Rembrandt House exterior by Voytikof, Wikimedia Commons
I was so grateful to make it back to my hotel suite in Amsterdam after the journey to the Otterlo. (Recommended background: TroysArt “That trip to the Kroller-Muller Museum”, September 17, 2014.) I crawled into bed and thought I was dying.
Thankfully my impending death was not holding travelling companion Michael Anderson (aka Manderson) back from exploring the nightlife for which Amsterdam is famous.
The next morning Manderson was packing a bag. “I’m headed to The Hague,” he announced with boundless enthusiasm. “Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is at Mauritshuis. Sure you don’t want to go?”
I begged to die in peace and he was on his way.
Time passed, whether days or hours—I didn’t know. I pulled myself to the hotel window and looked over the convergence of Oude-shcans Canal and Amstel River. The sun was shining and the city was bustling. I could not let another day go by without a major cultural experience. Besides, I was starving again.
Not far from the hotel was the Rembrandtplein. In the 1500s it was an outskirt with a gate protecting the residents of the city. By the 1900s it had become known for the artist Rembrandt who lived nearby and was a popular public square filled with artists and bars. The sun felt great on my face and my lungs filled with crisp fresh air.
Coffeeshop Smokey is on the Rembrandtplein. I stopped in for a cup of coffee and, to protect my lungs, enjoyed an “herbal” cake. They say that Smokey’s is touristy but isn’t that the point? I sat quietly enjoying my refreshments and watching the crowd; on one side of me a table of 20-something year-old dudes rolled a fatty and on the other side a pair of perfectly coiffed socialites in mink coats sipped tea while sparking a big doob.
Rembrandt Harmeszoon van Rijn self-portrait, National Gallery, UK
Dead for over 350 years, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) is generally considered one of the world’s greatest artists, heck, he makes the news more often than most living artists. His contributions to art came in a period that historians refer to as the Dutch Golden Age—a point at which Dutch culture, commerce, science, political influence, and world power reached an apex. Rembrandt was prolific and produced prints as well as drawings. By the age of 21 he already had a bevy of his own students. Demanding piles of money for his work, by 1631 he was part of the art elite and was recognized by one name like Michelangelo, or Cher or Liberace. He was a big celebrity.
His work is characterized by luxuriant brushwork, rich color, and masterful use of chiaroscuro (the use of light and dark to achieve heightened illusions of depth). He is known for biblical compositions, numerous self-portraits, and portraits of the wealthy Dutch merchant class. His paintings are so rare and prized that they are only collected by the world’s top museums, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Louvre, and the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Worth multi-millions, a scant few remain in private collections.
The home where he lived and worked from 1639 – 1658 is preserved as the Rembrandt House Museum, Jodenbreestraat 4, 1011 NK Amsterdam. The house was built in 1606 as the area grew with newly rich shipping merchants. Rembrandt borrowed 13,000 guilders to make the purchase—a ton of money in the olden days.
Rembrandt House, the front sitting room, by Gunnar Bach Pederson GunnerBach, Wikimedia Commons
And while it is known that the artist made huge sums of money from his paintings as well as purveying the work of other artists, he was either unable or unwilling to make necessary payments on the property. Forced into bankruptcy, he lost the home at auction. But the silver lining comes because of bankruptcy records in the form of a detailed inventory of his belongings–invaluable in reconstructing his art collection and furniture for posterity. Now many of the artifacts are on display.
A 400 year old home is different from what we are accustomed. The circular stair at the center of the mansion is so steep that visitors must hold onto a rope while ascending. And Rembrandt’s bed is in a piece of furniture that can be opened and closed like a cabinet. It must have been difficult to change the sheets but no doubt worthy protection from the wintry atmosphere.
On the second level were several studios. Artists today and in the past 100 years squeeze oil paints out of a tube like toothpaste. But prior to this convenience painters bought minerals to grind and mix, such as lapis lazuli for blue. In Rembrandt’s main painting studio were piles of ground pigments in various colors on a wooden table where his assistants would grind chunks into powder in order to impregnate linseed oil with color. That doesn’t sound simple. But analyzing these minerals is also a way that researchers in recent years have authenticated some of his work.
In the small studio behind the antechamber, printmakers demonstrate techniques used to produce etchings. Images from etched plates are transferred to wet paper in a massive oak printing press then hung on a line to dry. Employees at the museum do weekly demonstrations.
Rembrandt House Museum by Johnbod, Wikimedia Commons
On the top floor of Rembrandt’s house was the Cabinet (my favorite room) where he kept a collection of art and rarities. Arranged on shelves around the walls were seashells, corals, weapons, a celestial globe, bones, classical busts, and much more as a refuge of inspiration and discovery. He also kept over 8,000 drawings and prints by other artists in albums.
Repressing the urge to launch into another coughing hysteria I purchased a few postcards and made a hasty exit, seemingly gliding back to the hotel as if on auto-pilot. Housekeeping had thankfully refreshed my fever soaked sheets and I slipped back beneath the covers to continue my recovery.