ARISTOTLE CONTEMPLATING A BUST OF HOMER
This Rembrandt is the first great painting that I ever tried to copy. Rembrandt painted the original in 1653.
Rembrandt is my personal favorite. He is noted today as one of the greatest portrait painters of all time, for his individual as well as the group portraits the old Dutch masters are famous for. Rembrandt’s portraits are unparalleled in their rendition of human character, expression and reflection of inner thought and psychological insight. In the strictest sense, “Aristotle” is not a portrait but an “historical” painting, but nevertheless has all the qualities of Rembrandt’s finest portraits.
Rembrandt was a master of the Baroque period (1600-1700) which itself is characterized by its expressive, ornate, complex and very dramatic effects in art, poetry, architecture and music. These dramatic effects are seen in Rembrandt’s paintings. One such effect is “chiaruscuro” which Rembrant learned indirectly from the great Italian master Caravaggio. Almost all of Rembrandt’s paintings use chiaruscuro which is the juxtaposition of light and dark areas in the same painting. Many of Rembrandt’s paintings are very dark, especially the backgrounds while the faces and other important features are bathed in a flood of light. Notice the use of chiaruscuro in this painting with the light bathing Aristotle’s face and robe and the bust of Homer.
Another dramatic effect is the use of diagonal elements. Dramatic Baroque painting often used diagonal elements to create an illusion of movement since many of these painting were so full of action. Diagonals suggest instability and hence movement, and they draw the eye. Notice how the curtain, Homer’s bust, Aristotle’s right arm and chain form a diagonal line. Aristotle’s head and left arm parallel and form a second diagonal line. This arrangement causes the eye movement to focus and flow from one important object to the next and creates a sense of rhythm, order, and balance in the painting. The diagonals also bring the painting “to life” by creating the illusion of movement. And although there is no true movement depicted in this painting, Rembrandt has created “action in repose” as in Michelangelo’s David.
This Rembrandt was sold in 1961 to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City for 2.3 million dollars - a record at that time for any single painting. The sales event made the cover of Time magazine. The museum curator when questioned about the price stated confidently, “The chain alone is worth 2.3 million.” Make sure you see this painting on your next trip to The Big Apple.
Pastel on paper 1977