Early Success, Late Decline and The Wunderkammer

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, the Dutch golden age painter, printmaker and draughtsman is widely considered one of the greatest artists in history. In his own lifetime he achieved great fame and fortune, and his name is synonymous with quality to this day. Yet in his later years he endured financial hardship and was bankrupt when he died.

Born in Leiden, the Dutch Republic (now theNetherlands), to a prosperous family, he showed an early talent for drawing and painting. He was enrolled at the University of Leiden at the age of 14, but showing little interest in an academic career, he left university to study art under two prominent artists of the time, Jacob van Swanenburgh and Pieter Lastman.

One fascinating aspect of Rembrandt's life is he never travelled outside of his country’s borders, yet he became widely known throughout Europe. Though he was well known for his exquisite portraits, the widely distributed prints made from the 300 etchings he created made him famous internationally in his own lifetime. These prints were completely separate from his paintings and only rarely did he reproduce a painting in print. His experimentation with etching would revolutionise the artform.

Though Rembrandt chose not to travel it did not hinder him from the influence of other artists including the masters from renaissance Italy and beyond. Rembrandt was an avid collector of art, something that contributed to his financial difficulties later in life. Rembrandt's “Wunderkammer” or wonder chamber was a window to the outside world. His collection was broad and included Roman busts, etching plates and drawings by Raphael, Mantegna and Giorgione, Japanese textiles, exotic stuffed animals and other artworks.

His domesticity didn’t stop him from being influenced by international artists. He had a fascination as to what other artists were doing and his earlier paintings were heavily influenced by Chiaroscuro, or the use of strong light and dark contrast, by Caravaggio in particular. This influence likely came from the Utrecht Caravaggisti,  a group of painters from the Dutch city of Utrecht who went to Italy to study Carravagio and then reproduced works in his style.

Despite his success, Rembrandt had a penchant for luxury and lived beyond his means, spending money on expensive clothing, art collections, and a large house in Amsterdam. This combined with his generosity toward friends and family, contributed to his financial troubles later in life. He and Saskia had several children, but only one, Titus, survived infancy. Saskia's death in 1642 had a profound impact on Rembrandt, both emotionally and financially.

In the 1640s and 1650s, Rembrandt's financial situation deteriorated significantly. With debts piling up, including unpaid taxes and loans, he was eventually declared bankrupt in 1656. As a result, he was forced to sell many of his possessions, including his house and art collection, to settle his debts.

Despite these financial difficulties, Rembrandt continued to produce art, albeit on a smaller scale. He and his common-law wife Hendrickje Stoffels, downgraded to a small home where they lived with Titus and their daughter, Cornelia. He received commissions for portraits and religious paintings but never regained the financial stability he had enjoyed earlier in his career.

Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje and Titus. He died on the 4th October 1669 and was buried in a rented grave in the Westerkerk, a Dutch Protestant church in central Amsterdam. His financial and legal struggles add to a complex legacy, but ultimately his masterful body of work means that to this day his name stands for exceptional quality and excellence.

You can hear all about Rembrandt in series 2, episode 3 of The Kennardley Talkstraight Show, as Rembrandt struggles to explain his financial philosophy to a confused Kennardley.

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