PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 4, No. 20, SERIAL No. 120
COPYRIGHT, 1916, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
IN THE RYKS MUSEUM, AMSTERDAM
ELIZABETH BAS—Portrait by Rembrandt
REMBRANDT
The Real Man
FOUR
One day Rembrandt was employed in painting the portraits of a very rich family in Amsterdam. This was to be a group picture, and as usual with him, Rembrandt was working hard to make it a success. While he was painting, someone opened the door of the room in which he was and brought in the dead body of a monkey. The appearance of this funny little creature appealed to the artist at once. He wanted to make a picture of it right away. But the only thing on which he could make the drawing was the canvas on which he was painting the portraits of the rich family. So Rembrandt, without hesitation, painted the monkey in among their portraits. They were very angry, of course, but in those days Rembrandt was at the height of his career and he did not have to concern himself about how his customers felt.
This little incident, whether it is strictly true or not, illustrates one side of Rembrandt’s character. When he was most successful he was carefree and independent. It may have been this independence that brought him to his ruin—although in all probability it was the indifference of his fellow citizens to his work.