As the first in our series on famous artists, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is considered one of the most renowned artists of all times. Born in what is now the Netherlands during the Renaissance period, Rembrandt is known not only for his portraits, but also for his religious paintings.
Rembrandt’s Life and Works
He is credited with completing close to 300 paintings, 300 etchings and over 40 self-portraits. Rembrandt’s most common subjects were landscapes, portraiture and religious paintings done as narratives. He claimed that his greatest ambition was to capture movement in his paintings, and his religious paintings are clear examples of that.
Rembrandt shared his knowledge and took many students under his tutelage during his lifetime. He was also willing to change his style and the mediums in which he worked. During his early career his paintings were much more refined, but later in his life he began to paint with abandon and focused more on the final outcome than the process of getting there.
While his life was fraught with personal tragedy, he was able to focus and capture some of the most gripping images of all time in his paintings and etchings. Some of his most famous works include: Return of the Prodigal Son, Matthew and the Angel, and Christ in the Storm. The mix of raw emotion and movement in the works captures the eye and makes the observer linger within the details of the paintings.
Rembrandt died in Amsterdam in 1669. He is still considered to be one of the finest landscape and portrait painters of all time. His paintings and etchings continue to be some of the most revered pieces in the world.
Classroom Activities for Rembrandt:
Create a lapbook about the life and works of Rembrandt.
Have students draw or paint their self-portraits.
Using a favorite class story as inspiration, encourage students to draw or paint a scene that includes movement.
Assign students (or let them choose) one of Rembrandt’s works to research and present to the class.
Rembrandt Resources:
http://www.abcgallery.com/R/rembrandt/rembrandt.html
How do you teach children about famous artists? Share in the comments below or on the Really Good Teachers Forums!
Jessica Carlson says
A great way to introduce students to art and artists. Especially when some schools have cut art programs.
Amber says
Thanks for the ideas. I think this would be a great art tie in at the beginning of the year when we are talking about Who We Are. I normally have students draw a self portrait of themselves so they can share with their classmates. I think showing some of Rembrandt’s paintings would inspire them in their artistic journey. I really like the second link provided: http://www.rembrandthuis.ni. Just make sure and click English language at the bottom of the screen to see it in English. Looking at the site also shows a time line of his life and thought that would be a good skill to tie in as it is apart of our standards. Thanks again!
Jens J. Reinke says
This is great!
It is not common to teach art in this way to young students, I’m afraid. From what I experienced in the different schools, art is considered to be a ‘backburner issue’. It is great to see which efforts are done here to promote the better understanding of one of humanity’s foundations!
Best,
Jens
Amber J says
My campus does have an art teacher and program, but I love the idea of letting students research artists. A colleague and I developed a non-fiction research unit for our third graders this year (we focused on animals) but I think biographies on people they’ve not heard of before would be a great way to show them a new side of history!