Sandro Debono reviews Rembrandt – The Late Years, which will be moving from London to Amsterdam in the context of the very latest developments concerning Rembrandt studies.

Last year was a special year for Rembrandt, recognised by many as the most important painter in Dutch history.

In June, the UK National Trust announced the latest findings on a presumed self-portrait depicting a 29-year-old Rembrandt, now recognised as by the artist’s hand.

In October 2014, a staggering 70 paintings were also re-attributed to the artist by the Rembrandt Research Project, a research initiative active since 1968 and originally set up with the objective of defining the artist’s repertoire of works.

Most of the attributions proposed by the Rembrandt Research Project are still not unanimously acknowledged by scholars.

What constitutes an authentic Rembrandt painting is still under discussion, given the large number of copies and versions produced by followers and students.

The 700-odd paintings re-cognised as authentic Rembrandts in the 1920s have since then shrunk to 340, in spite of these latest developments.

This is the backdrop to Rembrandt - The Late Works, a joint exhibition project between the National Gallery, London and the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

A carefully thought-out exhibition presenting Rembrandt as a modern artist well before modernity

For the Rijksmuseum, this is the first major project following its decade-long refurbishment and its reopening in 2013.

The exhibition deliberately steers clear from the thorny debate of attributions to focus exclusively on unanimously-recognised Rembrandt works painted during the final two decades of the artist’s career.

It showcases 40 paintings, 20 drawings and 30 prints brought together with great curatorial acumen and grouped into six sections, each presenting a specific theme.

A parallel Rembrandt exhibition, Rembrandt and the Dutch Golden Age, currently at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary, is a fitting contrast.

It presents Rembrandt in context by showcasing 20 works together with other 150 works painted by over 100 painters contemporary to the artist. This Hungarian exhibition is, by comparison, a much bigger exhibition. However, it is much less focused than the National Gallery’s Rembrandt – the Late Works.

The highlight of the national gallery exhibition is Rembrandt’s The Conspiracy of the Batavians under Claudius Civilis, a rarely-exhibited star item purposely loaned by the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Sweden.

The painting, representing a historic episode interpreted in a sketchy and modern style, was commissioned by the Amsterdam town hall but returned to the artist shortly after it was installed.

Rembrandt may have never been paid for it and the painting was cut down in size to be more saleable.

In his late years, Rembrandt was an artist living beyond his means, constantly on the verge of bankruptcy. He had to raise his only surviving child, Titus, on his own following the death of his wife, Saskia.

Ironically, his son died a year before the artist’s death, with Rembrandt’s niece becoming an orphan before birth. The artist’s biography is a constant reference throughout the exhibition.

A careful selection of Rembrandt self-portraits dating to this period, including the artist’s self depiction as St Paul the Apostle (Rijksmuseum), take pride of place. Indeed, there is no sign of compromise in Rembrandt’s works in spite of his financial woes and personal troubles.

The choice of works, painted with laborious introspection, also suggests that his style is continuously evolving in spite of the short time span which the exhibition chooses to focus on.

The artist’s creative process continues to be a constant revision and reworking of forms and spaces and his prints are clearly a case in point.

The Three CrossesThe Three Crosses

A series of prints entitled The Three Crosses is thoughtfully presented to suggest the way Rembrandt, continuously plagued by doubt, rethinks his invention and modifies his copper plate to initially lighten and subsequently rethink his composition.

Rembrandt’s obsessive observation of everyday life, his focus on intimacy and contemplation, is discussed in three out of five sections.

The final section connects the artist’s biography with his art as the display becomes more focused on the spiritual and emotive. This section features Rembrandt’s Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) once owned by Antonio Ruffo, one of Mattia Preti’s patrons in Messina, who also commissioned Preti to paint a companion painting.

Indeed, philosophy and contemplation may have guided such an introspective artist, as this exhibition portrays Rembrandt to be. But what the final section clearly stands for is Rembrandt’s sense of hope in dealing with inner conflict and reconciliation.

His Jacob Blessing the Ephraim and Manasseh (Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Kassel) is a case in point. The biblical story narrates how the prophet Jacob, when close to death, sent for his son, Joseph, and nephews to bless them before his parting. He deliberately goes against the grain by choosing Ephraim, the second born, instead of Manasseh, the first born, much to his son’s discontent.

Contemporary depictions of this episode portray the quarrel and commotion as Jacob wilfully goes against established practice but Rembrandt eliminates all signs of tension and quarrel. Instead, he chooses to focus on the very act of blessing and the peaceful concord of the emotions of all participants to the scene. Indeed, a positive response to a biblical struggle.

This is a carefully thought-out exhibition which presents Rembrandt as a modern artist well before modernity.

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