University Readers

Four hundred years after his birth, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) is still celebrated as one of the greatest biblical artists of all time. In the early seventeenth century, he was acclaimed as a portraitist, a master engraver and draftsman, a civic painter, and a landscape artist only to be nearly abandoned by society later in his life.

Rembrandt’s unparalleled work in his paintings speaks the best about his life, and this book is a strong narrative of the story of his life as it reflects in the story of his art. The author outlines important facts about Rembrandt’s life to the general reader and presents new ideas and observations on his mastery over iconography and human emotions across the breadth of his art work.

In this riveting book—accompanied by beautiful full color photos of some of Rembrandt’s most noteworthy works—Patrick Hunt provides students and lovers of art history--a brief yet insightful sketch on the mysteries that surround the life and work of this genius master painter.

Dr.Patrick Hunt is on the Classics and Archaeology faculty at Stanford University since 1994. He has authored many articles on art history, mythology, and archaeology and specifically on Rembrandt’s use of mythology and biblical narratives.

Review: American Library Association journal CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries (April 2008):

"As an introduction to Rembrandt, this book offers much. Hunt (Stanford) a classicist by training and profession, brings a lively enthusiasm to his subject, which is developed chronologically. He sensitively considers how the circumstances of Rembrandt's life affected his art. He also brings out some of the aspects of daily life in Amsterdam and art production: the plague was recurrent and rampant, and paints could be the source of toxic metals. For the specialist, this book has some ideas worth noting, and that deserve to be more widely known in mainstream discussion. These include the eroticism of Rembrandt's 1632 Europa, the attention to textual detail in the 1635 Belshazzar's Feast, and the possible hidden pun in his etching Faust of about 1652. Although passages of this book are overly trusting in and reliant on some recent secondary sources, overall, this is a highly readable and accessible text for the general public, and an unexpected source of insight for scholars. The literature on Rembrandt has grown exponentially, especially in recent years; this work demonstrates that those who write perceptively on the artist need not be limited to those academically trained as Rembrandt scholars. Summing up: Recommended. Lower level undergraduates and above; general readers."
--Professor A. Golahny (Lycoming College)