THE DRAWINGS OF REMBRANDT. A NEW STUDY

REMBRANDT VAN RIJN (1606-1669)

This survey of Rembrandt’s extraordinary achievement as a draughtsman fills a gap in the enormous literature on Rembrandt.

More than 150 drawings – mostly illustrated in colour – made during every phase of his activity, are divided by subject into sixteen chapters: Self-portraits; Religious Subjects; Landscapes and so forth. Rembrandt himself kept many of his own drawings of different subjects in separate portfolios and books, so grouping his drawings by subject clarifies Rembrandt’s astonishing range as a draughtsman.

Comparative figures illustrate Rembrandt’s own paintings and etchings, for which sketches discussed in the text served as preliminary or finished studies. A smaller group is works sketched by Rembrandt after Leonardo, Raphael, Titian, and other predecessors. They are juxtaposed with Rembrandt’s own surprisingly creative copies and variations after them, thus making his genius crystal clear.

'With refreshing vigour, Seymour Slive, armed with love and long-term knowledge, has written a masterly overview of the artist’s achievements, successfully cutting through the minefield of dissent. By treating the drawings according to subject, he has brought out the universality of Rembrandt’s interests’
Sir Christopher White, Former Director of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford

‘This lavishly produced book provides an eloquent introduction to Rembrandt’s drawings. Couched in an engaging style, Professor Slive’s profound knowledge of his topic enables him to guide the reader deftly through the wonders of this famously tricky terrain.… Professor Slive takes account of recent developments in the study of his field and offers numerous insights into Rembrandt’s ever inventive styles, techniques and creative processes’
Martin Royalton-Kisch, author of Drawings by Rembrandt and His Circle in the British Museum

Seymour Slive, an expert on seventeenth-century Dutch art, is Gleason Professor of Fine Arts emeritus at Harvard University and former director of the Fogg Museum there.