Rembrandt's Holland

"A savvy, succinct overview. Silver relates larger issues in politics and religion to specific works by Rembrandt. He is not afraid to go out on a limb, making his text all the more interesting. His sensitive descriptions of art works add depth to his account."--Gary Schwartz, author of Meet Rembrandt: Life and Work of the Master Painter "An accessible, concise, up-to-date, and well-written introductory study that firmly situates Rembrandt's life and work within Dutch history and society. . . . Silver weaves together a biographical sketch, sensitive analyses of artworks, and a comprehensive overview of Dutch politics, society, religion, and artistic culture. . . . He covers extraordinary ground in a brief book, laying out for the general reader the trajectory of Rembrandt's art and career."-- "Historians of Netherlandish Art Book Review" "Rembrandt's fascination with the exotic and his mania as a collector are well known. . . . He lived in a land that was in the front ranks regarding cartography and science as well as religious toleration, and Silver catches all these exciting currents and shows how the art under discussion reflects the complications, the comedies and tragedies of a well-studied but elusive life. Silver offers an easy introduction to the leading man and to the world in which he lived."-- "Sixteenth Century Journal" "In four delightfully well-written and informative chapters, Silver animates and gives depth to Rembrandt, his patrons, his religious milieu, and his daily and intellectual life. The many facets of the artist's activity emerge, as the author describes how the painter gained portrait commissions from wealthy and fashionable Amsterdammers, painted complex histories, and experimented with a range of identities in his self-portraits. Rembrandt's Night Watch demonstrates his ambition to avoid a static group portrait or a rowdy banquet scene (as favored by his contemporaries), but at the same time it is a chaotic gathering with several levels of action, and despite its astonishing credibility, may not represent an actual event. Rembrandt was affiliated with the Dutch Reformed Church, yet his art reveals a close reading of Scripture rather than a clear adherence to one or another confession. In this regard, he appealed to a wide audience including Catholics, Remonstrants, Protestants, and even Calvinists. This is a solid contribution to the Renaissance Lives series, which offers books by accomplished scholars on major figures in the early modern world. Highly recommended."-- "Choice" "Silver balances discussion of the social context of Rembrandt's life and art admirably throughout these chapters, and the thematic approach allows him to consider works of art from different aspects, adding to the depth of presentation. The highlights remain those passages where he describes specific paintings and prints (and a few drawings). Here Silver's lucid prose and engaged eye help bring these works to vivid life, especially important in the many cases where works are discussed but not illustrated. Rembrandt's Holland is a welcome and refreshing addition to the vast scholarly literature on the artist, offering an accessible, well-rounded picture of Rembrandt, his art, and his society."-- "Renaissance Quarterly"