' War and its work, and to witness his development desire for revenge. Rembrandt's close resolution in the watershed Treaty of unfold through the various media he friend, the Czech (Moravian) humanist Westphalia. Throughout all of it, Rem­ employed--drawing, etching, engraving, John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), who brandt spoke through his art for the and painting-in more than 200 works. had taken refuge in Amsterdam, was highest qualities of mankind. For Rem­ Rembrandt is the painter who most one of the figures whose philosophical brandt saw in the crisis of his time, the passionately expresses the ideas of the and political writings provided the basis opportunity to create a new renaissance, 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, which ended for the Westphalia Peace. in the arts, in the sciences, and in more than a century of bloody religious It is precisely this spirit of agape that human relations. warfare. From 1566 to 1648, Rem­ emanates from Rembrandt's work, ever We know that Rembrandt, like his brandt's own Netherlands fo ught a con- more powerfully as he matures. younger contemporary Leibniz, believed in the goodness of mankind, and was optimistic about the fu ture. How do we know this? Rembrandt left no treatises or writ­ ten evidence of his philosophical views. But he gave us his many paintings, prints, and drawings, which speak to us with such power and clarity, as to leave no doubt. The Boston Museum of Fine Arts exhibition, "Rembrandt's Journey," provided a rare opportu­ nity to discover, or re-dis­ cover, the exceptional power of Rembrandt's work to engage, chal­ lenge, and inspire; an opportunity to walk through a significant por­ tion of the artist's life Rembrandt van Rijn, "Christ Preaching" ("TheHundred Guilder Print"), 1643-49.

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© 2004 Schiller Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission strictly prohibited. Rembrandt's Amsterdam Rembrandt van Rijn, Rembrandt's Amsterdam was a city of "Adamand ," 1638. great wealth, and a center of science, culture, and learning, which saw its population quadruple, from 50,000 to atmospheric effects, especially 200,000. in the 50 years between 1600 around the face of Christ, and 1650. Among the world-trans­ whose image is rendered with­ fo rming developments which took out definite contours. This place during Rembrandt's lifetime, was creates both a sense of mobili­ the establishment of European settle­ ty, and of ambiguity-mani­ ments in the New World, including fe sting the movement of the the voyage of the Mayflower in 1620, mind-wherein we can dis­ which included citizens of the Dutch cover fo r ourselves the nature Republic. of Christ. During the same period, when Rem­ The figure of Jesus is set brandt was growing to maturity, the against a stark background; a revolutionary works of Shakespeare (d. large, dark fo rm rises above 1616) began to reach the continent in him, protectively, and empha­ translation. By 1604, Romeo and Juliet sizes his central role; the other appeared in German; in 1621, The actors are riveted to his words, Tragedy ofTitus Andronicus was translat­ his presence, so that he ed into Dutch; a few years later, Julius becomes the organizing princi­ Caesar, King Lear, and Hamlet were ple of the drama. The scene, printed in German; in 1654, the Taming chosen fo r its dramatic poten­ of the Shrew appeared in Dutch. And, ing, and so fo rth--organized as though tial, is from the Gospel of Matthew: while it is well known that Rembrandt, he were directing a great Classical "And great multitudes fo llowed him; unlike many of his fe llow artists, never drama. and he healed them there." At the right, travelled to Italy, there is evidence that a crowd enters through the city gate: 'Christ Preaching' he was in Shakespeare's London: he they are the sick, the crippled, the aged, drew the gates of the city in the early Rembrandt's dramatic skills are in fu ll who seek his help. To the left are the 1640's, and may have accompanied his play in his masterpiece "Christ Preach­ Pharisees-the religious fundamental­ close fr iend, the rabbi and teacher of ing" (1648) (also known as the "Hun­ ists, who demand to know Christ's Spinoza, Menasseh ben Israel, on a trip dred Guilder Print"), etched the year "position" on "single issues," like to England to convince Oliver of the Treaty of Westphalia, where the divorce (Matthew 19:3-12). In front of Cromwell to open the country to Jewish composition appears as an enormous the Pharisees, two mothers approach immigration. proscenium stage setting. Christ is him, offering their children fo r his Then, there were the visits to Rem­ placed slightly off-center; the suggest­ blessing; as Peter, at Jesus's right hand, brandt's Netherlands in the 1630's by ed imbalance conveys the idea of tries to hold them back, Christ Shakespeare's "student" John Milton change, motion-of something about reproaches him, for "of such is the king­ (1608-1 668), in which he met and to happen. He is illuminated by a dom of Heaven" (Matt. 19:13-15). befriended Dutch republicans such as strong