This is Rembrandt

This Is...

by Nick Higgins (Illustrator), Jorella Andrews

Rembrandt van Rijn is the quintessential Old Master. His intimately observed, vivid and profoundly atmospheric works are what many museum-goers consider traditional painting ought to be. But in his own lifetime Rembrandt was not always so well regarded. The expressive honesty of his paintings and prints could evoke disdain as easily as admiration. For more than a century after his death his style was dismissed by many academically trained art theorists and critics. In the nineteenth century, however, he was championed by artists fired by the revolution and change of their times. For them, Rembrandt was a kindred, radical spirit, his paintings imbued with a truly modern ethos. Born at the beginning of the seventeenth century in the Golden Age of the newly formed Dutch Republic, Rembrandt found early fame and great wealth as a painter, living with the opulence of a rock star. But he spent way beyond his means. When, midway through his career, public taste turned away from him, these combined factors proved ruinous. For the rest of his life he would be destitute, crippled by debt, the loss of patrons and the deaths of loved ones. Nonetheless, he continued to paint with the same passion. The art he produced in his final years is arguably his most enduringly sensitive and open.

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction

80 pages, Hardcover

First published March 29, 2016

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good concise and informational art biography in the "This is. . ." series, this one about the great Dutch Master Rembrandt. I think the illustrator, Nick Huggins, had a challenge when trying to evoke the work of the great painter. If he were working with a surrealist, he could do funky surreal spin-offs, but to do sketchy modern illustrations in juxtaposition with Rembrandt, it's a bit jarring.

But the bio I liked a lot. I knew a lot of this abrupt "rise and fall" story of Rembrandt's life, and of course knew he died basically in financial ruins, only to attain a status of one of the greatest painters ever AFTER his death.

The Nightwatch:

http://www.rembrandtpainting.net/nigh...

[Ferda Nihat Koksoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

"İşte ....." ressamlar serisinden okuduğum bu 3.kitabın hikayelerinin oldukça güzel, çizimlerinin ise karmaşık ve Rembrandt'ın tarzına uygun olmadığını söyleyebilirim.

Psikolojik derinlikli resimleri, kolay incinir olan herhangi bir kişi ya da herhangi bir şeyin hayrete düşüren bir duyarlılıkla tasviri (yaygın olan idealize ve heybetli olanın resmedilmesinin aksine), her türlü yüzeyin niteliklerini neredeyse büyüleyici bir rahatlık ve doğrulukla aktarabilmesi,
Kalvinizm'de çok önemli olan tevazu, ölçülülük ve sağduyu değerlerini ustalıkla yansıtması, oldukça varlıklıyken lükse düşkünlük ve müsriflik nedeniyle yoksulluk içinde pişmanlığın resmini (Müsrif Oğulun Dönüşü) yaparak bitirdiği hayatı: REMBRANDT

[Yochanan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the style of writing and the funky illustrations.

[Nga · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short book that portrays Rembrandt's life and work succinctly and charmingly. The author must have admired Rembrandt's talent and personality so as to write about the famous artist with such consideration and tenderness.

[Jaymee · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of his life, and not so much on his art, though of course the former informs the latter. His resiliency despite losing patrons and most especially his family one by one is admirable; he continued on, producing his best works at the end of his life, where he has lost almost everything. I also appreciated the info about his "errors" in his works, saying that these are true to nature, refusing to conform to the period's fascination with perfection in still life paintings. I also loved the illustrations in this book; it's cartoonish but not in a childish way, but one that contrasted the serious works and the dark colors of Rembrandt (thereby enhancing it).

[Emine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iste sanat serisinde resimler kagit kalitesinden ve baskidan dolayi gercekten cok guzel gorunuyor. Bir yandan da yazarin hayati donemin sosyolojik yapisi hakkinda bilginiz oluyor. Bu da cok keyifli bir sey. Bu sekilde baska seriler de var ama simdiye kadar incelediklerim icerisinde gerek resmin gorunumu gerek metin acisindan en hoslanarak okudugum bu serinin kitaplari idi. Ve Rembrandt muhtesem bir ressam.

[Pınar Tınaztepe Kaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hep Kitap'ın "İşte Sanat" serisindeki 17 kitaptan biri olan İşte Rembrandt'ı okumak benim için bir zevkti. Yakın zamanda Frankfurt'taki Städel Müzesi'nde gittiğim Rembrandt'ın sergisinde birçok eserini inceleme şansım olmuştu. Gördüğüm eserler haricinde görmediğim birçok eserine ait bilgiyi de bu kitap sayesinde öğrenmiş oldum. Eserleri hâlâ günümüzü aydınlatmaya devam ediyor. Kendisinin de dediği gibi, "Resim doğanın torunu. Doğrudan Tanrı'yla ilişkisi var."

[Henk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een heel goede inleiding in het leven en het werk van Rembrandt van Rijn.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully high quality prints. With story telling art between a biography on Rembrandt’s up and down life.

[bookishgems · Rating 4 out of 5]

i've always been interested in art history and this book convinced me to pick up the rest of the series. i enjoyed it. this is a good starting point for learning about the man behind the famous paintings.

↠ 4 stars

[Martin De jong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Las dit in de Nederlandse editie waarin ik op de eerste pagina al een grammaticale miskleun tegenkwam - daarom voor straf een ster eraf.