Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn: Early Life

A miller's son, Rembrandt attended a Latin school and spent part of one year at the Univ. of Leiden, leaving in 1621 to study painting with a local artist, Jacob van Swanenburgh. His most valuable training was received during the six months of 1624 that he spent in the studio of Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam. Lastman's work affected Rembrandt's in his sense of composition and his frequent choice of religious and historical themes. Receptive to many influences at this time, Rembrandt sometimes reflected the dramatic chiaroscuro of Caravaggio in paintings such as The Money Changer (Berlin) or the more delicate and detailed manner of Elsheimer as in The Tribute Money (London).

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Museum Collections
• Achievement
• Later Years, Late Masterworks
• Amsterdam: Success, Bankruptcy, and a Developing Style
• The Leiden Years
• Early Life
• Bibliography

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