light from the left, coming from Between the two mothers, a youth Hugo Grotius, discussing their writ­ outside the space of the picture; but is seated deep in thought; he seems to ings and those of Shakespeare. Milton's light also emanates from within the be pondering his very existence. This firstidea for is thought to fi gure of Christ himself. It is by this must be the rich young man, who have come from the young Grotius's light that we can read the expressions came to Christ seeking eternal life, but polemical republican drama, Der (and hence thoughts) portrayed on the rejected the advice to sell his earthly Stadtholder. faces of those immediately surround­ possessions and help the poor. This Was Rembrandt fa miliar with ing him, and in the motions of the identification is reinforced by the Shakespeare's dramas and poetry? "supporting cast" gathered to listen to entry of a barely visible camel through Although we do not know, even a brief his sermon. To make the action come the gate, reminding us of Christ's survey of his works reveals the striking alive, Rembrandt not only uses admonition that it is easier fo r a camel fa ct that Rembrandt conceived of his chiaroscuro-the contrast of light and to pass through the eye of a needle, compositions as staged dramas-from dark to create depth and drama-but than fo r a rich man to enter heaven the selection of subjects, to the place­ also adopts Leonardo da Vinci's sfu ma­ (Matt. 19:16-24). ment of the figures ("actors"), the light- to, the softening of edges to reflect Overall, this staging of Matthew's

115 Rembrandt van Ry'n, celebrated self-portraits as well. No "Self-Portrait," 1629. other artist reproduced his own image so many times-50-60 paintings, dozens of drawings, engravings, and etchings­ 19th verse reflects its con­ over such an extended period of time. clusion, that "many that These critical self-examinations can be are first shall be last; and thought of as Rembrandt's autobiogra­ the last shall be fi rst." phy. Rembrand t brill iantl y The MFA exhibit offers an abun­ depicts this idea meta­ dance of these studies, in every media, phorically, by presenting beginning with some of the earliest the poor and disadvan­ drawings and etchings, dating from taged with more precise 1628-30, when Rembrandt was a strug­ definition, and greater gling young artist in Leyden. These substance, than the rich show us a youthful and awkward Rem­ and powerful. brandt, using his own face to experi­ Is this not the idea of ment in portraying various expressions the Treaty of Westphalia, and moods, at a time when he could not which was signed the very affo rd to pay a model to sit for him. year Rembrandt made his Later, Rembrandt would return again print? and again to his own visage, as if to doc­ ument for posterity his development as a ' and Eve': human being and an artist. Real People A self-portrait from 1629 [SEE inside In Rembrandt's etching "Adam and balance, one fo ot resting insecurely on a back cover, this issue], when he was Eve" (1638), the stage curtain (in the rock, as the other seems to slide fo rward about 23 years old, already reveals the fo rm of a large tree trunk at the right of toward Eve, while she rests firmly on genius Rembrandt was becoming. In the picture) is drawn back, and our two fe et at the center of the composition. this youthful work, he has already attention is drawn to the two figures lit Four hands dance around the guilty begun to employ the dramatic use of dramatically from the back and left; so ; Adam's hand, in shadow, hovers light and shadow, which gives his that, at first, we don't notice the huge above, about to grasp it. Suddenly, we expression a sense of ambiguity, the winged serpent clinging to the the tree notice the serpent hanging trunk. Rembrandt has made the fa mil­ from the tree above them, iar story entirely his own. Rembrandt's dangling another apple couple are often compared to Albrecht from his mouth. Durer's fa mous engraving "The Fall of On the lower right­ Man ()" (1504), which hand side, Rembrandt Rembrandt undoubtedly knew well (he includes another animal was an avid collector, and owned many of the Garden, a scarcely of Durer's prints). But, whereas Durer visible elephant, a symbol fo llowed tradition by depicting Adam of piety and temper­ and Eve as paragons of physical beauty, ance--qualities which are Rembrandt's pair is anything but. They being violated by the lead­ are earthy, almost primitive-indeed, ing players in the drama, barely human, in the higher, spiritual but also, by the fo rces who sense. This quality is reinforced by the ha ve turned all Europe moment of the story Rembrandt has into a fieldof carnage. selected to illustrate. The pair are caught Self-Portraits at the instant of temptation, just before committing the sin which brings about Rembrandt's sense of the and the expulsion from drama is present in his the . Eve peers at Adam with a wily expression, as he reaches fo r the apple she is holding. Adam is clearly Rembrandt van Ry'n, the weaker figure, and this is borne out "Self-Portrait Leaning by the stance of each-he is slightly off- on a Sill," 1639.

