Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt van Rijn was born in Leiden, Holland on July 15, 1606, the ninth of ten children in a prosperous miller’s family. At thirteen he enrolled at Leiden University but soon left to pursue art, apprenticing first with a history painter in Leiden and later studying under the renowned Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam. While still in his teens, Rembrandt opened a studio in Leiden with his friend Jan Lievens, who had also trained under Lastman.
By the end of 1631, Rembrandt had moved to Amsterdam after accepting a commission from a prominent physician. His 1634 marriage to Saskia van Uylenburg, cousin of a successful art dealer, brought access to wealthy patrons who eagerly commissioned his portraits. Tragedy marked his personal life, however. Three of their four children died before reaching three months of age, and Saskia herself died shortly after the birth of their son Titus, who survived to adulthood but would predecease his father. After Saskia’s death, Hendrickje Stoffels became his common-law wife and gave birth to Cornelia, the only child to survive him.
Rembrandt’s taste for an ostentatious lifestyle led to bankruptcy in 1656, forcing the auction of his home and possessions over the next two years. He moved to a small cottage on Amsterdam’s outskirts, where he outlived both Hendrickje, who died in 1663, and Titus, who died in 1668. Rembrandt himself died on October 4, 1669, and was buried in an unmarked grave in the Westerkerk. Today, Park West Gallery represents this master of the Baroque Age, whose revolutionary etchings and dramatic use of chiaroscuro continue to influence artists worldwide.