Rembrandt's 400th

Rembrandt van Rijn was born 15 July 1606 in Weddesteeg (outside the walls of Leiden) near the Rhine River in the Netherlands. As NPR says, "The Dutch master's canvases told stories from history and the Bible, and he was the leading portrait painter of his day."

One aspect of his work that remains inspirational is his honesty. As Susan Stamberg reports, "His paint brush was pitiless" when it came to the self-portraits he created throughout his life. (Above, an etching before he was 25.)

• Rembrandt's Unsparing Eye, NPR report
• Rembrandt 400
  
• Self-portraits, in chronological order
• Rembrandt-Caravaggio Exhibit, Van Gogh Museum (Click on the heading for the online comparison between the two artists)
  
• Rembrandt's Late Religious Portraits, National Gallery of Art
• The Masterpieces Special, Rijksmuseum