Rembrandt is among the few outstanding artists of universal appeal, his striking self-portraits lauded the world over – yet he remains an elusive, enigmatic figure.

Here, the distinguished art historian Christopher White carefully considers the known facts to build a sensitive and thorough account of the artist’s life and work. He describes the radiant happiness of Rembrandt’s marriage, tragically cut short by the death of his wife, and discusses the catastrophe of his bankruptcy. The psychological factors that may have awakened Rembrandt’s sudden interest in landscape are also explored, as is the artist’s final decade, when he retreated into the private world of his imagination. This comprehensive introduction has now been revised and updated to reflect recent scholarship, and the bibliography has been expanded; Rembrandt’s artworks are now faithfully reproduced in colour throughout.

Contents List

1. A provincial youth
2. Amsterdam and prosperity
3. A change of direction
4. New patrons and new companions
5. In adversity, immortality

Christopher White has been Director of the Ashmolean Museum, and Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford since 1985. He has written widely on Dutch art, particularly on Rembrandt, and is also the author of books on Rubens, Van Dyck, Dürer and the English landscape.