Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called "one of the great prophets of civilization". The latter had the two reproduced for the catalogue of his collection by Louis Surugue with the titles Philosophe en mditation (Koninck) and Philosophe en contemplation (Rembrandt). Read our full Open Access policy for images In the paintings current state, Aristotle is depicted in three-quarter length. [12] In his manuscript list of the 17 paintings that he sold to Voyer on that occasion, Lormier referred to it as Oud Mannetje en wenteltrap (Old Man with a winding stair). Rembrandt van Rijn - The Philosopher . [4] As it is, the overall lighting is warm and quite subdued owing to the yellowing of the varnish. 39 (as "Portrait of Peter Cornelius Van Hooft," lent by Sir A. Hume). London. Other areas, particularly the beard, are painted with feathery strokes that are unlike Rembrandts brushwork. [4] Infrared reflectography was performed using a Hammamatsu c/1000-03 vidicon camera fitted with a lead sulphide tube. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details may not fully reflect the modified file. Whilst being one of Rembrandt's lesser known pieces, and even sometimes linked to other artists, there is a beautful balance to the composition here as the stairs curl across the height of the canvas and the philosopher sits quietly in deep reflection. [11] [11]Jonathan Bikker, Willem Drost (16331659): A Rembrandt Pupil in Amsterdam and Venice (New Haven and London, 2005), 154156, no. 20 x 24 inches. In all three of these other paintings, moreover, Rembrandt has given the figure a fuller beard than is apparent in The Philosopher. We should prostrate ourselves before Rembrandt and never compare anyone with him!". $325. [14], As late as 1982, the two paintings were believed to have shared the same provenance as far back as 1734, but this was disproved by the Rembrandt Research Project. Fig. Early German, Dutch & Flemish schools, Die Gemldesammlung Marcus Kappel in Berlin, https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/, Rembrandt Workshop (Possibly Willem Drost), The Philosopher, c. 1653, oil on panel, Widener Collection, http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.1205.html, http://www.rembrandtdatabase.org/Rembrandt/painting/232541/half-length-figure-of-a-bearded-man-traditionally-known-as-the-philosopher. By browsing this website, you agree to our use of cookies. The differences are in part ones of intent, but they also suggest that the works were created by different artistic personalities. Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. It is not found in Protestant or Jewish biblical canons. 6, Europe in the Age of Monarchy, The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Masterpiece Paintings, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Spanish), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Russian), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Portuguese), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Korean), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Japanese), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Italian), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (German), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (French), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Chinese), The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide (Arabic), Masterpieces of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Masterpieces of Painting in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Greek Art From Prehistoric to Classical: A Resource for Educators, "Going for Baroque: Bringing 17th-Century Masters to the Met": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 62, no. You can copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes. The Philosopher - Rembrandt - WikiArt.org Rembrandt: Philosopher in Meditation ; Artist: Rembrandt (1606-1669) Alternative names: Rembrandt van Rijn, Birth name: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Rembrandt Harmensz. 20002023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Philosopher with an Open Book, 1625-7. In spite of the obvious differences in the composition and execution, its attribution to Rembrandt was never called into question. List of drawings by Rembrandt - Wikipedia The richly clad Greek philosopher Aristotle (384322 B.C.) Madeleine Hours, "Rembrandt. Philosopher In Meditation Rembrandt 2023 - The Transcendental Meditation Read the additional visitor guidelines. Credit Line Much discussion has already sought to reject the title for the reason that there are no clear items of evidence to show that the figure is indeed a philosopher. FreeArt provides Free 8x10 inch prints. [15] Korthals Altes claims that Voyer already owned the Koninck when he acquired the Rembrandt, but cites no evidence. 7, to The Met). The artist raised the models right shoulder slightly and changed the shape of the hat at least three times. Although they were remarkably similar in appearance, a comparison of the X-radiographs of the two paintings indicated that they had been built up in entirely different manners and, thus, that they had been created by different artists. "Philosopher in Meditation" Rembrandt - Artwork on USEUM A number of stylistic similarities exist between this work and paintings by one of Rembrandts pupils, Willem Drost. The popularity of the painting may be measured by its presence on the internet, where it is often used as an emblem of philosophy, or interpreted along esoteric or occult lines. This period corresponds to the time this work was probably executed. Further, Clarke interpreted the concentricity of the composition and wealth of circular motifs as metaphors for the underlying theme of the painting: the eye and vision. Philosopher in Meditation by Rembrandt van Rijn. Louvre, Paris Dating the panel was not possible because of the complex construction. These accessories and his solitary condition make him a more plausible candidate for philosophical pursuits than the old man in the so-called Philosopher in Meditation, who occupies a space shared by at least one other person, and maybe even two. 1851); his son, John William Spencer Brownlow Cust, 2nd Earl Brownlow, Ashridge Park (1851d. It was created by Rembrandt in 1632. Many of Drost's male sitters, for example, stare intently out of the picture plane, as does this man. 116, as "Portrait of Cornelius van Hooft"); his grandson, John Hume Cust, Viscount Alford, Ashridge Park (1838d. Aristotles chain bears a medallion featuring a portrait of a man, possibly Alexander the Great. The paintings were exhibited together and titled interchangeably Philosophe en mditation and Philosophe en contemplation, or referred to simply as the Philosophes. 5]  [fig. Purchase, special contributions and funds given or bequeathed by friends of the Museum, 1961, Accession Number: [18], Although he waxed enthusiastic about these prized possessions, calling them "unique", by 1752, he had already sold them to his friend, Claude-Alexandre de Villeneuve, comte de Vence. The staircase is at the center of the composition, with the curved edges of the stair spiral orchestrating the consecutive straight lines. [2] The exact method used to encase this painting is difficult to determine because of the presence of the cradle. The join is 5.5 cm from the bottom edge. The Dutch philosopher Otto B. Wiersma (1999) published an article on the internet that he summarizes in these terms: Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, Leiden 16061669 Amsterdam), Medium: "[45] This judgment was criticized by Jean-Marie Clarke[46] who maintained the traditional attribution to Rembrandt and pointed out that the RRP might have had a special stake in rejecting this painting, as the following quote suggests: As in the staircase and the basketwork tray at the center of the composition, the curved lines can be said to organize the straight lines. Thus, although this work is neither signed nor dated, it must have been created in the mid-1650s, and, perhaps somewhat earlier, because the figure looks slightly younger. The Philosopher . . The Philosopher In Meditation Rembrandt Van Rijn who gave this artwork this name in the 18th-century post Rembrandt's death, presumably it is not regarding a philosopher and much more about the Book Tobit. In the latter paintings Rembrandt has suggested a more thoughtful individual both by emphasizing the wrinkles in his forehead and by throwing the upper portion of his face into shadow. A Note on Rembrandt's Aristotle, Alexander, and Homer As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes. "[60] The German art historian Karl Clausberg also pointed out the "ocular nature" of the scene and gave it a conceptual framework in his 1999 book "Neuronale Kunstgeschichte. And so, for another 3,000 livres the two paintings were reunited in 1762, not to be separated again until 1955. References: Rembrandt catalog raisonn, 1935, 260 ; Rembrandt catalogue raisonn, 1914, 449; Rembrandt catalog raisonn, 1908, 365; Illustrated catalogue of the ninth series of 100 paintings by old masters of the Dutch, Flemish, Italian, French and English schools, 27; Pictures in the collection of P.A.B. what kind of paint/materials were used in the art? This article analyzes the contradictory identifications of the subject of this work, from the very moment it arrived in Messina. This page is not available in other languages. Rembrandt's The Philosopher - Google Arts & Culture The painting appeared in Paris around the middle of the 18th century and made the rounds of aristocratic collections before being acquired for the royal collections housed in the Louvre Palace. Held associated this melancholy with a passage from Plutarch which recounts that Aristotle had fallen out of favor with Alexander; Liedtke sees the melancholy as an appropriate attribute of a man of learning in the seventeenth century. 2]  [fig. Description: Dutch painter, printmaker and drawer: Date of birth/death: 15 July 1606 : 4 October 1669 : Location of birth/death: Free art print of The Philosopher by Rembrandt Harmenszoon Van Rijn ." (painter), Rembrandt van Rijn The Philosopher Home > Collection > The Philosopher NGA Online Editions > Dutch Paintings 17th Century Image Description Rembrandt Workshop (Possibly Willem Drost) The Philosopher, c. 1653 Not on View Medium oil on panel Dimensions overall: 61.5 x 49.5 cm (24 3/16 x 19 1/2 in.) Original file (3,124 4,000 pixels, file size: 13.97 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg). Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, Part 1, 126. It was once attributed to the master Rembrandt van Rijn (it bore a false signature and date at the lower center, Rembrandt f. 1646), and later to his star pupil Willem Drost, who was active between 1650 and 1655. This is a part of the Wikipedia article used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). The paint was applied thickly in the light passages, with low impasto and loose brushmarking, and more thinly in the dark passages and the background. He wears a wide, floppy beret and a red-and-yellow patterned robe draped over his shoulders. In this process, the role of the supposed companion piece (see below), with which it was paired for two centuries and which was also attributed to Rembrandt, proved determinant. Rembrandt - The Philosopher in Meditation (cleaned).jpg 1,013 841; 257 KB Rembrandt - The Philosopher in Meditation.jpg 1,013 841; 112 KB Christ and the Woman of Samaria; