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The Great Masters in Painting and Sculpture
Edited by G. C. Williamson
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN
THE GREAT MASTERS IN PAINTING AND SCULPTURE.
_The following Volumes have been issued, price 5s. net each._
BERNARDINO LUINI. By =George C. Williamson=, Litt.D., Editor of the
Series.
VELASQUEZ. By =R. A. M. Stevenson=.
ANDREA DEL SARTO. By =H. Guinness=.
LUCA SIGNORELLI. By =Maud Cruttwell=.
RAPHAEL. By =H. Strachey=.
CARLO CRIVELLI. By =G. McNeil Rushforth=, M.A., Lecturer in
Classics, Oriel College, Oxford.
CORREGGIO. By =Selwyn Brinton=, M.A., Author of "The Renaissance in
Italian Art."
DONATELLO. By =Hope Rea=, Author of "Tuscan Artists."
PERUGINO. By =G. C. Williamson=, Litt.D.
SODOMA. By the =Contessa Lorenzo Priuli-Bon=.
LUCA DELLA ROBBIA. By the =Marchesa Burlamacchi=.
GIORGIONE. By =Herbert Cook=, M.A., F.S.A.
MEMLINO. By =W. H. James Weale=, late Keeper of the National Art
Library.
PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA. By =W. G. Waters=, M.A.
PINTORICCHIO. By =Evelyn March Phillipps=.
FRANCIA. By =George C. Williamson=, Litt.D.
BRUNELLESCHI. By =Leader Scott=.
MANTEGNA. By =Maud Cruttwell=.
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN. By =Malcolm Bell=.
_In preparation._
WILKIE. By =Lord Ronald Sutherland-Gower=, M.A., F.S.A., Trustee of
the National Portrait Gallery.
TINTORETTO. By =J. B. Stoughton Holborn=, M.A. of Merton College,
Oxford.
GIOTTO. By =F. Mason Perkins=.
EL GRECO. By =Manuel B. Cossio=, Litt.D., Ph.D., Director of the
Mus[e']e P[e']dagogique, Madrid.
D[U"]RER. By =Hans W. Singer=, M.A., Ph.D., Assistant Director of
the Royal Print Room, Dresden.
PAOLO VERONESE. By =Roger E. Fry=.
GAUDENZIO FERRARI. By =Ethel Halsey=.
_Others to follow._
* * * * *
LONDON: GEORGE BELL & SONS
[Illustration: Buckingham Palace, London.
The Ship builder & his wife. (1633)]
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN
BY MALCOLM BELL
AUTHOR OF "SIR EDWARD BURNE-JONES: A RECORD AND REVIEW," ETC.
[Illustration: logo]
LONDON
GEORGE BELL & SONS
1901
PREFACE
In order to reduce the volume on Rembrandt, published in 1899, to the
smaller dimensions demanded by the "Great Masters" series, it became
necessary to dispense with some of the material included in it. This, it
is hoped, has been done without seriously affecting the usefulness of
the book. The story of the painter's life and work has been to some
extent compressed, but everything essential has, it is believed, been
retained. The chief omissions are the short descriptions of the pictures
and the lists of the etchings, which, while occupying much space, were
thought to be more suitable to a work of reference than to a handbook.
The student who desires fuller information on these points will find it
in the earlier volume.
CONTENTS
PAGE
=List of Illustrations= vii
=Bibliography= ix
=Chronological Table= xiii
PART I.--REMBRANDT THE MAN
Chapter I. =Birth and Early Years= 1
II. =Art Education and Early Works= 8
III. =Days of Prosperity= 16
IV. =Days of Decline= 32
PART II.--REMBRANDT THE PAINTER
V. =Early Years= (1627-1633) 48
VI. =Time of Prosperity= 61
VII. =Years of Decline= 71
PART III.--REMBRANDT THE ETCHER
VIII. =The History of the Etchings= 85
IX. =The Authentic Etchings= 93
=Catalogue of Works= 117
=Index= 157
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
The Shipbuilder and his Wife, 1633, _Frontispiece_
_Buckingham Palace_
Portrait of Rembrandt's Mother, about 1628 _The Hague_ 6
Portrait of Rembrandt's Father, about 1631 _Cassel_ 12
Portrait of Saskia, 1632 _Prince Liechtenstein, Vienna_ 18
Rembrandt and Saskia, about 1635 _Dresden_ 24
Portrait of Rembrandt, 1640 _National Gallery, London_ 28
Portrait of Saskia, 1641 _Dresden_ 30
Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels, about 1662 _Louvre_ 44
Portrait of Rembrandt, about 1664 _National Gallery, London_ 46
Portrait called Coppenol, 1631 _The Hermitage_ 54
Portrait of a Man, 1630-1632 _Imperial Museum, Vienna_ 56
Portrait of a Woman, 1630-1632 _Imperial Museum, Vienna_ 56
The Anatomy Lesson, 1632 _The Hague_ 58
Portrait of Jan Herman Krul, 1633 _Cassel_ 58
The Elevation of the Cross, 1633 _Munich_ 60
Portrait of an Old Woman, 1634 _National Gallery, London_ 62
The Burgomaster Pancras and his Wife,
about 1635 _Buckingham Palace_ 62
Portrait of a Man, 1635 _National Gallery, London_ 62
Danae, 1636 _The Hermitage_ 64
Portrait of a Man, 1636 _Prince Liechtenstein, Vienna_ 64
Portrait of a Lady, 1636 _Prince Liechtenstein, Vienna_ 64
Portrait called Sobieski, 1637 _The Hermitage_ 66
The Man with the Bittern, 1639 _Dresden_ 66
Portrait of Elizabeth Bas, about 1640 _Amsterdam_ 68
Anslo consoling a Widow, 1641 _Berlin_ 68
The Lady with the Fan, 1641 _Buckingham Palace_ 70
Portrait of a Man, 1641 _Brussels_ 70
The Woman taken in Adultery, 1644 _National Gallery, London_ 72
A Girl at a Window, 1645 _Dulwich Gallery_ 72
Portrait of a Rabbi, 1645 _Berlin_ 74
A Winter Scene, 1646 _Cassel_ 74
Christ at Emmaus, 1648 _Louvre_ 76
John the Baptist preaching, 1656 _Berlin_ 78
The Syndics of the Drapers, 1661 _Amsterdam_ 80
_ETCHINGS_
_The Numbers given are those of Bartsch's Catalogue_
Christ healing the Sick (74) 86
Clement de Jonghe (272) 90
The Three Trees (212) 92
Rembrandt's Mill (233) 98
Beggars at the Door of a House (176) 100
The Shell (159) 102
Jan Lutma (276) 106
BIBLIOGRAPHY
=Amand-Durand.= "[OE]uvre de Rembrandt reproduit et publi[e'] par." 2
parts. Paris, 1880.
=Baldinucci, Filippo.= "Cominciamento e progresso dell' arte dell'
intagliare in rame." Florence, 1686.
=Bartsch, Adam.= "Catalogue raisonn[e'] de toutes les estampes qui
forment l'[oe]uvre de Rembrandt et ceux de ses principaux imitateurs." 2
vols. Vienna, 1797.
=Bell, Malcolm.= "Rembrandt van Rijn and his Work." 4to. London, 1899.
=Blanc, Charles.= "L'[oe]uvre complet de Rembrandt, d[e']crit et
comment[e'] par." Paris, 1864 and 1880.
=Bode, W.= "Studien zur Geschichte der holl[a"]ndischen Malerei."
Brunswick, 1883.
=Bredius, A.=, and =de Roever, N.= _Oud-Holland._ A magazine published
at Amsterdam.
=Bredius, A.= "Les chefs-d'[oe]uvre du Mus[e']e royal d'Amsterdam."
Paris, 1890.
=Bredius, A.= "Die Meisterwerke der K[o"]niglichen Gem[a"]lde Galerie
im Haag." Munich, 1890.
=Burger, W.= "Les Mus[e']es de Belgique et de Hollande." Paris, 1858,
1860, and 1862.
=Busken-Huet.= "Het Land van Rembrandt." Harlem, 1886.
=Chalon, John.= Works of Rembrandt, etched by. London, 1822.
