which was also the year the artist completed The Night-
watch (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum). During the late
16405, Hendrickje Stoffels came to live with him as a
housekeeper. Financial difficulties set in, culminating in
bankruptcy in 1656 and the auctioning of Rembrandt's
possessions in 1657 and 1658. Some of his greatest por-
traits date to his later years, including the Group Portrait
of the Cloth Samplers (The Syndics) (1662; Amsterdam,
Rijksmuseum).GUIDO RENT
Bologna 1575-1642
Guido Reni was first apprenticed to the Flemish artist
Denys Calvaert; in 1594 he joined the Carracci academy.
Between 1595 and 1599 he painted numerous altarpieces
for local churches, including the Madonna of the Rosary
(1596-1598; Basilica di San Luca). Around 1600 he
moved to Rome, where the powerful naturalism and dra-
matic lighting of Caravaggio briefly attracted him, as can
be seen in the Crucifixion of Saint Peter (1605-1606; Vat-
ican, Pinacoteca). A more enduring influence was the
ideal, monumental classicism of Raphael's art, as can be
seen in Reni's Aurora fresco (1614; Casino Rospigliosi
Pallavicini). Reni returned to Bologna in 1614 and soon
became the city's leading artist. Among his most impor-
tant works there are the Pietd del Mendicanti (1613-1616)
and the Pala delle Peste (1631), both in the Pinacoteca Na-
zionale. His late style is broader and looser, as in Saint
Jerome and the Angel (1640-1642; Detroit Institute of
Arts).
JONATHAN RICHARDSON, SR.
London 1665-1745
Richardson was an artist, a writer on art, and a distin-
guished collector of drawings. He studied with the por-
trait painter John Riley and went on to become a por-
traitist in his own right. Richardson is best known for his
drawings of himself and his son, executed in black lead
on vellum and in black and white chalk on blue paper.
His theoretical writings, especially Theory of Painting
(1715), were widely read and were of particular impor-
tance to Sir Joshua Reynolds, who studied with Thomas
Hudson, a pupil of Richardson. Richardson is recog-
nized as one of the greatest drawings connoisseurs in the
history of collecting. He built a renowned personal col-
lection and helped to shape other important collections
of his time, such as those of the duke of Devonshire and
the earl of Pembroke.HUBERT ROBERT
Paris 1733-1808
Following a brief period of study with the sculptor
Michel-Ange Slodtz, Robert accompanied the French
ambassador, comte de Stainville, to Rome in 1754. There
he became friends with Fragonard and his patron the
Abbe de Saint-Non, traveling with them to Naples and
Paestum. In addition the work of G. P. Panini had a de-
cisive influence on Robert. A prolific draughtsman, he
made studies of the picturesque scenery of Rome and its
surroundings, creating real and imaginary views of an-
tique ruins animated with small-scale figures in various
activities, as can be seen in The Winding Staircase at Villa
Farnese, Caprarola (1764; Paris, Louvre). He perfected
this genre in France upon his return in 1765. Elected to
the Academic in 1766, Robert enjoyed a successful career
and expanded his repertoire to include views of contem-
porary Paris such as the Demolition of Houses on the Pont
Notre-Dame (1786; Louvre). Robert's marriage of antiq-
uity and modern life with the picturesque, executed with
great technical facility, was admirably suited to the taste
of his public.SALVATOR ROSA
Arenella (Naples) 1615-Rome 1673
Rosa received his earliest training in Naples from his un-
cle Domenico Antonio Greco. Between 1632 and 1635 he
worked in the studios of Jusepe Ribera and Aniello Fal-
cone, followed by two extended trips to Rome in 1635-
1636 and 1638-1640. Rosa specialized in rustic, pictur-
esque landscapes and battle scenes, which became widely
popular. Nevertheless, the recognition he sought was
that of a learned painter of historical and philosophical
subjects. Having moved to Florence in 1640, Rosa de-
voted himself to this end, encouraged by the erudite so-
cial circle he frequented. From these years date such mas-
terpieces as the classicizing Alexander and Diogenes
(Althorp House) and the Grove of Philosophers (Florence,
Pitti). Returning to Rome in 1649, he maintained an in-
tense level of artistic activity which included printmak-
ing. Rosa developed a taste for mysterious and fantastic
themes, as can be seen in Democritus in Meditation (1650;
Copenhagen, Statens Museum for Kunst), the Humanas
Fragilitas (Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum), and prints
including Jason and the Dragon (1664; [6.18(275)^.45,20]).
An unorthodox and eccentric personality, he is consid-
ered a precursor of the nineteenth-century Romantics.350 ARTISTS BIOGRAPHIES