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Telling the difference between drawings by Rembrandt and his pupils is a centuries-old problem. A popular teacher with more than 50 documented students, Rembrandt taught all of them to draw in his style. Together, they produced thousands of drawings, and even immediately after Rembrandt’s death, there was confusion about who made them. In the last 30 years scholars have made major strides in their ability to recognize Rembrandt’s drawings from those of his students.
This exhibition features drawings by 15 of Rembrandt’s pupils in close comparison to drawings by the master himself. We now know that the body of drawings once regarded as by Rembrandt includes many differentiated personalities of great artistic merit in their own right. See our online interactive to be guided in a close comparison of drawings by Rembrandt and 10 of his students. |
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Rembrandt and His Pupils Drawing from a Nude Model, Constantijn Daniel van Renesse, about 1650. Hessisches Landesmuseum, Darmstadt
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Drawing played a central role in Rembrandt’s teaching methods. The master made drawings for his students to imitate, and he and his pupils sketched the same models and landscapes side by side. The stylistic similarities between Rembrandt’s drawings and those of his students are the result of these teaching exercises.
Rembrandt’s close working relationship with his pupils is most vividly depicted in this sheet, made by a talented amateur who came to Rembrandt’s studio for drawing lessons. The composition shows Rembrandt (at center) huddled with five students drawing a female nude. Compared to the confident Rembrandt, who draws with the aid of a board casually propped on his knee, the seated man wearing glasses strains to look and draw simultaneously. Meanwhile another eager pupil peeks over Rembrandt’s shoulder to follow his example. |
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Cottage and Farm Buildings with a Man Sketching, Rembrandt, about 1641. Norton Simon Art Foundation, Pasadena
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Rembrandt and his pupils also made sketching trips in and around Amsterdam to capture impressions from nature. In this etching, Rembrandt evoked these outings by including a seated draftsman in the right foreground. The exhibition presents drawings of this same cottage and farm buildings from slightly different vantage points. Previously these studies were thought to be by Rembrandt himself. They are now considered to be instances of the pupils and the master drawing the same site side by side. |