=Claussin, Chevalier de.= "Catalogue raisonn[e'] de toutes les estampes
qui forment l'[oe]uvre de Rembrandt." Paris, 1824.
=Claussin, Chevalier de.= "Suppl[e']ment au Catalogue de Rembrandt."
Paris, 1828.
=Dargenville.= "Abr[e']g[e'] de la Vie des plus fameux peintres." Paris,
1745.
=Daulby, Daniel.= "A descriptive catalogue of the works of Rembrandt and
of his scholars." London and Liverpool, 1796.
=Descamps.= "Vies des peintres flamands et hollandais." Marseilles,
1840.
=Dyk, J. van.= "Beschryving van alle de Schilderyen op het Stadhuis van
Amsterdam." Amsterdam, 1758.
=Dutuit, E.= "L'[oe]uvre complet de Rembrandt d[e']crit et catalogu[e']
par." Paris, 1880.
=Eckhoff.= "La femme de Rembrandt." 1862.
=F[e']libien.= "Entretien sur les Vies et les Ouvrages des plus
excellents peintres." 1666-1688.
=Fromentin, Eug[`e]ne.= "Les Maitres d'autrefois." Paris, 1877.
=Galland, G.= "Geschichte der holl[a"]ndischen Baukunst und Bildnerei."
Leipzig, 1890.
=Gersaint.= "Catalogue raisonn[e'] de toutes les pi[`e]ces qui forment
l'[oe]uvre de Rembrandt." Paris, 1751.
=Hamerton, P. G.= "Etching and Etchers." London, 1868.
=Hamerton, P. G.= Rembrandt's Etchings. Portfolio. London, 1894.
=Havard, Henri.= "L'art et les artistes hollandais." Paris, 1879.
=Hoogstraten, Samuel van.= "Inleyding tot de hooge School der
Schilderkonst." Rotterdam, 1678.
=Houbraken, Arnold.= "De groote Schoubourgh der nederlandsche
Kontschilders." Amsterdam, 1718-1719.
=Humphreys, Noel.= Rembrandt's Etchings. London, 1871.
=Huygens, Constantin.= "Autobiographie in[e']dite." Library of the
Academy of Sciences, Amsterdam.
=Kolloff, [E']douard.= "Rembrandt's Leben und Werke," included in
_Historisches Taschenbuch_ of von Raumer. Leipzig, 1854.
=Langbehn, Dr.= "Rembrandt als Erzieher." Published anonymously,
Leipzig, 1890.
=Lemcke, C.= Rembrandt van Rijn, in the _Kunst and K[u"]nstler_,
Leipzig, 1877.
=Lippmann, F.= Original drawings by Rembrandt reproduced in Phototype.
London, Berlin, and Paris, 1889-1892.
=Madsen, Karl.= "Studier fra Sverig." Copenhagen, 1892.
=Michel, Emile.= "Rembrandt sa vie, son [oe]uvre et son temps." Paris,
1893.
=Middleton, C. H.= "Notes on the Etched Work of Rembrandt." London,
1877.
=Middleton, C. H.= "A descriptive Catalogue of the Etched Work of
Rembrandt." London, 1878.
=Orlers, J. J.= "Beschryving der Stad Leiden." Leyden, 1641.
=Oud-Holland.= See _Bredius_.
=Piles, R. de.= "Abr[e']g[e'] de la vie des Peintres." 1699.
=Riegel, Herman.= "Beitrage zur niederl[a"]ndischen Kunstgeschichte."
Berlin, 1882.
=Rovinski, Dmitri.= "L'[oe]uvre grav[e'] de Rembrandt." Reproductions of
all the states of all the etchings. St. Petersburg, 1890.
=Sandrart, Joachim de.= "Academia nobilissimae artis pictori[ae]."
Nuremberg, 1675-1683.
=Scheltema, Dr.= "Rembrandt, Discours sur sa vie et son g[e']nie."
Paris, 1866.
=Schmidt, W.= "Handzeichnungen alter Meister in K[o"]niglichen
Kupferstich Kabinet zu Munchen. Munich.
=Schneider, L.= "Geschichte der niederl[a"]ndischen Litteratur."
Leipzig, 1888.
=Seidlitz, von.= "Rembrandt's Radirungen." Published in Zeitschrift
f[u"]r bildende Kunst. 1892.
