Why Did Rembrandt Die Poor?
Rembrandt pioneered the saleable self, but unlike his rival, Gerard Van Honthorst, failed to reconcile his personal vision with the market.
In 1632, Rembrandt van Rijn shifted his base from Leiden to Amsterdam, marking a pivotal moment in his career. The exhibition "Rembrandt 1632: Creation of a Brand" at Wilhelmshöhe Palace in Kassel, Germany, delves into this transformation. The show showcases a variety of Rembrandt's work from this period, including etchings, history paintings, portraits, and tronies - Dutch genre of character bust-length portraits.
The exhibition opens with two self-portraits of Rembrandt, revealing his transformation. In one, he is dressed in a steel gorget, seated in a warm light that enhances his youthful skin and the depth of one of his irises. In the other, a more enigmatic piece, Rembrandt is seen in a simple brown jacket, with the highlights in his wild curls scratched into the wet paint to reveal the red ground beneath. His face is largely in shadow, his eyes replaced with black holes, giving the portrait an intense and almost feral quality.
Despite his prolific output during this year, Rembrandt's financial situation was not ideal. The exhibition at Kassel underscores the challenges he faced in the competitive Amsterdam art market, despite his name becoming a brand in its own right.
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