REMBRANDT.

In commencing an account of the life of Rembrandt Van Rhÿn and his works, I feel both a pleasure and a certain degree of confidence, as, from my first using a pencil, his pictures have been my delight and gratification, which have continued to increase through a long life of investigation. Though I cannot expect to enhance the high estimation in which Rembrandt is held by all persons competent to appreciate his extraordinary powers, nevertheless, the publication of the results of my study may tend to spread a knowledge of his principles and practice, which may be advantageous to similar branches in other schools; for, notwithstanding that his style is in the greatest degree original and peculiar to himself, yet it is founded upon those effects existing in nature which are to be discovered, more or less, in the works of all the great masters of colouring and chiaro-scuro. Of his early life little is known; for, unless cradled in the higher circles of society, the early lives of eminent men frequently remain shrouded in obscurity. The development of their genius alone draws attention to their history, which is generally progressive; hence a retrospective view is ambiguous. Little is known either of Rembrandt's birth or the place of his death; what is known has already been related, from Houbraken to Bryan, and from Bryan to Nieuwenhuys, and anecdotes have accumulated, for something new must be said. It is, however, fortunate that in searching into the source from which this extraordinary artist drew his knowledge, we have only to look into the great book of Nature, which existed at the time of Apelles and Raffaelle; and, notwithstanding the diversity of styles adopted by all succeeding painters, beauties and peculiarities are still left sufficient to establish the highest reputation for any one who has the genius to perceive them, and the industry to make them apparent. This was the cause of Rembrandt's captivating excellence; neither a combination of Coreggio and Titian, nor of Murillo and Velasquez, but as if all the great principles of chiaro-scuro and colour were steeped and harmonized in the softening shades of twilight; and this we perceive in nature, producing the most soothing and bewitching results. These digressions may, however, come more properly into notice when Rembrandt's principles of colour come under review.

Rembrandt Van Rhÿn, the subject of this memoir, was born in the year 1606, between Leydendorp and Koukerk, in the neighbourhood of Leyden, on the Rhÿn, but certainly not in a mill, as there is no habitable dwelling in the one now known as his father's. My excellent young friend, Mr. E. W. Cooke, whose works breathe the true spirit of the best of the Dutch school, in a letter upon this subject, says—

"My dear Sir,

"I send you another sketch of the mill; the picture, including the doorzigte, or view out of the window, I painted on the spot, and that picture is now in the possession of the King of Holland, having taken it back with me to show him. The mill was a magazine for powder during the Spanish invasion; it was soon after converted into a corn mill, and was in the possession of Hernan Geritz Van Rhÿn when his son Rembrandt was born; it is situated at Koukerk, on the old Rhÿn, near Leyden. I hope you will correct the vulgar error that Rembrandt was born in a mill. There are often dwelling houses attached to water-mills, such as we have in England; but in Holland, not such a structure as a water-mill, with water-power; the water-mills there are only draining mills, such as we have in Lincolnshire, Norfolk, &c. Surely the noise and movement of a windmill would ill accord with the confinement of any lady, especially the mother of so glorious a fellow as Rembrandt. For the honour of such association I hope you will not omit my name in the work, for I painted three pictures of that precious relic.

"Yours, &c.
"E. W. Cooke."

[!--IMG--]

The mill now known as the one possessed by Rembrandt's father is built of stone, with an inscription, and "Rembrandt," in gold letters, over the door. The one etched by his eminent son is a wooden structure, which must have long since fallen into decay. As they are both interesting, from association of ideas, I have given etchings of them.

The mother of Rembrandt was Neeltje Willems Van Zuitbroek, whose portrait he has etched. As he was an only child, his parents were anxious to give him a good education, and therefore sent him to the Latin school at Leyden, in order to bring him up to the profession of the law; but, like our own inimitable Shakspere, he picked up "small Latin and less Greek." Having shown an early inclination for painting, they placed him under the tuition of Jacob Van Zwaanenburg, a painter unmentioned by any biographer; he afterwards entered the studio of Peter Lastman, and finally received instruction from Jacob Pinas. The two last had visited Rome, but, notwithstanding, could have given little instruction to Rembrandt, as their works show no proof of their having studied the Italian school to much purpose. After receiving a knowledge of a few rules, such as they could communicate, he returned home, and commenced painting from nature, when he laid the foundation of a style in art unapproached either before his time or since. In 1627 he is said, by Houbraken, to have visited the Hague, when, by the price he received for one of his pictures, he discovered his value as an artist. The neighbourhood of the Rhine was now given up for the city of Amsterdam, where he set up his easel in the year 1628, under the patronage of the Burgomaster Six, and other wealthy admirers of the fine arts.

Rembrandt's first works, like all the early works of eminent artists, were carefully finished; the work that raised him to the greatest notice, in the first instance, is Professor Tulpius giving an Anatomical Lecture on a dead Body,[1] and is dated 1632. Reynolds, in his Tour through Flanders, speaking of this picture, says:—"The Professor Tulpius dissecting a corpse which lies on the table, by Rembrandt. To avoid making it an object disagreeable to look at, the figure is just cut at the wrist. There are seven other portraits, coloured like nature itself; fresh, and highly finished. One of the figures behind has a paper in his hand, on which are written the names of the rest. Rembrandt has also added his own name, with the date 1632. The dead body is perfectly well drawn, (a little foreshortened,) and seems to have been just washed; nothing can be more truly the colour of dead flesh. The legs and feet, which are nearest the eye, are in shadow; the principal light, which is on the body, is by that means preserved of a compact form; all these figures are dressed in black." He further adds—"Above stairs is another Rembrandt, of the same kind of subject: Professor Nieman, standing by a dead body, which is so much foreshortened that the hands and feet almost touch each other; the dead man lies on his back, with his feet towards the spectator. There is something sublime in the character of the head, which reminds one of Michael Angelo; the whole is finely painted,—the colouring much like Titian."

Simeon in the Temple, in the Museum of the Hague, painted in 1631, is in his first manner; as are The Salutation, in the Gallery of the Marquis of Westminster, painted in 1640; and The Woman taken in Adultery, in the National Gallery, painted in 1644, all on panel, and finished with the care and minuteness of Gerhard Dow. His most successful career may be taken from 1630 to 1656. About the year 1645 he married Miss Saskia Van Uylenburg, by whom he had an only son, named Titus, the inheritor of the little wealth left after his father's embarrassments, but, though bred to the arts, inheriting little of his father's genius. In what part of Amsterdam he resided at this time we have no record, nor is the house now shown as Rembrandt's, and which was the subject of a mortgage, sufficiently authenticated to prove its identity; he may have lived in it, but it could not at any time have been sufficiently capacious to contain all the effects given in the catalogue extracted from the register by Mr. Nieuwenhuys.

The late Sir David Wilkie, in a letter to his sister, says:—"At the Hague we were delayed with rain, which continued nearly the whole of our way through Leyden, Haarlem, and Amsterdam. Wherever we went, our great subject of interest was seeing the native places of the great Dutch painters, and the models and materials which they have immortalized. At Amsterdam we sallied forth in the evening, in search of the house of Rembrandt; it is in what is now the Jews' quarter, and is, in short, a Jew's old china shop; it is well built, four stories high, but it greatly disappointed me. The shop is high in the ceiling, but all the other rooms are low and little, and, compared with the houses of Titian at Venice, of Claude at Rome, and of Rubens at Antwerp, is quite unworthy the house of the great master of the school of Holland. Even if stuffed, as it is now, with every description of the pottery of Canton, it could not have held even a sixth part of the inventory Nieuwenhuys found, as the distrained effects of Rembrandt, and the only solution is, that he may have once lived there; but as his will, still extant, is dated in another street, and as several of the pictures he painted could not be contained in the rooms we were in, we must conclude that, like the shell which encloses the caterpillar, it was only a temporary abode for the winged genius to whom art owes so much of its brilliancy."