=Seymour Haden, Sir Francis.= "Introductory Remarks to the Catalogue of
the Etched Work of Rembrandt, selected for exhibition at the Burlington
Fine Arts Club, London, 1877."
=Seymour Haden, Sir Francis.= "L'[oe]uvre grav[e'] de Rembrandt." Paris,
1880.
=Seymour Haden, Sir Francis.= "The Etched Work of Rembrandt, True and
False." London, 1895.
=Smith, John.= "Catalogue raisonn[e'] of the Works of the most eminent
Dutch, Flemish, and French Painters." London, 1829-1842.
=Springer, Anton.= "Bilder aus der neueren Kunstgeschichte. Vol. II.
Rembrandt und seine Genossen." Bonn, 1886.
=Vosmaer, Charles.= "Rembrandt Hermannsz. Sa vie et ses [oe]uvres."
Paris and the Hague, 1877.
=Weyerman, J. Campo.= "De Levens Beschryvingen der nederlandsche
Konstschilders." The Hague, 1749.
=Willigen, van der.= "Les artistes de Harlem." 1870.
=Willshire, W. H.= "An Introduction to the Study and Collection of
Ancient Prints." London, 1877.
=Wilson, T.= A Descriptive Catalogue of the Prints of Rembrandt.
Published as by "An amateur." London, 1836.
=Woltmann, A.=, and =Woermann, K.= "Geschichte de Malerei." Leipzig.
=Yver, Pierre.= "Suppl[e']ment au Catalogue raisonn[e'] de MM. Gersaint,
Helle, et Glomy." Amsterdam, 1756.
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
------+---------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
| =Events in= | =Principal Work= | =Important=
=Year=| =Rembrandt's Life= | =Dated= | =Historical Event=
------+---------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
1606 |Born July 15th. | |
| | |
1608 | | |Milton born.
| | |
1609 | | |Truce between Spain
| | |and Holland.
| | |
1610 | | |The Colony of Virginia
| | |established.
| | |
1612 | | |Henry, Prince of
| | |Wales, died.
| | |
1616 | | |Shakespeare died.
| | |
1618 | | |Thirty Years' War
| | |began.
| | |
1620 |Entered at Leyden | |The Pilgrim Fathers
|University, and later| |landed in New England.
|Swanenburch's Studio.| |
| | |
1622 | | |Renewal of War with
| | |Spain.
| | |
1623 |Went to Lastman's | |Charles went to Spain.
|Studio. | |
| | |
1624 |Returned to Leyden. | |Manhattan founded.
| | |
1625 | | |Charles I. came to the
| | |throne. Prince
| | |Frederick-Henry became
| | |Stathouder.
| | |
1627 |First known pictures.|St Paul in Prison. |Expedition to
| | |Rochelle.
| | |
1628 |Gerard Dou became his|Capture of Samson. |Assassination of
|pupil. | |Buckingham.
| | |
1629 | |Portrait of Himself |Charter granted to
| |(Gotha). |Massachusetts.
| | |
1630 |His father died. |Joseph interpreting |Puritan emigration to
| |his Dreams. |New England.
| | |
1631 |Left Leyden for |Presentation in the |Dryden born.
|Amsterdam. |Temple. |
| | |
1632 |Living on the |The Anatomy Lesson. |Gustavus Adolphus
|Bloemgracht. | |killed at Lutzen.
| | |
1633 |Moved to Saint |The Shipbuilder and |Milton's _L'Allegro_
|Anthonie's Breestraat|his Wife. |and _Il Penseroso_.
|(about). | |
| | |
1634 |Married on June 22nd.|Descent from the |The Exchange at
| |Cross (Hermitage). |Amsterdam built.
| | |
1635 |Rombertus born. |Abraham's Sacrifice. |Ben Jonson died.
| | |
1636 |Living in Nieuwe |Danae. |
|Doelstraat. | |
| | |
1637 | |Susannah at the Bath.|Trial of Hampden.
| | |
1638 |Cornelia born. |Christ and Mary |Milton's _Lycidas_.
| |Magdalen. |
| | |
1639 |Moved to |Resurrection. |Massinger died.
