Golahny Genre 2016 Abstract

Amy Golahny- Logan A. Richmond Professor of Art History, Art Department Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pennsylvania USA 17701 “Rembrandt and ‘everyday life’: the fusion of genre and history,” in New Perspectives in Early Modern Northern European Genre Imagery, Editor: Arthur J. DiFuria, London and New York: Ashgate/Routledge/Taylor & Francis, 2016 FURTHER INFORMATION: https://www.academia.edu/17923590/Genre_Imagery_in_Early_Modern_Northern_Europe_New _Perspectives https://www.routledge.com/Genre-Imagery-in-Early-Modern-Northern-Europe-NewPerspectives/DiFuria/p/book/9781472449146 Abstract: “Rembrandt and ‘everyday life’” In Dutch art, the category “genre” has become broadly applied to subjects that reflect activities of daily life, and that do not fit neatly into the other categories of history, portraiture, landscape, or still life, and was recognized by Gerard de Lairesse. Rembrandt (1606-1669), who made paintings, drawings and etchings in each of these categories, also merged several of them in a single image. As a pattern, some of Rembrandt’s works suggest a fluid relation between these five classifications. This essay demonstrates how the artist, whose prime ambition was as a history painter and portraitist, combined observed figures with historical subjects. As Rembrandt viewed people on the street, he envisioned them in roles of ancient rulers and other characters appearing in his paintings, as suggested by Andries Pels. Works discussed include the early painted series of the Senses, the Shipbuilder and his Wife of 1633, and depictions of the old blind Tobias.