Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, known mononymously as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of Western art. It is estimated that Rembrandt's surviving works amount to about three hundred paintings, three hundred etchings, and several hundred drawings.
Paintings by Rembrandt
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632)
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a 1632 oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands. It was originally created to be displayed by the Surgeons Guild in their meeting room. The painting is regarded as one of Rembrandt's early masterpieces.
In the work, Nicolaes Tulp is pictured explaining the musculature of the arm to a group of doctors. Some of the spectators are various doctors who paid commissions to be included in the painting. The painting is signed in the top-left hand corner Rembrant. f[ecit] 1632. This may be the first instance of Rembrandt signing a painting with his forename (in its original form) as opposed to the monogram RHL (Rembrandt Harmenszoon of Leiden), and is thus a sign of his growing artistic confidence.
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee (1633)
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee is a 1633 oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch Golden Age painter Rembrandt van Rijn. It is classified as a history painting and ranks among the largest and earliest of Rembrandt's works. Purchased by art historian Bernard Berenson for Isabella Stewart Gardner in 1898 (not 1869 as previously noted, correcting an error based on historical records), it was displayed at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston until its theft in 1990; its whereabouts remain unknown. The painting vividly portrays the biblical miracle in which Jesus calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, as recounted in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Notably, it is Rembrandt's only known seascape, distinguishing it within his oeuvre.
The painting, executed in a vertical format, presents a dramatic close-up of Christ's disciples battling a ferocious storm to regain control of their fishing boat. A towering wave crashes against the bow, shredding the sail, while one disciple is depicted vomiting over the side, overwhelmed by the tempest. Another, gazing directly at the viewer, is a self-portrait of Rembrandt himself—a signature touch linking the artist to the narrative. In stark contrast, Christ remains serene on the right, his calm presence a focal point amid the chaos.
The Jewish Bride (1667)
The Jewish Bride (Dutch: Het Joodse bruidje) is a painting by Rembrandt, painted around 1665‒1669.
The painting gained its current name in the early 19th century, when an Amsterdam art collector identified the subject as that of a Jewish father bestowing a necklace upon his daughter on her wedding day. This interpretation is no longer accepted, and the identity of the couple is uncertain. The ambiguity is heightened by the lack of anecdotal context, leaving only the central universal theme, that of a couple joined in love. Speculative suggestions as to the couple's identity have ranged from Rembrandt's son Titus and his bride, or Amsterdam poet Miguel de Barrios and his wife. Also considered are several couples from the Old Testament, including Abraham and Sarah, Boaz and Ruth, or Isaac and Rebekah, which is supported by a drawing by the artist several years prior.
The Night Watch (1642)
Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq, also known as The Shooting Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch, but commonly referred to as The Night Watch (Dutch: De Nachtwacht), is a 1642 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn. It is in the collection of the Amsterdam Museum but is prominently displayed in the Rijksmuseum as the best-known painting in its collection. The Night Watch is one of the most famous Dutch Golden Age paintings. Rembrandt's large painting of 363 by 437 centimetres (12 by 14+1⁄2 feet) is famed for transforming a group portrait of a civic militia guards (Dutch: schutterij or kloveniers) company into a compelling drama energised by light and shadow (tenebrism). The title is a misnomer; the painting does not depict a nocturnal scene.
The Night Watch was completed in 1642 at the peak of the Dutch Golden Age. It depicts the eponymous company moving out, led by Captain Frans Banninck Cocq (dressed in black, with a red sash) and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch (dressed in yellow, with a white sash). Behind them, the company's colours are carried by the ensign, Jan Visscher Cornelissen. Rembrandt incorporated the traditional emblem of the arquebusiers in the figure of the young girl who carries a dead chicken on her belt, referencing the clauweniers (arquebusiers) and a type of drinking horn used at group banquets.
The Return of the Prodigal Son (Rembrandt) (1668)
The Return of the Prodigal Son (Dutch: De terugkeer van de verloren zoon) is an oil painting by Rembrandt, part of the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. It is among the Dutch master's final works, likely completed within two years of his death in 1669. Depicting the moment of the prodigal son's return to his father in the Biblical parable, it is a renowned work described by art historian Kenneth Clark as "a picture which those who have seen the original in St. Petersburg may be forgiven for claiming as the greatest picture ever painted".
In the painting, the son has returned home in a wretched state from travels in which he has wasted his inheritance and fallen into poverty and despair. He kneels before his father in repentance, wishing for forgiveness and the position of a servant in his father's household, having realized that even his father's servants had a better station in life than he. His father receives him with a tender gesture and welcomes him as his own son. His hands seem to suggest mothering and fathering at once; the left appears larger and more masculine, set on the son's shoulder, while the right is softer and more receptive in gesture. Standing at the right is the prodigal son's older brother, who crosses his hands in judgment; in the parable he objects to the father's compassion for the sinful son:
Danaë (Rembrandt) (1636)
Danaë is a painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn. It was first completed in 1636, but Rembrandt reworked it significantly by 1643 at the latest. Once part of Pierre Crozat's collection, it has been in the Hermitage Museum, in St. Petersburg, Russia, since the 18th century.
