"...look beyond the faces of their
sitters into their souls..." |
Fortunately, Rembrandts countless
problems and financial ruin in no way affected his career. If anything with his problems,
his desire to maintain an active studio increased.
Throughout the 1650s, Rembrandt worked steadfastly at his art form. He
worked with his students to maintain a very active studio, and he even started to develop
his personal collection again. Portraiture remained an important focus, although many of
the works the studio produced during this period were uncommissioned. Rembrandt taught his
students to look beyond the faces of their sitters into their souls to express through
their canvasses the interrelationship among God, man and nature.
Rembrandts theme was to express a freedom in the representations of
sitters that had never before been captured. This quality of style is usually not possible
in commissioned works. However, Rembrandt was fortunate to find some enlightened patrons
who allowed for his studio to express the artistic freedom to paint them from the
introspective level that he was experiencing.
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