Synopses & Reviews
Rembrandts paintings have been admired throughout centuries because of their artistic freedom. But Rembrandt was also a craftsman whose painting technique was rooted the tradition.
Rembrandt—The Painter at Work is the result of a lifelong search for Rembrandt's working methods, his intellectual approach to the art of painting and the way in which his studio functioned. Ernst van de Wetering demonstrates how this knowledge can be used to tackle questions about authenticity and other art-historical issues. Approximately 350 illustrations, half of which are reproduced in colour, make this book into a monumental tribute to one of the worlds most important painters.
"The book is—if one may be allowed to say such a thing about a serious scholarly work—a gripping good-read.'
Christopher White, The Burlington Magazine
"This is a very rich book, a deeply felt analysis of an artist whom the author knows better than almost any other living scholar."
Christopher Brown, Times Literary Supplement
Synopsis
Rembrandts paintings have been admired throughout centuries because of their artistic freedom. But Rembrandt was also a craftsman whose painting technique was rooted the tradition.
RembrandtThe Painter at Work is the result of a lifelong search for Rembrandt's working methods, his intellectual approach to the art of painting and the way in which his studio functioned. Ernst van de Wetering demonstrates how this knowledge can be used to tackle questions about authenticity and other art-historical issues. Approximately 350 illustrations, half of which are reproduced in colour, make this book into a monumental tribute to one of the worlds most important painters.
"The book isif one may be allowed to say such a thing about a serious scholarly worka gripping good-read.'
Christopher White, The Burlington Magazine
"This is a very rich book, a deeply felt analysis of an artist whom the author knows better than almost any other living scholar."
Christopher Brown, Times Literary Supplement
About the Author
Ernst van de Wetering is full professor of Art History at the University of Amsterdam. He has published extensively on historic painting techniques, as well as in the field of theory and ethics of conservation and restoration.
Table of Contents
PrefaceAcknowledgments
I. Introduction: Rembrandt - an Alchemist?Workshop SecretsThe Self-Supporting Studio
II. Painting Materials and Working Methods of the Young RembrandtThe SupportThe GroundThe First Sketch, the Monochrome Underpainting and the First Lay-in of ColourThe "Working-up"
III. Lost Drawings and the Use of Erasable Drawing Boards and "Tafeletten"Lost Drawing Exercises"Tavolette"Drawing Tablets in Seventeenth-Century Prints, a False Lead?"Tafeletten" and "Tablets a Papier"Surviving Dutch "Tafeletten"
IV. The Creation of the Pictorial IdeaOn the Function of DrawingsThe Painting ContestsRembrandt's Studio Scene and its Art-Theoretical Statement
V. The Canvas SupportIntroductionRadiographs as a Means of Studying the CanvasHistoric Sources on the Nature and Origin of Canvas Used by PaintersThread DensityProblems Determining the Warp DirectionThread Density and Weave Characteristics of Canvases by or Attributed to RembrandtInterpreting theStrip Widths and Painting FormatsSome Remarks on the Grounds of Rembrandt's Canvases
VI. The Palette; on the Relationship between Style and Painting TechniqueSelective PalettesThe Development of the Palette as a ToolPalettes for teh Blue Robe, a White Horse or Human SkinTechnical LimitationsRembrandt's Use of Limited Palettes and the Concept of "Houding"
VII. Rembrandt's Brushwork and Illusionism; an Art-Theoretical ApproachThe Visible BrushstrokeTraditional Formulae and Experimental DevelopmentsPaint Surface and Evocation of Space
VIII. Rembrandt's Method of Working in the "Night Watch" and his Late PaintingsDoerner's "Glazing Myth"The Night WatchThe Late RembrandtThe Local "Imprimatura"Elaborating the Flesh Tints
IX. The Search for Rembrandt's Binding MediumQuestioning the Painter's EyeQuestioning Scientists' ResultsA New Effort to "Break the Code"Additions to Rembrandt's Paint
X. The Impact of Time and Rembrandt's Ideas on Colour and ToneThe Yellowed Varnish and the Different Aging of PaintRembrandt's Intentions with Colour and ToneThe Aging of PigmentsThe Darkening of Paint and the Etchings as Touchstones
XI. Perspectives on the Quality of Rembrandt's ArtRembrandt, the Famous PainterContemporary PraiseThe Craftsman and the ArtistEpilogue on Quality
Biographical Data, and Chronological List of Rembrandt's Works Reproduced in this Book NotesBibliographyGlossaryIndexConcordancePhoto Acknowledgements