Lecture 34: Rembrandt
At one time, much was made about the un-idealized body of Bathsheba, but
the natural beauty of this life-size ¿ gure is clear enough, and her character is
even clearer. Her sadness seems almost radiant.We return to etching with The Three Trees (1643). There is a great deal of
surface tone here; for instance, ink was left on the surface of the plate in the
clouds at the left center, which then printed with drypoint burr, creating a
wonderful atmospheric effect. A burin was used for cutting the deep diagonals
on the left; these are almost abstract. Rembrandt used drypoint in the deep,
dark trees to the right. The etching shows a couple ¿ shing, an artist sketching,
and lovers in the bushes. The three trees symbolize the three crosses of the
cruci¿ xion, and the turbulence of the sky at left is in response to this event.There is no iconographic precedent for Rembrandt’s etching of Christ
Preaching (c. 1652). Christ stands on a platform and is lit by a beam of
divine light. The ¿ gures hear Christ’s words in different ways. This work is
exquisitely delicate and sensitive.One of Rembrandt’s later works is The Syndics of the Cloth Guild (1662).
These were the of¿ cials in charge of maintaining the standards of the cloth
drapers’ guild. Remember that this is a group portrait, not a town meeting.
That is, it must not be imagined that the Syndics are on a sort of dais
above an audience. For that matter, they were surely not all seated together
for the portrait. The composition is Rembrandt’s invention; the sitters sat
individually for their portraits. Given that there is no “occasion” that explains
their actions, then those, too, are Rembrandt’s inventions. Their poses are
not typical of group portraits, in that they all look intently at us; we seem to
have interrupted them by our entrance.There are ¿ ve of the Syndics and one secretary or aide who is hatless. The
second man from the left rises in response to our presence. I can think of
no other group portrait in which the poses, the action, are impelled by the
viewer of the painting. Note the table corner and its glorious color, the low
viewpoint, and the gloves and cloth purse at right. The light falls from two
sources: high on the back of the left wall and more frontally on the faces.
Note also the melodic line of the heads, the rhythmic grouping of the men.
The portrait has an immediacy that is startling.