It is a life-sized depiction of the character Danaë from Greek mythology, the mother of Perseus. She is presumably depicted as welcoming Zeus, who impregnated her in the form of a shower of gold. Given that this is one of Rembrandt's most magnificent paintings, it is not out of the question that he cherished it, but it also may have been difficult to sell because of the canvas' large size. Although the artist's wife Saskia was the original model for Danaë, Rembrandt later changed the figure's face to that of his mistress Geertje Dircx.
Belshazzar's Feast (Rembrandt) (1636)
Belshazzar's Feast is a major painting by Rembrandt now in the National Gallery, London. The painting is Rembrandt's attempt to establish himself as a painter of large, baroque history paintings. The date of the painting is unknown, but most sources give a date between 1635 and 1638.
The story of Belshazzar and the writing on the wall originates in the Old Testament Book of Daniel. The Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar looted the Temple in Jerusalem and stole sacred artefacts such as golden cups. His son Belshazzar used these cups for a great feast where the hand of God appeared and wrote the inscription on the wall prophesying the downfall of Belshazzar's reign. The text on the wall says "mene, mene, tekel, u-farsin". Biblical scholars interpret this to mean "God has numbered the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting; your kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians".
Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (1653)
Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (Dutch: Aristoteles bij de buste van Homerus), also known as Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer, is an oil-on-canvas painting by Rembrandt that depicts Aristotle wearing a gold chain and contemplating a sculpted bust of Homer. It was created as a commission for Don Antonio Ruffo's collection. It was bought and sold by several collectors until it was eventually purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The mysterious tone in the painting has led several scholars to different interpretations of Rembrandt's theme.
Aristotle Contemplating a Bust of Homer was painted in 1653, as a commission from a Sicilian nobleman named Don Antonio Ruffo, who did not request any particular subject. Despite not knowing what Rembrandt would create, he was already eager to hang it in his Hall of Fame. Don Antonio planned to commission companion pieces for Rembrandt's painting from the Italian painter Guercino. Guercino decided that a cosmographer was the perfect match, since Rembrandt represented the study of mankind while the cosmographer represents the study of the heavens. However, Guercino's piece disappeared for no apparent reason. According to Charles Mee, perhaps Don Antonio did not think it was good enough. Rembrandt later created Homer Dictating his Verses and a lost painting of Alexander the Great for Ruffo, both ten years after completing Aristotle with a Bust of Homer.
Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (1662)
The Sampling Officials (Dutch: De Staalmeesters), also called Syndics of the Drapers' Guild (Dutch: De waardijns van het Amsterdamse lakenbereidersgilde), is a 1662 oil painting by Rembrandt. It is now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. It has been described as his "last great collective portrait".
The painting is a group portrait of five gentlemen from the Amsterdam cloth guild who were responsible for inspecting the cloth, along with their servant. They were not the regents of the guild but the wardens: two Catholics, a Mennonite, a Remonstrant, and a Reformed Protestant. Their one-year terms in office began on Good Friday and they were expected to conduct their inspections thrice weekly. It was an unpaid honorary position. To compare the quality of different batches of cloth, they used 'samples,' test pieces of fabric—hence their name, "staalmeesters" (masters of samples in Dutch). There were four grades of quality, the highest was indicated by pressing four seals and the lowest by pressing only one. The inspectors used pliers to press the seals of their city (front) and guild (reverse) into penny-sized slugs of lead that were specially affixed to record the results of the inspection. They met three times a week. The "staalmeesters" depicted performed their duties from Good Friday 1661 to Good Friday 1662. Van Doeyenburg acted as the chairman of the group. The open book likely concerns the guild's accounting records. For a long time it was thought that the man on the far right of the painting was holding a bag of stamps, but during the restoration in 1991 it was found to be a pair of gloves.
Bathsheba at Her Bath (Rembrandt) (1654)
Bathsheba at Her Bath (or Bathsheba with King David's Letter) is an oil painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt (1606–1669), finished in 1654.
A depiction that is both sensual and empathetic, it shows a moment from the Old Testament story related in 2 Samuel 11 in which King David sees Bathsheba bathing and, entranced, impregnates her. In order to marry Bathsheba and conceal his sin, David sends her husband into battle and orders his generals to abandon him, leaving him to certain death.
Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law (1659)
Moses Breaking the Tablets of the Law is a 1659 oil-on-canvas painting of the prophet Moses by the Dutch artist Rembrandt. It depicts Moses about to break the original two stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. It is now in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
The Prodigal Son in the Brothel (1635)
The Prodigal Son in the Brothel or The Prodigal Son in the Tavern or Rembrandt and Saskia in the parable of the prodigal son (German: Rembrandt und Saskia im Gleichnis vom verlorenen Sohn) is a painting by the Dutch master Rembrandt. It is now in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister of Dresden, Germany. It is signed "REMBRANDT F.".
It portrays two people who had been identified as Rembrandt himself and his wife Saskia. In the Protestant contemporary world, the theme of the prodigal son was a frequent subject for works of art due to its moral background. Rembrandt himself painted a Return of the Prodigal Son in 1669.