As the place of his residence is veiled in obscurity, so is the place of his demise, which is supposed to have taken place in 1664, as Mr. Smith, in a note to his Life of Rembrandt, says—"that no picture is recorded bearing a later date than 1664, and the balance of his property was paid over to his son in 1665."

Mr. Woodburn, in a Catalogue of his Drawings, says:—"It is uncertain what became of him after his bankruptcy, or where he died; a search has been made among the burials at Amsterdam, until the year 1674, but his name does not occur; probably Baldinucci is correct in stating that he died at Stockholm, in 1670;" others have mentioned Hull, and some give a credence to his having fled to Yarmouth, during his troubles, and mention two pictures, a lawyer and his wife, said to have been painted there; they are whole lengths, and certainly in his later manner, but I could not gather any authentic account to build conjecture upon, as the intercourse between Amsterdam and Yarmouth has been kept up from olden time, and a Dutch fair held every three years on the shore. The ancestors of the family in whose possession they still are, may have visited Holland; but, amongst such conflicting opinions, it is useless to attempt elucidation of the truth of this. We may rest certain that his works will be appreciated in proportion as a knowledge of their excellence is extended.

[!--IMG--]

Extract from the Book of Sureties of Real Estates remaining at the Secretary's Office of the City of Amsterdam, fol. 89, &c.

Legal Receipt and Discharge, given by Titus Van Ryn, for the Balance of the Estate of his Father, Rembrandt Van Ryn.

Good for G^ls. 6952–9.
the 29.7^bre—Willem Muilm.

I the undersigned acknowledge to have received of the said Commissaries the undermentioned six thousand nine hundred and fifty-two Guldens nine Stuivers, the 5th November, 1665.

Received the contents, Titus Van Ryn. }

Before the undersigned Magistrates appeared Titus Van Ryn, the only surviving son of Rembrandt Van Ryn and of Saskia Van Uylenburg (having obtained his veniam ætatis), as principal,—Abraham Fransz, merchant, living in the Angelier Straat, and Bartholomeus Van Benningen, woollen-draper, in the Liesdel, as guarantees. And jointly, and each of them separately, promised to re-deliver into the hands of the Commissaries of the Insolvent Estates, when called upon, the said six thousand nine hundred fifty-two Guldens and nine Stuivers, which the said Titus Van Ryn shall receive of and from the before-mentioned Commissaries, the money arising from the house and ground in the Anthonis bree Straat, A.º 1658, which was sold under execution, and from the personal estate of Saskia Van Uylenburg and Rembrandt Van Ryn aforesaid; hereby binding all their goods, moveables, and immoveables, present and future, in order to recover the said sum and costs. Therefore the before-mentioned principal promised to indemnify his said sureties under a similar obligation as above written.—Actum, the 9th September, 1665.

A. J. J. Hinlopen and Arnout Hooft.
H. V. Bronchorst.

2207 : a	3	:	3	6952	:	1
(Stamp)						8
				_______
				6952		9

The following Catalogue is extracted from the Register Lª R. fol. 29 to 39 inclusive, of the Inventory of the Effects of Rembrandt Van Rhyn, deposited in the Office of the Administration of Insolvent Estates at Amsterdam, Anno 1656.

PICTURES, &c.

IN THE ENTRANCE HALL.

