Rembrandt

"Alongside Leonardo and Michelangelo, Rembrandt is one of the three most famous artists ever, with whom the public is on a first-name basis; and the name Rembrandt has lent the cachet of greatness and the grace of familiarity to sell everything from kitchen countertops to whitening toothpaste to fancy hotels in Bangkok and Knightsbridge. No work of Rembrandts has attained the iconic status of the David or the Mona Lisa; yet Rembrandt seems to rank with the greatest of the great."

"I gave up painting by 16. I secretly thought I would have been Rembrandt by then. I dont believe in genius. I believe in freedom. I think anyone can do it. Anyone can be like Rembrandt.. Picasso, Michelangelo, possibly, might be verging on genius, but I dont think a painter like Rembrandt is a genius. Its about freedom and guts. Its about looking. It can be learned. Thats the great thing about art. Anybody can do it if you just believe. With practice, you can make great paintings."

"Its an exhilarating feeling, holding that painting, especially when you have studied it for so long and are now the sole proprietor of said piece. To an art lover, possessing a Rembrandt can be likened to winning the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the Stanley Cup all at once. You feel a real sense of almost being a part of the artists mind."

"Theres a Rembrandt trapped in this body. Its your job to find it."

"Well, any draftsman knows about speed. I mean, Rembrandt drawings, you can see speed in them. I am interested in speed. I think most painters paint faster than they tell you."

"His own house figures in many aspects of his work. This was his home, but it was also his workshop and his showroom. The most evocative room is his sunlit studio, where so many of his paintings evolved. In a way, its still a workshop. Visitors are taught to make their own artworks here."

"In a way, Vermeer and Rembrandt are opposites. But Rembrandt is the greater artist, I think, because hes got more ingredients than Vermeer. Rembrandt put more in the face than anyone else ever has, before or since, because he saw more. And that was not a matter of using a camera. That was to do with his heart. The Chinese say you need three things for paintings: the hand, the eye and the heart. I think that remark is very, very good. Two wont do. A good eye and heart is not enough, neither is a good hand and eye. It applies to every drawing and painting Rembrandt ever made. His work is a great example of the hand, the eye – and the heart. There is incredible empathy in it."

"A pious mind / Places honor above wealth - Rembrandt, Amsterdam 1634"

"version in original Dutch (origineel citaat van Rembrandt, in Nederlands): Een vroom gemoet / Acht eer voor goet - Rembrandt, Amsterdam 1634"

"This is portrayed after my wife when she was 21 years old, the third day after we were betrothed, on the 8th of June 1633"

"..that I am very diligently engaged in proficiently completing the three Passion paintings which his Excellency has personally commissioned me [to do]: an Entombment a Resurrection, and an Ascension of Christ.. .Of the above three, one has been completed, namely Christs Ascension to Heaven, and the other two are more than half-finished.. ..as a token of my readiness to serve you with my favor, I cannot refrain from presenting you, [dear Sir, my latest work. I trust that you most graciously will accept it in addition to my greetings.. ..reside [on] Nieuwe Doelstraat [Amsterdam], Feb. 1636"

"[Rembrandt] The most famous brand name in western art. In America alone it graces toothpaste, bracelet charms, restaurant and bars, counter-tops and of course the town of Rembrandt, Iowa just halfway around the world from the Rembrandt Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand. Funny thing is Rembrandt might have been quite pleased with such widespread notoriety. (...) Rembrandt was a realist craftsman who showed off his craft to sell his work. His paintings brim with self-confidence as this in bold oil sketch of the entombment of Christ painted with an almost modern bravado. His drawings were dashed off with a Zen-like assurance. His etchings complete and elaborate works of art in themselves which sold in great quantity to two Dutch middle class."