Lesson 2 - Schama - Rembrandt

Like the documentary on Caravaggio, Simon Schama takes us through the life of Rembrandt van Rijn. However, rather than beginning with his early life, Schama takes us through the adult life and his late works, after his near bankruptcy in 1656 due to the change in artistic style.

The most interesting person in this documentary was Rembrandt. He pretty much discovered the term "selfie", but at this time the term didn't concern itself with an identity seeking teenager. Rembrandt was a fighter in his time as an artist. It's not to say that Rembrandt wasn't accredited or famous for his work, but as he got older the demand for brightly colored French paintings was high and his work was not called upon by his regular patrons because he favored more of a murky oil paint. Yet, despite his decline in fame, he didn't give up on himself.

Something I saw in this video that peaked my interest, was Rembrandt's Self-Portrait (1658) which was his comeback to the paintings in demand at that time because in Schama's words it was "a symphony of defiance that depicted vast meaty hands which are either going to create a masterpiece or strangle critics." However, what's important about this is that Rembrandt wasn't fighting to become recognized again by buyers, rather it was his way of saying that he was still relevant as an artist except he just didn't care if his work was appreciated or not. He knew he was still making his mark in the art world but he didn't care how.

An interesting fact from this video was Rembrand't painted version of Samson and Delilah. Rather than going with the norms of the painting with a shirtless Samson asleep on the lap of Delilah, Rembrandt paints him fully clothed and more vulnerable in that it "ties Samson to his lover and to his fate." Rembrandt also has Delilah grasping a piece of Samson's hair, as if about to cut it, and her other hand his stroking his hair. What I like about this is that Rembrandt seems to focus his paintings more on the emotional and hidden meanings of the actions shown in them, rather than the physical features that everyone expects. In this case with Samson and Delilah, "In one gesture, Rembrandt gets to the heart of his story, the tragic inseparability of amorous, tenderness, and brutal betrayal."



Both Rembrandt's work: The picture on the left is of Samson and Delilah and the picture on the right is the Self Portrait (1658)