|Jode-Breestraat. | |
| | |
1640 |His mother died. |Portrait of Elizabeth|The Long Parliament
| |Bas. |met.
| | |
1641 |Titus born. |Portrait of Anslo. |Execution of
| | |Strafford.
| | |
1642 |Saskia died. |The Night Watch. |The Civil War began.
| | |
1643 | |Bathsheba. |Death of Hampden.
| | |
1644 | |Woman taken in |The Battle of Marston
| |Adultery. |Moor.
| | |
1645 | |Holy Family |Battle of Naseby.
| |(Hermitage). |
| | |
1646 |Finished two pictures|Adoration of the |Charles I. surrendered
|for the Stathouder. |Shepherds. |to the Scots.
| | |
1647 |An estimate made of |Susannah and the |William II. became
|Saskia's property. |Elders. |Stathouder.
| | |
1648 | |Christ at Emmaus. |Peace of Westphalia.
| | |
1649 |Hendrickje Stoffels |No dated picture. |Execution of
|first heard of. | |Charles I.
| | |
1650 | |Deposition. |John de Witt became
| | |Grand Pensioner.
| | |
1651 | |Noli me tangere. |Battle of Worcester.
| | |
1652 |Hendrickje's first |Portrait of |War between England
|daughter born. |Bruyningh. |and Holland.
| | |
1653 |Borrowed money in |Portrait called Van |Peace restored.
|large sums. |der Hooft. |
| | |
1654 |Birth of second |Bathsheba (Louvre). |Oliver Cromwell,
|daughter, Cornelia. | |Lord Protector.
| | |
1655 | |Joseph accused by |Cromwell pensioned
| |Potiphar's Wife. |Manasseh ben Israel.
| | |
1656 |Declared bankrupt. |Parable of Labourers |War between Spain and
| |in the Vineyard. |England.
| | |
1657 |Sale of his property |Portrait of Catrina |Cromwell refused title
|ordered. |Hoogh. |of King.
| | |
1658 |Pictures, etc., sold.|An Old Woman cutting |Cromwell died.
| |her Nails. |
| | |
1659 | |Jacob wrestling with |Treaty of the Hague.
| |the Angel. |
| | |
1660 |Association formed by|Portrait of Himself |Charles II. landed at
|Hendrickje and Titus.|(Louvre). |Dover.
| | |
1661 |The last known |The Syndics. |Mazarin died.
|etching. | |
| | |
1662 |Hendrickje (probably)|No dated picture. |Charter given to Royal
|died. | |Society.
| | |
1663 | |Homer. |
| | |
1664 |Moved to the |Lucretia. |War between Holland
|Lauriergracht. | |and England.
| | |
1665 |Titus awarded his |Portrait of a Man |Plague in London.
|property. |(Metrop. Mus., |
| |New York). |
| | |
1666 | |Portrait of J. de |Fire of London.
| |Decker. |
| | |
1667 | |Portrait of an Old |Peace between England
| |Man. |and Holland.
| | |
1668 |Titus' marriage and |The Flagellation. |Alliance between
|death. | |Holland, England, and
| | |Sweden.
| | |
1669 |Rembrandt died. |No dated picture. |
------+---------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN
CHAPTER I
BIRTH AND EARLY YEARS
Down to the middle of the present century the story of Rembrandt, as
generally accepted, was nothing but a mass of more or less ill-natured
fiction. His drunkenness, his luxury, his immorality, his avarice, were
heaped together into a somewhat inconsistent midden-heap of infamy. It
was not indeed until his true rank among painters began to be properly
appreciated that it occurred to anyone to ask whether this harsh
judgment did not need revision; nay, more, to inquire upon what evidence
it had been first delivered, and the investigation had not long been set
on foot before the question took the form--"Is there any evidence, good
or bad, at all?"
