Rembrandt’s late paintings created visual effects as much by surface textures, as by form or colour; his secret lies in how he was able to do this in his paint.
Rembrandt
If you thought glassware was tough, try painting gems and jewellery. Here are a few paintings where this has worked, including two of Rembrandt’s.
Feet playing major roles in paintings by Gustave Moreau, Tintoretto, Rembrandt, Böcklin, Lovis Corinth, and others.
Rembrandt’s Belshazzar’s Feast, Tintoretto, William Blake, and Lawrence Alma-Tadema’s painting of Sappho each rely on words.
Two paintings of the martyrdom by stoning of Saint Stephen, one by Rembrandt, together with Gustave Doré’s fine engravings take us further up the mountain of Purgatory.
Until 1880, varnishing oil paintings was standard practice, but three completely different types of varnish were used. A journey through names like sandarac and colophony.
Since the decline of egg tempera and fresco in the Renaissance, oil paints have predominated. They rely on drying oils as their binder, which give them longevity and versatility.
Rembrandt’s Jewish Bride; Gérôme’s Carpet Merchant; Sargent’s Arab Woman; Cézanne’s Forest Scene. Each at different levels of detail.
Mephistopheles (the devil) makes a bet with the Lord that he can lead his faithful servant Faust astray. Faust has grown weary of scholarship, and is looking for something better.
A whirlwind trip through the history of compositional chiaroscuro, from the Renaissance, through Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi, to Rembrandt.
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