The Rijksmuseum is in possession of the largest collection of Rembrandt paintings in the world. For the first time, the Rijksmuseum presents the entire collection of Rembrandt paintings, prints and drawings. The collection boasts landscapes, portraits, nudes, scenes from daily life, biblical narratives and his world famous self-portraits.
The exhibition
All the Rembrandts will explore different aspects of Rembrandt’s life and work through a number of themes. The first section presents the milestones of his career as a young artist; when Rembrandt looks at himself in the mirror, the viewer looks over his shoulder. A close examination of Rembrandt’s many self-portraits reveals his growth as an artist of incomparable talent.
The second section of the exhibition focuses on Rembrandt’s surroundings and the people in his life. As a young man Rembrandt honed his craft by painting portraits of his mother, his family and acquaintances. He even made a powerful portrait of his wife Saskia as she lay ill in bed. The artist was also fascinated by the wider world around him: the beggars, the buskers, the vagrants, the actors. He drew and painted countless portraits of the people he encountered.
Rembrandt was a gifted storyteller, and his stories are at the heart of the last section of the exhibition. The Old Testament tales inspired Isaac and Rebecca (the alternative title for The Jewish Bride, c. 1665–1669) and Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul (1661) in which he gives masterful expression to gestures and emotions that are familiar, tangible and intimate. Early depictions of these tales tend to be delicate and refined; later in life Rembrandt used a coarser experimental technique, applying ingenious colour and light effects to further enhance the narrative and draw out its essence.
Curators: Erik Hinterding, Mireille Linck, Jane Turner and Ilona van Tuinen
Exhibition and graphic design: Irma Boom
Catalogue
Rembrandt x Rijksmuseum was published on the occasion of the exhibition All the Rembrandts in the Year of Rembrandt 2019. For the first time, all 22 paintings and 60 drawings, as well as the 300 most beautiful etchings in the collection are presented together in Rembrandt × Rijksmuseum. Together, they offer an unparalleled perspective on Rembrandt the artist, the human, the storyteller, elucidating the mastery of his innovation.
Rembrandt x Rijksmuseum
Erik Hinterding with contributions by Mireille Linck, Jane Turner and Ilona van Tuinen
824 pages
14,8 x 21 cm
ISBN 9789462085091 [available in Dutch and English]
Biography of Rembrandt
In Rembrandt: Biography of a Rebel, curator Jonathan Bikker takes us on a journey past all of the ups and downs of Rembrandt’s life in seventeenth century Leiden and Amsterdam. With humour, insight and compassion, he shows us Rembrandt’s genius and the novelty of his works, and brings the artist back to life – you will not get any closer to Rembrandt than this. The biography is designed by Irma Boom.
Rembrandt: Biography of a Rebel
Author: Jonathan Bikker
ISBN: 9789462084759 [English] / 9789462084742 [Dutch]
For more information, see the Rijksmuseum website.