Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called "one of the great prophets of civilization. Portrait of Johannes Wtenbogaert (1633) is a painting by Dutch artist Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn. In both painting and printmaking he exhibited a complete knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt's knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of the Jewish population of Amsterdam. INSPIRATION & INFLUENCE Rembrandts Self-Portrait with Two Circles is part of a tradition of self-portraits, both before and since. For his self-portraits, he often took the same approach, striking attitudes, wearing elaborate jewelry, holding swords, and wearing hats. The self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity. As the exhibition Rembrandt Portraits demonstrates, the artist had a flair for drama and liked to have models assume theatrical or expressive poses and dress in costumes from various periods. Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. Yet his drawings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high and for twenty years he taught nearly every important Dutch painter. Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, his later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age. By age 21, the artist had established his own studio and had taken on the first of many students. Today nearly 80 self-portraitspaintings, drawings, and printsare attributed to him. It presents a vast amount of meticulous research on Rembrandts paintings. In these early paintings, Rembrandt began inserting his own portrait as a bystander or participant, initiating a lifelong pursuit of self-portraiture.
He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. The Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings is dedicated to the painted works of Rembrandt. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van RijnĀ (J? October 4, 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher.