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(July 15, 1606 – October 4, 1669) was a Dutch painter and
etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers
in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His
contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age.
Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, his
later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his
etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as
an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught nearly every important
Dutch painter. Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified
especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations
of scenes from the Bible. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate
biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the
utmost sincerity.
In both painting and printmaking he exhibited a complete
knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of
his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by
Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical
composition, and his observations of Amsterdam's Jewish population. Because of
his empathy for the human condition, he has been called "one of the great
prophets of civilization.
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