There were soon many workers in this untried field, and to all the
thanks of the artist's admirers are due, but it is chiefly to M. Charles
Vosmaer that his complete rehabilitation is to be credited, and it is
bare justice to say that without availing himself freely of his
researches and of M. Michel's equally careful and critical marshalling
of the facts, then and since obtained by others, no future historian of
Rembrandt can hope to advance beyond the threshold of his subject. One
by one the cobwebs of myth with which, partly through malice, partly
through ignorance, the master's image had been overwhelmed have been
torn away, and we begin at last to see him as he really was, not
impeccable, but intensely human, a kindly, patient, laborious,
much-tried soul--one whom fortune, not altogether without his own
provoking be it frankly owned, sorely buffeted, but one who, though
well-nigh crushed, was never subdued; one whose courage sustained him to
the last, whose one refuge against her flouts was in his art; who met,
uncomplaining, neglect and contempt in his later years as he had in the
heyday of his career received, unspoiled, unstinted praise and
well-earned fame, and who said of himself in the height of his
prosperity, "When I want rest for my mind, it is not honours I crave,
but liberty."
Much concerning Rembrandt has been revealed by M. Vosmaer and his
fellow-workers, by MM. Bredius and Scheltema, de Vries and Immerzeel,
Elzevier and Eckhoff, van der Willigen, and other patient seekers, but
much, nevertheless, still remains in doubt or darkness.
Even as to the date of his birth, there is considerable uncertainty.
Orlers, a burgomaster of Leyden, in a description of that town published
in 1641, and therefore while not only Rembrandt himself but many people
who must have remembered his birth were still alive, states that
Rembrandt, the son of Hermann, the son of Gerrit, and Neeltje, the
daughter of Willems of Suydtbroeck, was born on the 15th of July 1606,
and later writers for more than two hundred years accepted his
assertion without question. Dr Bredius has, however, shown that on May
25th, 1620, Rembrandt was entered as a student in the Faculty of Letters
at the University of Leyden and his age is given in the same document as
fourteen, _Rembrandt Hermanni Leidensis 14 jare oud_, and as this was
before his birthday in that year the question arises as to whether the
statement means that he was in his fourteenth year or that he had passed
the fourteenth anniversary of his birthday. For, the day of his birth
not being in dispute, if we take the latter and more obvious
interpretation it would necessarily follow that the fourteenth
anniversary was in 1619 and that he completed his first year on 25th May
1606, so that the actual day itself must have been in 1605. There is
further and still conflicting evidence to be reckoned with. In the
British Museum there is a proof of an etched portrait of himself dated
1631 [B. 7], on which is written, in what is believed to be his own
hand, "_aet._ 24, 1631." If this was written before the 15th of July it
would point to 1606 as his birth year, thus agreeing with Orlers'
statement, while if it was written after that day it would imply 1607.
It should, however, be observed that M. Blanc reads the figures on the
etching as 25, and if he be correct in this the choice must lie between
1607 and 1608; while, to add further to the mystification, Mr Sidney
Colvin reads the age as 27, which makes the birth year 1603 or 1604.
Nor is 1607 without further support. Dr Scheltema discovered in the
marriage register of Amsterdam the record of Rembrandt's official
engagement to duly obtain his mother's consent to his marriage, signed
by himself, and in this he gives his age on July 10th, 1634, as
twenty-six, in which case his birthday would have fallen in 1607, but we
know that he was at all times very vague as to dates and figures. On a
delightful pencil drawing on vellum, in the Berlin Museum, of his wife
Saskia, there is an inscription in his handwriting "Dit is naer myn
huysfrow geconterfeit do sy 21 jaer oud was den derden dach als wy
getroudt waeren due 8 junyus 1633"--"This is a portrait of my wife when
she was 21 years old, on the third day after our marriage, the 8th of
June 1633," a simple statement, which nevertheless contains a remarkable
number of errors for so brief a document. Saskia, it is true, was
twenty-one in 1633, but the marriage took place on the 22nd of June and
in the year 1634.
If, then, Rembrandt could misdate an event so intimately connected with
his life's chief joy, how should we expect him to be more accurate about
one, which indeed concerned him nearly, but of which he naturally had no
personal recollection. That he was uncertain we have happily positive
proof, thanks once more to Doctor Bredius, for on the 16th of September
1653, in giving his opinion as an expert in a trial concerning the
authenticity of a certain picture by Paul Bril, he can only declare that
he is about forty-six.
Such is the evidence upon this fortunately not very important point, and
it is small wonder that of the two great authorities, M. Michel and M.
