In the art world, there is a list of names that everyone knows, even those who are barely familiar with art at all. Rembrandt is one of those names and some Rembrandt trivia will show that his contributions were as important as it might seem at first glance. He was a seventeenth century Dutch painter, although he is as famous for his engravings as he is for his paintings. He was also extremely important as a teacher. A lot of the world’s most important art comes from artists of Dutch background, and that is in a large part due to the teachings of Rembrandt which he passed on to the next generation.
A Rembrandt quiz will reveal that his first name was Rembrandt. This is simply interesting when you consider how many painters we remember by their surnames instead of their firsts. He was born Rembrandt Harmeszoon van Rijn, and was born in Leiden in the Netherlands. His family was wealthy which is how he was able to both attend school and then later become an apprentice of the painter Pieter Lastman.
Rembrandt trivia will show that he started his own career as a painter in Leiden, but would soon move to Amsterdam. His work attracted the attention of politicians and other powerful people, and he made a very large reputation for himself as a painter of portraits. Despite making a large amount of money and leading a largely affluent life, he would struggle with finances due to bad investments and large spending habits.
A Rembrandt quiz will show that many of his works are among the most prized in museums today. They hang in the highest places of honor in places like the Louvre, the National Gallery of London, and in the Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg. He is thought to have produced between three and six hundred paintings during his life, as well as hundreds of etchings.
An interesting point about Rembrandt’s work is that while it remains among the most sought after by collectors and museums, that also has made it sought after and targeted by many art thieves throughout the centuries. One of his paintings, “Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee” was stolen in 1990 from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. It has yet to be recovered. Twelve other paintings were stolen that day, and it is the most successful theft of artwork ever carried out in America.