A Picture, representing The Gingerbread Baker	By Brauwer.
A ditto, The Gamblers	Ditto.
A ditto, A Woman and Child	Rembrandt.
A ditto, The Interior of an Artist's Painting Room	Brauwer.
A ditto, The Interior of a Kitchen	Ditto.
A Statue of a Woman, in plaster.
Two Children, in plaster.
A Sleeping Child, in plaster.
A Landscape	By Rembrandt.
A ditto	Ditto.
A Woman represented standing	Ditto.
A Christmas Night Piece	Jean Lievensz.
St. Jerome	Rembrandt.
Dead Hares, a small picture	Ditto.
A small picture of a Pig	Ditto.
A small Landscape	Hercules Segers.
A Landscape	Jean Lievensz.
A ditto	Ditto.
A ditto	Rembrandt.
A Combat of Lions	Ditto.
A Landscape, by moonlight	Jean Lievensz.
A Head	Rembrandt.
A ditto	Ditto.
A picture of Still Life, objects retouched	Ditto.
A Soldier, clad in armour	By Rembrandt.
A Skull, and other objects, styled a Vanitas, retouched	Ditto.
A ditto, ditto, retouched	Ditto.
A Sea Piece	Hendrick Antonisz.
Four Spanish Chairs, covered with leather.
Two ditto, ditto in black.
A Plank of Wood.
IN THE FRONT PARLOUR.
A small picture of the Samaritan, retouched	By Rembrandt.
The Rich Man	Palma Vecchio.
(The half of this picture belongs to Peter de la Tombe).
A View of the Back of a House	By Rembrandt.
Two Sporting Dogs, done after nature	Ditto.
The Descent from the Cross, a large picture, in a gilt frame	Ditto.
The Raising of Lazarus	Ditto.
A Courtesan Dressing	Ditto.
A Woody Scene	Hercules Segers.
Tobias, &c.	Lastman.
The Raising of Lazarus	Jean Lievensz.
A Landscape, representing a mountainous country	Rembrandt.
A small Landscape	By Govert Jansz.
Two Heads	Rembrandt.
A Picture, en grisaille	Jean Lievensz.
A ditto, ditto	Parcelles.
A Head	Rembrandt.
A ditto	Brauwer.
A View of the Dutch Coast	Parcelles.
A ditto of the same, smaller	Ditto.
A Hermit	Jean Lievensz.
Two Small Heads	Lucas Van Valkenburg.
A Camp on Fire	The elder Rassan.
A Quack Doctor	After Brauwer.
Two Heads	By Jan Pinas.
A perspective View	Lucas Van Leyden.
A Priest	Jean Lievensz.
A Model	Rembrandt.
A Flock of Sheep	Ditto.
A Drawing	Ditto.
The Flagellation of our Lord	Ditto.
A Picture, done en grisaille	Parcelles.
A ditto, ditto	Simon de Vlieger.
A small Landscape	Rembrandt.
A Head of a Woman, after Nature	Ditto.
A Head	Rafaelle Urbino.
A View of Buildings, after Nature	Rembrandt.
A Landscape, after Nature	Ditto.
A View of Buildings	Hercules Segers.
The Goddess Juno	Jacob Pinas.
A Looking Glass, in a black ebony frame.
An ebony Frame.
A Wine Cooler, in marble.
A Table of walnut tree, covered with a carpet.
Seven Spanish Chairs, with green velvet cushion.
BACK PARLOUR.
A Picture	By Pietro Testa.
A Woman with a Child	Rembrandt.
Christ on the Cross, a model	Ditto.
A Naked Woman	Ditto.
A Copy, after a picture	Annibal Caracci.
Two Half Figures	Brauwer.
A Copy, after a picture	Annibal Caracci.
A Sea View	Parcelles.
The Head of an Old Woman	Van Dyck.
A Portrait of a deceased Person	Abraham Vink.
The Resurrection	A. Van Leyden.
A Sketch	Rembrandt.
Two Heads, after Nature	Ditto.
The Consecration of Solomon's Temple, done en grisaille	Ditto.
The Circumcision, a copy	After Ditto.
Two small Landscapes	By Hercules Segers.
A gilt Frame.
A small Oak Table.
Four Shades for engraving.
A Clothes Press.
Four old Chairs.
Four green Chair Cushions.
A Copper Kettle.
A Portmanteau.
THE SALOON.
A Woody Scene	By An Unknown Master.
An Old Man's Head	Rembrandt.
A large Landscape	Hercules Segers.
A Portrait of a Woman	Rembrandt.
