![]() It was in this neighborhood that the young Rembrandt was first promoted by the art dealer Hendrick Uylenburgh. But that difference in outlook made no difference to him or to his new patrons. The Remonstrants were one of the more liberal Protestant sects in the Netherlands at the time, very unlike the conservative elements that dominated Leiden, from which the painter came. These were members and associates of the political and religious clan headed by the influential de Graeff family in Amsterdam, and they lived in a relatively narrow geographic area of the city extending from Sint Anthonisbreestraat (where Rembrandt lived in what is now the Rembrandthuis museum) to the Kloveniersburgwal, a district that was strongly Remonstrant in religious affiliations, according to Mr. Schwartz has done what van Gelder wanted, developing the thesis that Rembrandt's art depended on the tastes of his immediate patrons. While it was not exactly received with enthusiasm -the customary basic attention to attribution, style and iconography has prevailed - Mr. Van Gelder made a plea in 1970 for a more thorough reconstruction of the circle of Rembrandt's patrons. van Gelder, a professor of art history at the University of Utrecht and perhaps the most inspirational teacher for American scholars in the field, many of whom he attracted to the Netherlands to study with him. He attributes his interest in the social history of Dutch art to the late J. ![]() Incidentally, he happily accepts as authentic works by Rembrandt several paintings that have recently been decertified by leading art historians and Rembrandt scholars - ''Saul and David'' (Mauritshuis, The Hague), the ''Polish Rider'' (Frick Collection, New York) and the ''Man in the Golden Helmet'' (Gemaldegalerie, West Berlin). Schwartz is interested in evaluating Rembrandt as ''an artistic interpreter of the literary, cultural and religious ideas of a fairly fixed group of patrons.'' Thus the author presents no detailed analyses of Rembrandt's style but rather concentrates on the social milieu of his patrons, and he tries to show how they shaped his art. In light of the renewed attention given the artist since the Rembrandt Research Project of Amsterdam was formed to commemorate the 300th anniversary of his death (1669), it offers refreshing and exciting perspectives to current scholarship.Įssentially Mr. This handsome book, originally written in Dutch, clearly establishes him as an accomplished Rembrandt scholar. ![]() As a trained art historian, he turned his energies to translating Dutch texts and publishing. His contributions to Dutch art history have been exceptional in many ways. Schwartz, who was born in Brooklyn and educated at New York University and Johns Hopkins, visited the Netherlands in 1965 on a fellowship in art history and never returned. Schwartz makes in it are in the preceeding chapters, but when he looks back and recapitulates, the cumulative effect of his arguments is quite caustic. This is an informative and valuable study of Rembrandt and of his patrons and their effect on his art, but that Afterword is startling. For those who have reserved a special pedestal for the master, I suggest they be well prepared for the polemic delivered in the Afterword. His compositions often suffer from disjunction his forms are frequently unclear or inarticulate and his subject matter is often allusive and vague, not because of some profound or universal insights Rembrandt possessed but because of his carelessness and lack of discipline. ![]() Schwartz tells us Rembrandt was even lacking in painting skills. In ''Rembrandt: His Life, His Paintings,'' Mr. ![]() Greedy, vain, unsociable, boorish and arrogant, this Rembrandt hardly fits the stereotyped portrait of the kindly old grandfather who warms our hearts with his probing portrayals of man's humanity. From a thorough and careful study of documents, mostly concerning patronage, the author vividly characterizes Rembrandt as a repugnant and untrustworthy person. IN his fascinating study of Rembrandt, Gary Schwartz is engaged in recovering the true likeness of the painter that lies beneath the mellow chiaro-scuro of his self-portraits, and the image that emerges is neither saintly nor endearing. ![]()
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