Rembrandtesque

About

Rembrandt's manner was imitated in his own lifetime. His Amsterdam workshop trained many pupils, among them Gerrit Dou, Govert Flinck, Ferdinand Bol and Carel Fabritius, who absorbed his golden browns and theatrical light, and the closeness of their work has fuelled long debates over attribution. Jan Lievens, his early companion in Leiden, shared his interest in old heads and strong lighting.

The look is easy to describe. A figure emerges from shadowy browns, lit from one side; highlights on skin, gold or cloth are built up in thick, broken paint, while the darks stay thin and translucent. Faces, especially in the late self-portraits, show age and inner life without flattery. Joshua Reynolds studied these effects closely in the 18th century, 19th-century etchers prized Rembrandt's rich drypoint, and painters such as Mihály Munkácsy adopted a comparable dark-toned drama.