An Allegory of the Union of the Country	Ditto.
This is probably the picture now in the Collection of Samuel Rogers, Esq.
A View in a Village	By Govert Jansz.
A Young Ox, after Nature	Rembrandt.
The Samaritan Woman, a large picture, attributed to Giorgione, the half of which belongs to Peter de la Tombe.
Three antique Statues.
A Sketch of the Entombment	By Rembrandt.
The Incredulity of St. Peter	Aertje Van Leyden.
The Resurrection of our Lord	Rembrandt.
The Virgin Mary	Rafaelle Urbino.
A Head of Christ	Rembrandt.
A Winter Scene	Grimaer.
The Crucifixion. Probably intended for Novellari	Lely of Novellaene.
A Head of Christ	Rembrandt.
A young Bull or Ox	Lastman.
A Vanitas, retouched	Rembrandt.
An Ecce Homo, en grisaille	Ditto.
Abraham Offering up his Son	Jean Lievensz.
A Vanitas, retouched	Rembrandt.
A Landscape, en grisaille	Hercules Segers.
An Evening Scene	Rembrandt.
A large Looking Glass.
Six Chairs, with blue cushions.
An oak Table.
A Table Cloth.
A Napkin Press.
A Wardrobe, or Armoir.
A Bed and a Bolster.
Two Pillows.
Two Coverlids.
Blue Hangings of a Bed.
A Chair.
A Stove.
IN THE CABINET OF ARTS.
A pair of Globes.
A Box, containing minerals.
A small Architectural Column.
A Tin Pot.
The Figure of an Infant.
Two pieces of Indian Jadd.
A Japan or Chinese Cup.
A Bust of an Empress.
An Indian Powder Box.
A Bust of the Emperor Augustus.
An Indian Cup.
A Bust of the Emperor Tiberius.
An Indian Work-Box, for a lady.
A Bust of Caius.
A pair of Roman Leggins.
Two Porcelain Figures.
A Bust of Heraclitus.
Two Porcelain Figures.
A Bust of Nero.
Two Iron Helmets.
An Indian Helmet.
An ancient Helmet.
A Bust of a Roman Emperor.
A Negro, cast from Nature.
A Bust of Socrates.
A Bust of Homer.
A ditto of Aristotle.
An antique Head, done in brown.
A Faustina.
A Coat of Armour, and a Helmet.
A Bust of the Emperor Galba.
A ditto of the Emperor Otho.
A ditto of the Emperor Vitellius.
A ditto of the Emperor Vespasian.
A ditto of the Emperor Titus Vespasian.
A ditto of the Emperor Domitian.
A ditto of Silius Brutus.
Forty-seven specimens of Botany.
Twenty-three ditto of Land and Marine Animals.
A Hammock, and two Calabashes.
Eight various objects, in plaster, done from Nature.
ON THE LAST SHELF.
A quantity of Shells, Marine Plants, and sundry curious objects, in plaster, done from Nature.
An antique Statue of Cupid.
A small Fuzil, and a Pistol.
A steel Shield, richly embossed with Figures, by Quintin Matsys, very curious and rare.
An antique Powder-horn.
A ditto; Turkish.
A Box, containing Medals.
A Shield of curious workmanship.
Two Naked Figures.
A Cast from the face of Prince Maurice, taken after his death.
A Lion and a Bull, in plaster, after Nature.
A number of Walking Sticks.
A long Bow.
BOOKS ON ART.
A Book, containing Sketches by Rembrandt.
A ditto, containing Prints engraved in wood by Lucas Van Leyden.
A ditto ditto, by Wael and others.
A ditto, containing Etchings by Baroccio and Vanni.
A ditto, containing Prints after Rafaelle Urbino.
A gilt Model of a French Bed, by Verhulst.
A Book full of Engravings, many of which are double impressions, by Lucas Van Leyden.
A ditto, containing a great number of Drawings by the best masters.
A ditto, containing a number of fine Drawings by Andrea Mantegna.
A ditto, containing Drawings by various masters, and some Prints.
A ditto, larger, full of Drawings and Prints.
