Rembrandt

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (July 15, 1607–October 4, 1669), one of Europe’s greatest painters, was born in Leiden in the Netherlands. He was a prolific artist, creating more than 600 paintings, 400 etchings, and 1400 sketches. His portrait paintings show his expertise in handling light and texture and his ability to convey personality in the look in a subject’s eyes. Some of his more famous paintings are “St. Paul in Prison” (1627); “Supper at Emmaus” (1630); “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” (1632); “Young Girl at an Open Half-Door” (1645); “The Mill” (1650); “Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer” (1653); and “The Return of the Prodigal Son” (sometime after 1660). Rembrandt’s subjects included his own face, which he depicted in more than sixty self-portraits. Other models that he used for his paintings included members of his family, such...