Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is born on July 15, 1606 in Leiden, the Netherlands, into a large family. His family are quite well off; his father's a miller, and his mother's a baker's daughter. He attends Latin school and enrols at the University of Leiden. But he shows more interest in painting than Latin, and is apprenticed with a Leiden history painter,
Jacob van Swanenburgh. He then enjoys a brief but important apprenticeship with the famous painter Pieter Lastman in Amsterdam, before opening a studio in Leiden, which he shares with friend and colleague Jan Lievens. In 1627, Rembrandt begins to accept students, among them Gerrit Dou.
He is discovered by statesman and poet, Constantijn Huygens,
the father of Christiaan Huygens.
Rembrandt establishes himself enough in the next four years to receive several assignments for portraits from Amsterdam. As a result, he moves into the house of an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, in Amsterdam. In 1634, he marries Hendrick's
great-niece, Saskia van Uylenburg.
Rembrandt and Saskia move in 1639 to a prominent house in the Jodenbreestraat in the Jewish quarter, later to become the Rembrandt House Museum (Museum het Rembrandthuis). The purchase price of the house is thirteen thousand guilders, which is a huge sum for its day. Rembrandt cannot pay it off in one go, but is allowed to pay it off in instalments.
The couple have several setbacks in their personal life. Three of their children die shortly after birth. Only their fourth child, a son, Titus, born in 1641, survives into adulthood. Saskia dies in 1642 soon after Titus's birth, probably from tuberculosis.
By the late 1640s, Rembrandt's mistress is the much younger Hendrickje Stoffels, also his maidservant. They have a daughter in 1654, Cornelia, bringing Hendrickje an official reproach from the Reformed Church for "living
in sin." Rembrandt is not summoned to appear before the
Church council because he is not a member of the Reformed Church.
Rembrandt lives beyond his means, and falls into bankruptcy in 1656. He has to sell his house and move to a small rented house on the Rozengracht. Here,
Hendrickje and Titus start an art shop to make ends meet. However,
Rembrandt's fame burns as bright as ever for he receives an important commission for a large history piece for the newly built city hall.
Rembrandt outlives both Hendrickje and Titus. The mourning for his much beloved son takes a heavy toll on
Rembrandt and he dies on October 4, 1669 in Amsterdam and is buried in an unmarked grave in the Westerkerk. Only his daughter Cornelia outlives hime from his family.
In total, he leaves behind around 600 paintings, 2,000 drawings, and 300 etchings. Nearly 100 of these pieces are self-portraits.
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