A ditto, containing a number of Miniatures, Wood-cuts, and Copper-plate Prints, of the various costumes of countries.
A Book, full of Prints by Old Breughel.
A ditto, containing Prints after Rafaelle Urbino.
A ditto, containing valuable Prints, after the same.
A ditto, full of Prints by Tempesta.
A ditto, containing Wood-cuts and Engravings by Lucas Cranach.
A ditto, containing Prints after the Caracci and Guido, and Spagnoletti.
A ditto, containing Engravings and Etchings by Tempesta.
A large Folio of ditto ditto, by Ditto.
A ditto ditto, various.
A Book, containing Prints by Goltius and Müller.
A ditto, containing Prints after Rafaelle Urbino, very fine impressions.
A Book, containing Drawings by Brauwer.
A Folio, containing a great number of Prints after Titian.
A number of curious Jars and Venetian Glasses.
An old Book, containing a number of Sketches by Rembrandt.
A ditto ditto.
A large Folio of Sketches by Rembrandt.
An empty Folio.
A Backgammon Board.
An antique Chair.
A Book, containing Chinese Drawings in miniature.
A large Cluster of White Coral.
A Book full of Prints of Statues.
A ditto full of Prints, a complete work by Heemskirk.
A ditto, full of Sketches by Rubens, Van Dyck, and other masters.
A ditto, containing the Works of Michael Angelo Buonarotti.
Two small Baskets.
A Book, containing Prints of free Subjects, after Rafaelle, Roest, Annibal Caracci, and Giulio Romano.
A ditto, full of Landscapes by the most distinguished masters.
A Book, containing Views of Buildings in Turkey, by Melchoir Lowick, Hendrick Van Helst, and others; and also the Costumes of that Country.
An Indian Basket, containing various Engravings by Rembrandt, Hollar, Cocq, and others.
A Book, bound in black leather, containing a selection of Etchings by Rembrandt.
A paper Box, full of Prints by Hupe Martin, Holbein, Hans Broemer, and Israel Mentz.
A Book, containing a complete set of Etchings by Rembrandt.
A Folio, containing Academical Drawings of Men and Women, by Rembrandt.
A Book, containing Drawings of celebrated Buildings in Rome, and other Views, by the best masters.
A Chinese Basket, full of various Ornaments.
A Folio.
A ditto.
A ditto, containing Landscapes after Nature by Rembrandt.
A Book, containing a selection of Proof Prints after Rubens and Jacques Jordaens.
A ditto, full of Drawings by Miervelt, Titian, and others.
A Chinese Basket.
A ditto ditto, containing Prints of Architectural Subjects.
A ditto, containing Drawings of various Animals from Nature by Rembrandt.
A ditto, full of Prints after Frans Floris, Bruitwael, Goltius, and Abraham Bloemart.
A quantity of Drawings from the Antique, by Rembrandt.
Five Books, in quarto, containing Drawings by Rembrandt.
A Book full of Prints of Architectural Views.
The Medea, a Tragedy, by Jan Six.
A quantity of Prints, by Jacques Callot.
A Book, bound in parchment, containing Drawings of Landscapes, after Nature, by Rembrandt.
A ditto, full of Sketches of Figures by Rembrandt.
A ditto, various.
A small Box, with wood divisions.
A Book, containing Views drawn by Rembrandt.
A ditto, containing fine Sketches.
A ditto, containing Statues after Nature by Rembrandt.
A ditto, various.
A ditto, containing pen Sketches by Peter Lastman.
A ditto, containing Drawings in red chalk by Ditto.
A ditto, containing Sketches drawn with the pen by Rembrandt.
A ditto, various.
A ditto, ditto.
A Book, various.
A ditto, ditto.
A ditto, ditto.
A Folio of large Drawings of Views in the Tyrol, by Roeland Savery.
