Rembrandt A Life in 180 paintings

Ernst van de Wetering

Rembrandt: A Life in 180 Paintings

Rembrandt, a life in 180 paintings is a special book for several reasons. The author, Prof. Ernst van de Wetering, was head of the Rembrandt Research Project (RRP) and has been intensively engaged for over fifty years with many aspects of Rembrandt as a painter. His book, Rembrandt. The painter at work (1997), has become a classic in the field. In his book and in many other publications, Van de Wetering has "redefined" Rembrandt—as a pioneer in the art of painting, as a teacher, an artist in the world of art-lovers, and as a thinker about art.

Van de Wetering is everywhere respected as one of the greatest Rembrandt scholars ever. In this book, with the help of 180 paintings and a mass of visual material supporting the narrative account of the painter's life, he sketches Rembrandt's artistic development. Beside this biography, Van de Wetering uses numerous short text-insets to go more deeply into a range of different aspects of Rembrandt’s work, giving us a better insight into Rembrandt’s art and thought. At the same time, en passant, the reader is introduced to the world of contemporary Rembrandt research.

In short, Rembrandt, a life in 180 paintings is much more than a traditional biography. It is the synthesis of a lifetime’s work on and pleasure in Rembrandt, written for the uninitiated but also containing hidden treasures for the insider. The combination of image and text is intended to give the reader the feeling of looking over Rembrandt’s shoulder while he is at work.

Rembrandt, a life in 180 paintings appears on the occasion of the exhibition Rembrandt, Full Size Reproductions.