The Mentor: Rembrandt, Vol. 4, Num. 20, Serial No. 120, December 1, 1916
TekstTHE MILL, By Rembrandt
REMBRANDT
Last Years
THREE
During the last part of the seventeenth century money was scarce in Holland. Long continued wars and civil troubles had worn out the country. Financial depression overwhelmed Amsterdam; and in addition to this the taste in art changed, and Rembrandt and his pictures were neglected.
Most of Rembrandt’s money was tied up in his house and in his large collection of valuable pictures; and when his paintings ceased to be in demand, he was forced to borrow money. Very little is known of the artist’s life at this time. He was living with his servant, Hendrickje Stoffels, and in 1654 a child was born to them. To her Rembrandt gave the name of Cornelia, after his much loved mother. It has been asserted that he married Hendrickje, but it is probable that he did not, for in such a case the money left by Saskia would have gone at once to her son Titus, according to the will.
In 1656 Rembrandt’s financial affairs went crashing down to ruin. By a process of law his house and land were transferred to Titus. But as his son was still a minor, Rembrandt was allowed to remain in charge of Saskia’s estate. And then ruin stared him in the face. In July, 1656, Rembrandt was declared bankrupt, and an inventory of his property was ordered. Two years later the larger part of his collection of etchings and drawings was sold. The sum realized was only a small fraction of their value.
Rembrandt, driven from his house, stripped of everything he possessed, without friends or money, took a modest lodging in Amsterdam. The city which once had acclaimed him as its greatest portrait painter now passed him by and left him alone to wait for death.
During all these dark years, however, Rembrandt was painting some of his greatest pictures. Even amid the ruins of his affairs he could go calmly on working; and for this he deserves the highest respect. Among the works of this time are the portrait of Jan Six, the “Adoration of the Magi,” and “John the Baptist Preaching in the Wilderness.” At the same time he continued to paint his own portrait; but in these pictures of the artist in his old age we see a man broken by misfortune.
Titus, Rembrandt’s only son, had married. He died in 1668, leaving one child. A year later, on October 8, 1669, Rembrandt himself passed away. In the “Livre Mortuaire” of the Wester Kerk in Amsterdam appears the following simple entry, relating to his death: “Tuesday, 8th Oct., 1669, Rembrandt van Rijn, Painter on the Rovzegraft, opposite the Doolhof. Leaves two children.”
Rembrandt outlived his popularity, although he was the greatest genius of his time and country, and in fact one of the great geniuses of all time and all countries. He was left to die alone and neglected by his fellow-countrymen, who had they foreseen the fame that the future held in store for him, might have sought his humble lodging to honor him on bended knee.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 20, SERIAL No. 120
COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC
IN THE RYKS MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM
ELIZABETH BAS – Portrait by Rembrandt
REMBRANDT
The Real Man
FOUR
One day Rembrandt was employed in painting the portraits of a very rich family in Amsterdam. This was to be a group picture, and as usual with him, Rembrandt was working hard to make it a success. While he was painting, someone opened the door of the room in which he was and brought in the dead body of a monkey. The appearance of this funny little creature appealed to the artist at once. He wanted to make a picture of it right away. But the only thing on which he could make the drawing was the canvas on which he was painting the portraits of the rich family. So Rembrandt, without hesitation, painted the monkey in among their portraits. They were very angry, of course, but in those days Rembrandt was at the height of his career and he did not have to concern himself about how his customers felt.
This little incident, whether it is strictly true or not, illustrates one side of Rembrandt’s character. When he was most successful he was carefree and independent. It may have been this independence that brought him to his ruin – although in all probability it was the indifference of his fellow citizens to his work.
The age in which Rembrandt lived cared little for personalities. There were no newspapers to record his doings, and no one of his contemporaries cared enough about it to write down much about his life and work. For these reasons, the world has never known much about Rembrandt, the man. We know that he was light-hearted, headstrong and extravagant. We know that he was neglected and died poor and feeble. But we know little more than this, although of late more reliable information concerning the life of this great painter has been found.
A man’s faults are usually remembered when his virtues are forgotten. For years it pleased biographers to represent Rembrandt as a ne’er-do-well artist, who could not take advantage of his opportunities. We know now, however, that his faults were very human ones, and that his merits greatly overbalanced them.
As a boy the artist was not an industrious scholar. He looked upon reading and writing as rather troublesome and hardly worth the labor involved in learning them. Later he worked hard at his chosen career, and the great number of pictures that he painted is sufficient evidence that he was by no means lazy.
Probably Rembrandt’s greatest fault was his extravagance. Many a man can endure adversity with courage; success is sometimes more difficult to bear. Hard luck often brings out the best in a man; success may destroy it. Rembrandt was no exception. He spent his money freely, and like the grasshopper of the fable, sang happily through the summer, with no thought of the cold to come.
He liked to attend sales of works of art, and he gladly paid huge sums for any pictures that caught his fancy. It is said that the dealers came very soon to know his rash and reckless methods and would push the prices far up, confident that Rembrandt would meet them. At the same time, the artist liked to buy expensive jewels for his wife. He loved Saskia devotedly, and he wanted her to have everything of the finest. This manner of open-handed living naturally played havoc with his finances.
When Saskia died Rembrandt was heartbroken. His customers fell off and many troubles overwhelmed him. His friends helped him as much as possible, but money ran through his hands like water through a sieve, and he could not seem to control his expenditures. Then later the death of his faithful Hendrickje was the last blow to his happiness. For a few years Rembrandt lingered, and then he too passed into the great silence.
It is true that many of Rembrandt’s troubles were self-inflicted: but he suffered enough to pay for his faults. At any rate it is better to remember him as a great genius and a man worthy of respect and honor.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 20, SERIAL No. 120
COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC
IN THE DRESDEN GALLERY
SASKIA HOLDING A FLOWER – Portrait by Rembrandt