A ditto, full of Drawings by celebrated masters.
A Book, in quarto, containing Sketches by Rembrandt.
A Book of Wood-cuts of the proportions of the Human Figure, by Albert Durer.
A Book, containing Engravings by Jean Lievensz and Ferdinand Bol.
Several parcels of Sketches by Rembrandt and others.
A quantity of Paper, of a large size.
A Box, containing Prints by Van Vliet, after Pictures by Rembrandt.
A Screen, covered with cloth.
A steel Gorget.
A Drawer, containing a Bird of Paradise, and six Forms of divers patterns.
A German Book, containing Prints of Warriors.
A ditto, with Wood-cuts.
Flavius Josephus, in German, illustrated with Engravings by Tobias Kinderman.
An ancient Bible.
A marble Inkstand.
A Cast, in Plaster, of Prince Maurice.
IN AN ANTI-CHAMBER OF THE ROOM OF ARTS.
St. Joseph	By Aertje Van Leyden.
Three Prints, in frames.
The Salutation.
A Landscape after Nature	Rembrandt.
A Landscape	Hercules Segers.
The Descent from the Cross	Rembrandt.
A Head after Nature.
A Skull	Retouched by Rembrandt.
A Model, in plaster, of the Bath of Diana	By Adam Van Vianen.
A Model from Nature	Rembrandt.
A Picture of Three Puppies, after Nature	Titus Van Ryn.
A ditto of a Book	Ditto.
A Head of the Virgin	Ditto.
The Flagellation	A Copy after Rembrandt.
A Landscape by Moonlight	Retouched by Ditto.
A Naked Woman, a Model from Nature	By Ditto.
An unfinished Landscape from Nature	Ditto.
A Horse painted from Nature	By Rembrandt.
A small Picture	Young Hals.
A Fish, after Nature.
A Model, in plaster, of a Bason, adorned with Figures, by Adam Van Vianen.
An old Chest.
Four Chairs, with black leather seats.
A Table.
IN THE SMALL PAINTING ROOM.
Thirty-three pieces of Armour and Musical Instruments.
Sixty pieces of Indian Armour, and several Bows, Arrows, and Darts.
Thirteen bamboo Pipes, and several Flutes.
Thirteen objects, consisting of Bows, Arrows, Shields, &c.
A number of Heads and Hands, moulded from Nature, together with a Harp, and a Turkish Bow.
Seventeen Hands and Arms, moulded from Nature.
Some Stag Horns.
Five ancient Casques.
Four long Bows, and cross Bows.
Nine Gourds and Bottles.
Two modelled Busts of Bartholt Been and his Wife.
A plaster Cast from a Grecian Antique.
A Bust of the Emperor Agrippa.
A ditto of the Emperor Aurelius.
A Head of Christ, of the size of Life.
A Head of a Satyr.
A Sibil—Antique.
The Laocoon—Ditto.
A large Marine Vegetable.
A Vitellius.
A Seneca.
Three or four antique Heads of Women.
A metal Cannon.
A quantity of Fragments of antique Dresses, of divers colours.
Seven Musical stringed Instruments.
Two small Pictures by Rembrandt.
[!--IMG--] FAC-SIMILE OF A LETTER OF REMBRANDT'S
IN THE LARGE PAINTING ROOM.
Twenty Objects, consisting of Halberds and Swords of various kinds.
Dresses of an Indian Man and Woman.
Five Cuirasses.
A wooden Trumpet.
A Picture of Two Negroes by Rembrandt.
A Child by Michael Angelo Buonarotti.
IN THE SHED.
The Skins of a Lion and a Lioness, and two Birds.
A large Piece, representing Diana.
A Bittern, done from Nature, by Rembrandt.
IN A SMALL ROOM.
Ten Paintings, of various sizes, by Rembrandt.
A Bed.
IN THE KITCHEN.
A pewter Pot.
Several Pots and Pans.
A small Table.
A Cupboard.
Several old Chairs.
Two Chair Cushions.
IN THE PASSAGE.
Nine Plates.
Two earthen Dishes.
THE LINEN (THEN AT THE WASHER-WOMAN'S).
Three Shirts.
Six Pocket Handkerchiefs.
Twelve Napkins.
Three Table Cloths.
Some Collars and Wristbands.

