Rembrandt in Amsterdam

Book excerpt: "In a major exhibition, the Städel Museum, together with the National Gallery of Canada, will for the first time address Rembrandt's rise to international fame during his formative years in Amsterdam, between 1630 and 1655. The presentation combines the Städel's collection of works by Rembrandt, including The Blinding of Samson (1636), with outstanding loans from international collections, such as the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, the National Gallery in London, the Museo del Prado in Madrid, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In this exhibition, Rembrandt's art enters into dialogue with masterpieces by older and younger artists of his time, such as Nicolas Eliasz Pickenoy and Bartholomeus van der Helst, and with brilliant works by his own former students, such as Govaert Flinck and Ferdinand Bol. Rembrandt's pictorial production, and his impact, were surprisingly broad, encompassing landscapes, genre scenes, and still life as well as history paintings and portraits. Groupings of closely related paintings will illuminate Rembrandt's place in Amsterdam's creative network and show how the confrontation with his competitors influenced his artistic development and entrepreneurial ambitions. In Amsterdam, an exceptional number of talented artists competed for the attention and patronage of the wealthy and art-loving middle classes. It was precisely this exciting and stimulating atmosphere that challenged the young artist from Leiden to become the world-famous master still known today as Rembrandt."--