THE ALLEGORY OF TASTE - A FIFTH REMBRANDT - LOST AND NEVER FOUND

 

 

 

 

 

THE ALLEGORY OF TASTE  - A FIFTH REMBRANDT - LOST AND NEVER FOUND

The Dutch artist Rembrandt's series of paintings (Allegory series), the fifth one is missing and never found.  

Rembrandt's work is regarded as a stroke of genius.  

 

The works are part of a series depicting the senses - 'Spectacles Seller (allegory of sight)', 'Three Musicians (allegory of hearing)', 'Unconscious Patient (allegory of smell)', and Stone Operation (allegory of touch'. A fifth Rembrandt in the series - 'The Allegory of Taste' - has never been found.

 

Rembrandt's earliest works, painted when the Dutch master was only 18 years old, are on display together for the first time in his hometown of Leiden.

 

Leiden's  De Lakenhal museum, thought to be only a stone's throw from where Rembrandt's studio would have been, has opened the collection of four paintings to the public from January 20.

"It's very mysterious.  We are quite sure that Rembrandt actually made five paintings in this series because there are five senses and not four," museum curator Janneke van Asperen said.

Rembrandt's work shows that even at a young age, he was prepared to break convention.  At the time, the senses were generally portrayed by elegant female figures.

"The talent that we see in these works is already very exceptional," said Van Asperen.  

 

The early works show signs of what would become Rembrandt's signature qualities, such as broad brush strokes and the use of chiaroscuro, an oil technique involving strong contrasts to create three-dimensional figures with dramatic effect.  

Mini Biography :

 

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in the history of art.

 

He was born in Leiden, Netherlands on 15th July, 1606.

He died in Amsterdam,  Netherlands on 4th October, 1669.

 

He was an expert of Baroque painting.  Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was one of the best Dutch painters of the 17th century.

Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Carel Fabritius, et al were influenced by his work.

 

 

                               

                                   Return of the prodigal Son by Rembrandt

 
At about age 10, Rembrandt entered the Latin School in Leiden, where he studied Classical and biblical works and oratory, but he soon left to train as an artist. He learned how to render everything from landscape to architecture, from still life to drapery, from animals to people, and how to arrange them in complex scenes.

 

One of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, possessing an exceptional ability to render people in their moods and dramatic guises. Rembrandt is also known as a painter of light and shade and as an artist who favored an uncompromising realism that would lead some critics to claim that he preferred ugliness to beauty.

 

Early in his career and for some time, Rembrandt painted mainly portraits. Although he continued to paint—and etch and, occasionally, draw—portraits throughout his career, he did so less frequently over time. Roughly one-tenth of his painted and etched oeuvre consists of studies of his own face as well as more formal self-portraits, a fact that has led to much speculation.

 

 

                           

                                              A self-portrait of Rembrandt

 

At the end of 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam, a city rapidly expanding as the business and trade capital. He began to practice as a professional portraitist for the first time, with great success. He initially stayed with an art dealer, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, and in 1634, married Hendrick's cousin, Saskia van Uylenburgh. Saskia came from a respected family: her father Rombert was a lawyer and had been burgomaster (mayor) of Leeuwarden. The couple married in the local church of St. Annaparochie without the presence of Rembrandt's relatives.  In the same year, Rembrandt became a citizen of Amsterdam and a member of the local guild of painters. He also acquired a number of students, among them Ferdinand Bol and Govert Flinck.

 

In 1635, Rembrandt and Saskia rented a fashionable lodging with a view of the river Amstel. In 1639 they moved to a large and recently modernized house in the upscale 'Breestraat' with artists and art dealers; Nicolaes Pickenoy, a portrait painter was his neighbor. The mortgage to finance the 13,000 guilder purchase would be a cause for later financial difficulties.

 

 
Although they were by now affluent, the couple suffered several personal setbacks; three children died within weeks of their births. Only their fourth child, Titus, who was born in 1641, survived into adulthood. Saskia died in 1642, probably from tuberculosis.

 

In early 1649, Rembrandt began a relationship with the 23-year-old Hendrickje Stoffels, who had initially been his maid. She may have been the cause of Geertje's leaving. In 1654 Rembrandt produced a controversial nude Bathsheba at Her Bath. In June Hendrickje received three summonses from the Reformed Church to answer the charge "that she had committed the acts of a whore with Rembrandt the painter". In July she admitted her guilt and was banned from receiving communion.  Rembrandt was not summoned to appear for the Church council. In October they had a daughter, Cornelia. Had he remarried he would have lost access to a trust set up for Titus in Saskia's will.

 

                        

                                 Rembrandt's Bathsheba at her bath

 

Rembrandt, despite his artistic success, found himself in financial turmoil. His penchant for acquiring art, prints, and rare items led him to live beyond his means. In January 1653 the sale of the property formally was finalized but Rembrandt still had to cover half of the remaining mortgage. Creditors began pressing for installments but Rembrandt, facing financial strain, sought a postponement. The house required repairs prompting Rembrandt to borrow money from friends, including Jan Six.

 

 

The core of Rembrandt’s oeuvre, however, consists of biblical and—to a much lesser extent—historical, mythological, and allegorical “history pieces,” all of which he painted, etched, or sketched in pen and ink or chalk. Seen over his whole career, the changes in Rembrandt’s style are remarkable. His approach to composition and his rendering of space and light—like his handling of contour, form, and color, his brushwork, and (in his drawings and etchings) his treatment of line and tone—are subject to gradual (or sometimes abrupt) transformation, even within a single work.

 

Rembrandt is considered one of the greatest storytellers in art, unusually gifted in rendering people in various moods and guises. His works suggest an acute and loving attention toward the world around him and a strong understanding of the significant detail—a dual quality that inspired later artists.

 

His etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters.

 

Rembrandt created works in several genres, including portraits and “history pieces.” Group portraits included The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632), Night Watch (1642), and The Syndics of the Amsterdam Drapers’ Guild (1662). “History pieces” included Judas Repentant (1628/29), Descent from the Cross (1632/33), Jacob’s Blessing (1656), and Conspiracy of the Batavians (1661).

 

Rembrandt quickly achieved renown among Dutch art lovers and an art-buying public for his history paintings and etchings, as well as his portraits and self-portraits. His unusual etchings brought him international fame during his lifetime, and his drawings, which in fact were done as practice exercises or as studies for other works, were also collected by contemporary art lovers.

 

According to the myth that evolved after his death, Rembrandt died poor and misunderstood. It is true that by the end of his life, his realism had been supplanted by Classicism and had become unfashionable in Holland. Nevertheless, his international reputation among connoisseurs and collectors only continued to rise. Certain artists in 18th-century Germany and Venice even adopted his style. He was venerated during the Romantic era and was considered a forerunner of the Romantic movement; from that point, he was regarded as one of the greatest figures in art history. In the Netherlands itself, his fortunes have once again risen, and he has become a symbol of both greatness and Dutchness.

 

                             

                                         Rembrandt statue in Leiden, his hometown

 

                                           

The greater breadth and depth of Rembrandt's vision and imagination and his far greater psychological insight, not to mention his vastly superior technical skill which qualities made him a far superior artist of his contemporaries.