Rembrandt van Rijn
Greatest Dutch painter, master of light and shadow
Most quoted
"Of course you will say that I ought to be practical and ought to try and paint the way they want me to paint. Well, I will tell you a secret. I have tried and tried very hard, but I can’t do it. I just can’t do it! And that is why I am just a little crazy."
— from Attributed saying
"I have three regrets in my life: I regret that I have not learned to play the violin, I regret that I have not learned to speak French, and I regret that I have not taken more time to enjoy life."
— from Attributed saying
"The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider’s web."
— from Attributed saying (Picasso)
All quotes by Rembrandt van Rijn (319)
Age brings wisdom to the stroke.
In art, imperfection is perfection.
Buyers come and go, but the work remains.
The muse visits the persistent.
Sorrow deepens the palette.
Composition is the architecture of feeling.
True art defies convention.
My self-portraits are my confessions.
Endure, create, transcend.
A painting is not made to be understood, but to be felt.
Choose a single thing and stick to it. That is the way to become a master.
Practice what you know, and it will help to make clear what you do not know.
The greatest work of art is to make a man feel what you want him to feel.
Do not think that you can make a good picture by following rules. Art is not a science.
The eye is the true judge of all things.
A good painting is like a good wine; it has to be savored.
Learn to see, and you will learn to paint.
The more I paint, the more I realize how much I have to learn.
Light is the most important thing in painting.
A painter should paint not what he sees, but what he feels.
Contemporaries of Rembrandt van Rijn
Other Visual Artss born within 50 years of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669).