Rembrandt needs little introduction. Widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential artists, and counted among the school of old masters, the Dutchman was incredibly prolific in a number of styles and mediums, producing more than 300 paintings, 300 etchings and 2,000 drawings over four decades.
The National Gallery of Victoria’s new exhibition, Rembrandt: True to Life, is a thoughtful and intimate study of a vast oeuvre, providing insights into the artist’s tumultuous personal life and curious mind.
Containing material from the NGV’s permanent collection as well as significant international loans, it’s the largest exhibition of his work in Australia since 1997’s Rembrandt: A Genius and His Impact, which showed at both the NGV and National Gallery of Australia.
“Rembrandt is always relevant because there’s such great observation, empathy and skill,” says Petra Kayser, NGV’s curator of prints and drawings.
The exhibition is organised both chronologically and thematically. From his early years in Leiden to his move to Amsterdam in 1631, his rise to prominence and eventual bankruptcy, it shows a holistic view of a fascinating character and his visions of himself and the world around him.
The first work on display is a small self-portrait etching in the tronie style, made when Rembrandt was 24 years old. Comparing this early work from 1631 with his renowned oil on canvas self-portrait (1659), it is striking to see the difference in expression, both facial and artistic. The former shows an artist at the beginning of his career; the latter was created a few years after he went bankrupt and was long since a widower.
These first captures of himself sit alongside etchings of his family and his initial foray into oil painting, such as Two Old Men Disputing (1628) and Tobit and Anna with the Kid (1626), the latter on loan from Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum. These interests – self-portraiture, portraits of others, a snapshot of Amsterdam’s society, biblical stories – are represented in more detail in the rest of the show, as the artist’s skill and vision evolves.
The focus on printmaking in this exhibition – there are more than 100 etchings on display – reinforces the form’s versatility and importance in Rembrandt’s body of work, as a central site of creative thinking. These are impressive for their meticulous level of craftsmanship: the largest, known as the Hundred Guilder Print (1647-49), renders various events from the New Testament’s Matthew 19 in painstaking detail. A digital version of the work sits beneath it, allowing viewers to zoom in and appreciate the fine points.
Some etchings are displayed in various states, providing a glimpse into the artist’s process. Two states each are shown for The Three Crosses (1653) and Christ Presented to the People (1655), of a total of four and eight states respectively. Seeing the differences between each state, from shading to detail, gives a greater sense of the artistry at hand.
Landscapes also feature in the show, notably the oil painting The Mill (1645-1648) and his largest landscape etching, The Three Trees (1643). They’re gorgeously dramatic, all romance and storm, as the artist’s keen eye turns to bucolic scenes. “Looking at them in a very focused way, they’re beautifully observed. To create a sense of depth and an atmosphere of weather or sunlight in a small monochrome medium is so hard,” Kayser says.
A distinctive aspect of this show is a recreation of the artist’s famed Kunstkammer, or cabinet of curiosities: a room full of exotic and eclectic historical, artistic and scientific treasures. Rembrandt never left the Netherlands, but as his star rose, then his wealth, he began passionately collecting curios from all around the world. Based on an inventory of his belongings upon his bankruptcy, the NGV’s recreation contains a peculiar assortment of objects, drawn from the gallery’s collection as well as from the Melbourne Museum and the State Library of Victoria. It provides a glimpse into the artist’s global mind: busts and shellfish sit alongside musical instruments, pinned butterflies, a 17th century Japanese helmet and ceramics. It’s a creative and unique way to breathe physicality into a part of Rembrandt’s story that is well known but rarely physically manifested.
The NGV’s exhibition places Rembrandt in conversation with his interests and influences, as well as those he influenced. His 1638 etching of Adam and Eve sits next to one of Albrecht Dürer’s Harrowing of Hell woodcut prints; as the exhibition winds to a close, the works of his contemporaries, students and successors line the wall, representing aspects of Rembrandt’s work. Ferdinand Bol’s Old Man with Flowing Beard (1642) reflects the artist’s portraiture style, alongside a 1650 landscape by Jan Lieven and a biblical scene from Aert de Gelder, the latter bringing Rembrandt’s legacy into the 18th century.
It presents a lovely, lyrical and cyclical way of thinking about art, looping back to the beginning: a young man in a small Dutch town, who started out by looking first at himself and his immediate surroundings, then bloomed.
Rembrandt: True to Life is on at the NGV until 10 September