116 sense that an idea is fo rming in the mind Rembrandt van Rijn, that lies behind his eyes. "Self-Portrait," 1659. Constantijn Huyghens, the powerful secretary to the Prince of Orange, him­ self a poet, musician, and art dealer, Rembrandt to the greatest "discovered" Rembrandt in Leyden, and of the Classical Greek became his early patron, securing fat painters.' commissions at court fo r the young A decade later, Rem­ artist. In an unpublished autobiography brandt, at age 33, gave us an written 1629-31, Huyghens (whose son etching of himself costumed Christiaan, a scientist and pioneer in as a Renaissance courtier, optics and the science of light, was a the "Self-Portrait Leaning teacher and cotlaborator of the great on a Stone Sill" (1639). He Leibniz) wrote about Rembrandt's 1629 had just moved to Amster­ painting "Judas Returning the Thirty dam and tasted his firstreal Pieces of Silver": success, having sold several "All [the expressiveness of Rem­ paintings to the Stadholder brandt's 'despairing Judas'] I compare (Governor) Frederik Hen­ with all the beauty that has been pro­ drik. This self-portrait is an duced throughout the ages. This is what expression of supreme self­ I would have those naive beings know, confidence, in which the who claim (and I have rebuked them for young artist has drawn it before) that nothing created or himself with reference to expressed in words today has not been the most celebrated Renais­ expressed or created in the past. I main­ doubt: it's there in the eyes-one in sance painters; fo r, in the year this work tain that it did not occur to Protogenes, shadow, one half in light; the wispy was executed, two fa mous Italian por­ Apelles, or Parrhasios [ancient Greek lightness of the fe ather in his cap, con­ traits were on display in Amsterdam: painters-BJ], nor could it occur to them, trasted with the oversized, substantial Raphael's "Baldassare Castiglione" (c. were they to return to earth, that a torso, giving the youthful face weight 15l4), and 's "Ariosto" (c. 1510). youth, a Dutchman, a beardless miller, and solidity; the serious expression, Rembrandt cedes nothing to these two could put so much into one human fig­ against the fa nciful costume. These icons of the Renaissance. In fa ct, he ure and depict it all." paradoxical juxtapositions, reinforced by lampoons the corrupt Titian, by bor­ Looking at this early self-portrait, it the chiaroscuro and blurring of outlines rowing his window-ledge stage, but is easy to see why Huyghens was so (sfumato), create an ambiguous quality flipping the image; and, where Titian affected. Here we see the young artist, of action caught in mid-motion, the hides half his subject's fa ce in a menac­ already displaying those paradoxical hallmark of a Classical composition. No ing shadow, Rembrandt-like qualities of self-confidence and self- wonder, then, that Huyghens compared Raphael's Castiglione-looks directly out at the viewer. Rembrandt was pre­ sent at the purchase of this Raphael por­ trait, and made a copy of it, noting the price (an astonishing 3,500 guilders). He may not have been aware that the Por­ tuguese agent who purchased the paint­ ing was acting on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu fo r Louis XIII, King of France. In 1659, Rembrandt, now aged 53, painted what may well be his greatest self-portrait [SEE inside back cover, this issue]. What is only suggested in the earlier works, is now fu lly realized. Having mastered all technical issues, he is free to fo cus his full concentration on revealing the inner qualities of the per­ Titian, "A riosto," c. 1510. Raphael Sanzio, "Baldassare sonality. Compare the three self-por­

Castiglione, " c. 1514. traits. In 1629, the artist is just begin-

