With his genius for painting, etching and drawing, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) brought fame and honor to his native Holland, where he spent his entire life. He is the best-known 17th-century Dutch painter, renowned for creating beautiful works of art using certain innovative techniques that artists of his and later generations have continued to admire, study and emulate.
Chiaroscuro
The Italian word "chiaroscuro" is used to describe strong contrasts between light and dark in works of art. Caravaggio (1573-1610) is strongly associated with this technique, but Rembrandt used it as well. Bathing a painting's central subject in light, set against a dark background, created a sense of drama and drew the viewer's eye to the subject. Rembrandt also found ways to bring illumination into his etchings. His interest in contrasting lights and darks traced back to his days as a student under the artist Pieter Lastman, who introduced Rembrandt to Caravaggio's work.
Layering and Color
Modern-day artists continue to study how Rembrandt built up colors and textures in his paintings through the use of layering. Rembrandt sometimes used multiple layers of color. Some paint was thickly applied--a technique known as "impasto." Other layers were just thin glazes. Many of Rembrandt's best-known portraits are built from a somber palette of browns, whites, grays and blacks. At other times, as in biblical portraits, Rembrandt used brighter colors.
Observation from Life
Rembrandt was committed to painting from direct observation--from life. He was an intense, detail-oriented observer of people, objects and places in his milieu. Rembrandt frequently painted his wife and other female companions, and he often painted himself. He was also gifted at painting historical and biblical subjects. Throughout his career, Rembrandt displayed a remarkable knack for capturing a subject's facial expression, be it joy or sorrow, contemplation or consternation.
