Storytelling in Miniature

Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669), one of the supreme figures in the history of painting, also holds a special place in the history of printmaking. No other artist except Albrecht Dürer (German 1471–1528) devoted so much of his time and creativity to the refinement of the graphic arts. Rembrandt’s printed body of work, which spanned a major portion of his artistic career, began in the 1620s while he was living in Leiden and continued until 1661, eight years before his death in Amsterdam. During that time he made more than 300 etchings. Even though Rembrandt gained early prominence as a painter, it was his prints that spread his fame.