117 ning to discover himself; his face is those of "" (1654) divided between light and dark, signify­ [SEE inside back cover, ing something unfinished, just emerg­ this issue] and "Titus" ing. In 1639, he confronts us fe arlessly; (1655). As with the but he is still impressed with his own National Gallery success, and costumes himself accord­ "Self-Portrait," repro­ ingly. By 1659, however, Rembrandt ductions can not con­ gazes out at us from eyes which are vey the reality of these truly windows to the soul. This is a paintings. By the mid- painting which must be seen "in per­ 1650's, Rembrandt son" (it was loaned from the National was a fu lly mature Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., master. His paintings where it is usually on display), in order had become some­ to appreciate its astonishing truthful­ thing between canvas ness. There is no "prettifying" here. and sculpture. It was Rembrandt piles on the paint, to catch noted during his life­ every line, every wrinkle, every physical time that Rembrandt imperfection that life has stamped on used an impasto so his face. What is left is the mind itself, thick, that it took on seen through the eyes. A harsh light sculptural qualities; illuminates the visage, which is set the texture and model­ against a dark background. There is ling of the paint nowhere to hide from the penetrating became a means of Rembrandt van Rijn, "Flora," 1654. glance. reflecting light and Clearly, Rembrandt has given us, casting shadows, in the same way relief whether the sheaf of papers, which through the medium of his self-por­ does in sculpture. extends into our space, is fo r writing or traits-if viewed only briefly through The allusion to Classical sculpture is drawing, but Titus's pensive expression these three-the longest-running play in reinforced in the painting of Flora, suggests a depth of character we associ­ history! who, although a Roman goddess, is ate with his fa ther. Up close, we are wearing a white chemise, which, with once again struck by the painting's tac­ Between Canvas and Sculpture its simple vertical fo lds, suggest a Clas­ tile qualities. Rembrandt has used a No review would be complete without sical Greek statue. Her body faces buildup of paint to sculpt the sheaf of mentioning two of his other portraits, front, while her head and arms are paper, so it both catches the strong turned, creating precisely the light, and reflects it back onto Titus's kind of tension between still­ face. As Titus looks into the future, we ness and mobility that marks can share both his fe ars, and hopes for great Classical sculpture. A what is to come. quin tessen tiall y Rembrand t -Bonnie James touch is fo und in the god­ dess's hands, which are those I. In an unpublished manuscript, "Rem­ of a simple working woman. brandt and Comenius Against Rubens: And her poignant expression, The Light of Agape " (June 2001), Karel conveyed through her eyes Vereycken notes tha t Constan ti j n and the set of her mouth, Huyghens (who was also an avid admirer reveals that this is not a god­ of the Hapsburg-owned Counter-Refor­ mation painter ) became dess at all, but a real woman, a thorn in Rembrandt's side: "Rembrandt, who has been given a costume at one point, got so irritated with to wear fo r her part in Rem­ Huyghens' shortsightedness, that he brandt's drama. offered him a large painting, called 'Sam­ In "Titus," we see the son Blinded by the Philistines,' painted 'il great artist addressing his pos­ la Rubens,' [i.e., in Rubens' violent terity. The portrait shows style-Bn, which shows Roman soldiers gouging out Samson's eyes with a stick. Rembrandt's son at age 14, on Did Rembrandt suggest," asks Vereycken, the verge of manhood, and "that his Republic (the strong giant) and its perhaps contemplating his representatives, were blinded by their own Rembrandt van Rijn, "Titus at his Des�" 1655. future. We cannot tell philistinism? "

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