The document provides information about 10 famous paintings by Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669). It discusses each painting in 1-2 paragraphs, describing the subject, date, current location, background on the biblical or historical scene depicted, and key details about the painting's composition and significance. The 10 paintings covered are The Night Watch, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Self-Portrait with Two Circles, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, Danaë, The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis, The Sampling Officials, The Return of the Prodigal Son, Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph, and Bathsheba at

1. BAROQUE ART
REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON VAN
RIJN
(1606-1669)
SUBMITTED TO :
Ms.Gitika Kaw Kher
Ma’am
SUBMITTED BY:
Charu Sharma
A2505715042
(Applied Arts)

2. REMBRANDT HARMENSZOON VAN
RIJN
(1606-1669)
• Works of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) are admired for an
outstandingly realistic depiction of human emotions and feelings with all their
nuances, and brilliant use of light and shadow.
• The Dutch painter produced a large number of paintings.
• (over 300 in total) but many works that were attributed to the artist for centuries
are now disputed because his many followers and imitators created nearly perfect
copies of his style.
• Listed below are 10 most famous and most admired Rembrandt's paintings.

3. 1. The Night Watch
2. The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
3. Self-Portrait with Two Circles
4. The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
5. Danae
6. The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis
7. The Sampling Officials
8. The Return of the Prodigal Son
9. Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph
10. Bathsheba at Her Bath

4. The Night Watch
• Without a doubt the most famous of all
Rembrandt’s paintings, The Night Watch is a
group portrait of the militia company of
Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant
Willem van Ruytenburgh (in the center).
• Painted in 1642, The Night Watch isn’t a
night scene as long believed.
• Cleaning in the mid-1940s revealed that it is
set in daylight.
• During relocation in the 18th century, the
most famous Rembrandt’s painting was
trimmed, most notably on the left side
which resulted in the loss of some characters
but it also changed the composition of the
painting by making the lightly clothed girl
and Lieutenant the dominant figures of the
scene.
• The Night Watch is housed in the
Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

5. The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
• Painted in 1633, The Storm on the Sea of Galilee
depicts the miracle of Jesus calming the storm.
• The only Rembrandt’s painting in a seascape
setting has unfortunately been lost for more two
decades.
• In 1990, it was stolen from the Isabella Stewart
Gardner Museum in Boston by two thieves
disguised in police officers.
• Besides The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, the
thieves have also stolen Rembrandt’s Portrait of a
Lady and Gentleman in Black and 11 other major
artworks with a total value of $300 million.
• In 2013, the FBI announced that they know who
stands behind one of the largest art heists in
history but the frames that used to hold the
masterpieces still hang empty.

6. Self-Portrait with Two Circles
• One of many Rembrandt’s self-portraits
shows the artist at work.
• He is depicted holding his palette,
brushes and maulstick with two
enigmatic circles in the background.
• There are several theories about the
meaning of the two circles, ranging from
the map of the word to various symbolic
meanings.
• However, we will probably never know
why Rembrandt painted the two circles
and what he is trying to communicate.
• Painted between 1665 and 1659, the Self-
Portrait with Two Circles is considered as
one of the greatest masterpieces of
Rembrandt’s later years and one of the
best self-portraits he ever created.
• The painting is today on public display in
the Kenwood House in London.

7. The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
• Painted in 1632, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr.
Nicolaes Tulp depicts the Dutch surgeon and
the later mayor of Amsterdam Dr. Nicolaes
Tulp.
• Holding an anatomy lesson on the corpse of
the executed criminal Aris Kindt.
• In the 17th century Holland, there was one
public anatomy per year that was performed
on the body of an executed criminal.
• The painting which was commissioned by the
Amsterdam Guild of Surgeons.
• For their board room is today housed in the
Mauritshuis art museum in The Hague.

8. Bathsheba at Her Bath
• The Bathsheba at Her Bath (finished in 1654)
depicts Bathsheba, wife of Uriah the Hittite at
the moment she was seen by King David
from the roof of his palace.
• According to the Biblical story, David had her
then brought to him to sleep with her.
• Since she became pregnant, David recalled
her husband from the army, hoping that he
would sleep with his wife and think that he is
the father of the child.
• But because Uriah didn’t consume his
marriage, the King sent him to sure death by
ordering his general to place him in the front
lines.
• After Uriah’s death, David married the
widowed Bathsheba.
• The painting is today displayed in the
Louvre Museum in Paris.

9. Danaë
• Danaë (finished in 1636) isn’t only one of Rembrandt’s
best nude paintings but one of the greatest
masterpieces of the celebrated Dutch artist.
• Just like the painting’s title suggests, it depicts Danaë,
the mother of the ancient Greek mythological hero
Perseus.
• The life-sized depiction of Danaë is thought to show
her welcoming Zeus who came to her in the form of
golden rain.
• In the 1770s, the painting was bought by Catherine II
of Russia and has been housed in the Hermitage
Museum in Saint Petersburg ever since.

10. The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis
• The last Rembrandt’s painting with a secular
theme (completed in 1661-62) depicts the leader
of the Batavian Rebellion (69-70 AD) Claudius
Civilis .
• The Batavi chiefs promising to join the rebellion
against the Roman Empire.
• The Conspiracy of Claudius Civilis was
commissioned for the new Town Hall in
Amsterdam but it was soon returned to
Rembrandt who dramatically cut it down (to one
quarter of the original size) and slightly
modified it in order to make it easier to sell.
• In the 18th century, the painting was acquired by
the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts that later
deposited it in the National Museum in
Stockholm where it has remained ever since.

11. The Sampling Officials
• Also referred to as the Syndics of the Drapers’
Guild, this painting (completed in 1662) is a
group portrait of the syndics of the
Amsterdam Drapers Guild.
• Whose job was to evaluate the quality of
fabric offered by weavers to the guild
members.
• The exception is the man wearing calotte in
the back who is a servant.
• The painting was commissioned by the
Amsterdam Drapers Guild for their guild hall
that housed it until the early 1770s.
• Today, The Sampling Officials is among the
greatest treasures of the Rijksmuseum in
Amsterdam.

12. The Return of the Prodigal Son
• The Return of the Prodigal Son is among the
last works of the celebrated Dutch painter
and is believed to be completed shortly
before his death.
• The life-sized painting depicts the Biblical
story of the prodigal son at the moment he
returns to his father, regretting his sins and
begging for forgiveness.
• There is no agreement about who are the
other figures in the painting, most notably
who is the unforgiving older brother.
• According to some critics, it is the young man
at the doorway in the back but according to
others, it is the standing man on the right.
• The painting is one of the highlights of the
Hermitage Museum’s Western European Art
collection.

13. Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph
• This painting (completed in 1656) depicts
Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob bringing
his sons Ephraim and Manasseh to his
dying father to give them his blessing.
• But unlike in the Biblical story in which
Jacob is blessing Ephraim and Manasseh
simultaneously, he is blessing only the
younger Ephraim.
• Rembrandt also added Asenath, Joseph’s
wife and mother of his sons who wasn’t
present in the Biblical account of the Jacob’s
blessing of Joseph’s sons.
• This Rembrandt’s masterpiece is owned by
and displayed in the Museumslandschaft
Hessen Kassel in Germany.

14. Thank you…