Rembrandt

Simon Schama's Rembrandt

Describe the portrait of the fur merchant. Why is he the "business man's" hero?
-The fur merchant is known as Nicholas Ruts, he sold Russian sable. Rembrandt painted this portrait with emphasizing a few features such as the fur that Nicholas wears. The fur is painted dropping down his body as though it just falls down his body. Rut's glance gives the look of a slight impatient intelligence. He is regarded as the "business man's hero" because of the slight pink that is used in his eyelids, which implies that he has given up sleep for the sake of his investors. His painted sacrifice of sleep shows his concern of his investors, regarding him as a hero.

What's the mood of the 83 year old woman?
-This painting is located in the National Gallery in London. Rembrandt shows the mood of the women to be sad and it's shown through her dropping eyelids. Rembrandt's interest in conveying the human condition in his art works brings out the mood of this elderly woman.

What is Rembrandt communicating in the painting of Sampson & Delilah?
-In the painting of this biblical story, Rembrandt is communicating the moment when Delilah betrays Sampson, but in a different perspective. Most other artists of that time portray Sampson as a nude hulk in slumber, but Rembrandt decides to cloth him. Along with clothing, there is a knot that appears to be tying Sampson and Delilah. This representing the love that they both had for each other, along with the inevitable betrayal that awaits him.