The son of a miller, he began to work as an independent painter in 1625. His early output was largely devoted to sacred
subjects and characterized by dynamic schemes of composition and violent luministic effects that reveal the influence of Caravaggio filtered through the School of Utrecht (\i Christ and the Pilgrims of Emmaus\i0 , Paris, MusΘe Jacquemart-AndrΘ). Over th
e same period Rembrandt made numerous studies of heads and painted self-portraits of great expressiveness. In 1613 he moved to Amsterdam, where he built up a reputation as a portrait painter, and in 1634 he married Saskia, the niece or granddaughter of a
wealthy art merchant. The cityÆs guild of surgeons commissioned him to paint the celebrated \i Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Tulp\i0 (1632, Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum) in which the scene is rendered dramatic by the use of strong contrasts of light and shade. In
this group portrait and his individual portraits, such as \i Saskia Laughing\i0 (Dresden, GemΣldegalerie), \i Johannes Elison and Mary Bockemolle\i0 (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts), or \i Man in Oriental Costume\i0 (Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum), the artist
demonstrates a capacity for deep psychological insight and a mastery of technique. In addition to his portraits and paintings of religious or mythological subjects, Rembrandt is famous for his drawings and engravings, and outstanding among them is the so
-called ôHundred Guilder Printö (\i Christ Healing the Sick\i0 , 1642-45). With the \i Night Watch\i0 , one of his most celebrated masterpieces, he reached the pinnacle of his success. After the death of three children and his wife, Rembrandt abandoned h
is activity as a formal portraitist of the bourgeoisie and from 1650 onward, carried out a profound investigation of the inner nature of the individual and the emotional and spiritual aspects of human existence. In the paintings from this period his brus
hwork becomes freer (\i Bathsheba,\i0 \i The Holy Family\i0 ; \i The Supper at Emmaus\i0 , Paris, Louvre; \i Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer\i0 , New York, Metropolitan Museum; \i Young Man Bathing in a Stream\i0 , London, National Gallery;
\i Young Man on a Horse\i0 , New York, Frick Collection). One should not forget his numerous self-portraits of great emotional intensity that, together with the ones he painted in his youth, make up a sort of lucid autobiography of the artist (\i Self-port