The preceding Inventory was made on the 25th and 26th of July, 1656.

Free Translation of the Autograph Letter on the opposite page.

Sir,

It is, your Honour, with reluctance, that I am about to trouble you with a letter, and that, because on applying to the receiver Utenbogaert, (to whom I have entrusted the management of my money matters,) as to how the treasurer Volberger acquits himself of the yearly 4 per cent. interest, the said Utenbogaert, on Wednesday last, replied,—that Volberger has every half year received the interest on this annuity, and has done so up to the present time; so that now, at the annuity office, more than 4000 florins being owing, and this being the exact and true statement, I beg of you, my kind-natured Sir, that the exact sum of money at my disposal may be at once made clear, in order that I may at last receive the sum of 1244 florins, long since due; as I shall always strive to recompense such by reciprocal services, and with lasting friendship; so that with my most cordial greetings, and the prayer that God may long keep you in good health, and grant you bliss hereafter,

I remain,

Your Honour's

Obedient and devoted Servant,

REMBRANDT.

I am living on the Binnen Aemstel, at the Confectioner's.
10th Oct.

Van Suylyken, Esq.
Counsellor and Secretary to his Highness in the Hague.

Per post.

We cannot reflect upon the foregoing Catalogue without regretting that Rembrandt, in his old age, should have, like our own Milton,

"Fall'n on evil days,

On evil days though fall'n and evil tongues."

The troubles existing at that time pervaded the whole of Europe, and works, both of poetry and painting, produced little emolument to the possessors; consequently the whole of this rich assemblage of works of art, the accumulation of years, fell a sacrifice to the hammer of the auctioneer, producing little more than four thousand nine hundred guilders. By its list, however, we are enabled to refute the assertion of many of his biographers, that he neglected the antique, and the works of the great masters of the Italian school, the catalogue including casts from ancient sculpture, and drawings and prints after Michael Angelo, Raffaelle, and Titian, which at that time were rare and of great value. We find by a memorandum on the back of one of Rembrandt's proofs, on India paper, of his etching of "Christ Healing the Sick," which now goes by the name of "The Hundred Guilder Print," that, "wishing to possess a print of the Plague, by Mark Antonio, after Raffaelle, valued by the dealer Van Zomers at a hundred florins, he gave the proof in exchange;" and further, "that such proofs were never sold, but given as presents to his friends." We may perceive by this the anxiety he had to collect works that were excellent. As we do not discover amongst the various articles enumerated, either palette or brushes, we may infer that on quitting Amsterdam he carried off all his working apparatus.

With this short notice of his life, and these few remarks, I must now enter into what is more properly the subject of this work, a critical examination into his principles and practice.

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1 ([return])
Mr. Nieuwenhuys, in a note in his Life of Rembrandt, mentions that the Directors of the Anatomical Theatre resolved to sell this picture by auction, for the purpose of augmenting the funds for supporting the widows of members, and in consequence the sale was announced for Monday the 4th of August, 1828. Since the year 1632, until this period, it had always remained in that establishment, as a gift from Professor N. Tulp, who presented it as a remembrance of himself and colleagues. Mr. N. had no sooner heard that the piece in question was to be sold, than he went to Amsterdam, with the intention of purchasing it; but, upon arriving, was informed that his Majesty, the King of the Netherlands, had opposed the sale, and given orders to the Minister for the Home Department to obtain it for the sum of 32,000 guldens, and caused it to be placed in the Museum at the Hague, where it remains. The picture is on canvas: height 64–½ inches, width 83–½ inches.

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