Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn was born in Leiden in 1606. After training briefly with Jacob van Swanenburg (ca. 1571-1638) and with Pieter Lastman (1583-1633) in Amsterdam, he was working as an independent master in Leiden by 1625. The artist settled permanently in Amsterdam in 1631/2. He quickly established himself as the leading portraitist in the city, infusing the genre with an unprecedented vivacity. By the 1640s Rembrandt focused more on religious subjects and landscapes; his style became less flamboyant and more introspective. His late works are remarkable for their depth and range of emotion, which is matched by a complete expressive mastery of technique. Rembrandt was not only a sublime painter, but also a prodigious draftsman and uniquely gifted etcher. In all media, he experimented continually with new techniques and visual effects, and with new approaches to traditional subject matter. Rembrandt also had a profound impact as a teacher, training dozens of artists in his atelier, including Ferdinand Bol (1616-1680), Gerrit Dou (1613-1675), Arent de Gelder (1645-1727), Nicolaas Maes (1634-1693), and Philips