Vosmaer, the first accepts 1606 and the second 1607 as the true date.
The question must still remain an open one, but when we consider that
Rembrandt's mother did not die until 1640, only one year before Orlers
published his book, and at a time when he had probably collected most
of his material, and that nothing is more likely than that he should
have applied to her for details, we may with safety conclude that the
balance of probability is in favour of his date 1606.
Concerning the place of his birth there are no such doubts. If the
visitor to Leyden, on his way from the station to the town, turns sharp
to the right after crossing the second bridge, and on traversing a third
keeps again to the right and continues with that branch of the Rhine
known as the Galgewater on his right hand, he will before long find
himself on the west side of the town, in a triangular open space, washed
on two sides by the moat surrounding it, where once stood the White Gate
guarding the entrance of the high-road from the Hague. On the left side
of this, as one comes in from the country, and at right angles to it,
close to where the buildings of the Zeemans-Kweekschool, or Naval
School, now are, ran a short street called the Weddesteeg, in No. 3 of
which Rembrandt was born.
It must have been a pleasant situation, facing the setting sun, with
nothing but the town ramparts and the gleaming moat between it and the
wide champaign. On the right hand the slow barges crept up and down the
river, on the left the slow carts creaked to and from the town, while in
front the broad sails of windmills swung round, and the whirr of the
stones grinding malt for making beer hummed through the open doors. Up
against the sky rose two, one almost opposite the windows of the house,
the other a little to the left on the border of the Noordeinde, just
inside the gate, of which Rembrandt's father owned half, while his
stepfather Cornelis, the son of Cl[ae]s, with his son Cl[ae]s, shared
the other half between them.
He was a prosperous and respected man was Hermann, or Harmen--the name
occurs in both forms--the son of Gerrit, called after the fashion of the
time Harmen Gerritsz, to which he himself added van Rijn, as his son did
after him. Besides his own residence, and his share of the mill, he
owned houses within the town and gardens without, with plate and
jewellery and house-plenishings and all things proper about him, and had
been appointed by his fellow-citizens to a municipal office of
importance, representing the ward of the Pelican, in which he lived,
where he did so well what was asked of him that he was selected again
for it some years later. He was at the former date thirty-five or
thirty-six, and at the time when this, his fifth and youngest child but
one, was born, he had been married fifteen years, his wedding-day having
been the 8th of October 1589.
[Illustration: [_Bredius Collection, the Hague_
PORTRAIT OF REMBRANDT'S MOTHER
(ABOUT 1628)]
Rembrandt's childhood, considering the condition of his father, was, we
may be sure, at least a comfortable one, though of details we have none.
We cannot even say where he learned to read and write, for neither of
which exercises did he subsequently exhibit much affection. Probably at
home, where maybe Coppenol, the great master of writing, at that time
included among the fine-arts under the style of Caligraphy, taught him,
and possibly gave him his first lessons in drawing also; for the art he
professed, with its elaboration of curves and flourishes, and its, to
our eyes, somewhat childish pictorial perversions, was a singular
commingling of the two. One thing at least we may feel certain of,
that it was at his mother's knee he began the study of the Bible, which
she herself read so constantly, if we may judge by its frequent
appearance in his portraits of her, and which he, following in her
footsteps, knew so thoroughly and drew upon so often for inspiration.
The next fact we find chronicled is a passage in Orlers to the effect
that his parents sent him to school to learn the Latin tongue, in
preparation for the University of Leyden, that when he came of age he
might by his knowledge serve the City and Republic; and in fulfilment of
this laudable ambition we find that entry on May 25th, 1620, as a
student in the Faculty of Letters, which has already been noted in
another connection. But by this time, by what means we know not, the art
craving was fully aroused, and his parents' ambitious scheme for his
serving the City and Republic was as nothing beside his own irresistible
desire to express himself in form and colour. He proved, we are told,
but an unwilling scholar, the lines of Virgil and Ovid were lifeless to
him, in comparison with those of Lucas van Leyden; and his elders,
yielding with a fortunate wisdom to the inevitable, gave up the effort
to make a statesman of him, and consented to apprentice him, according
to his wish, to a painter to learn first principles from him.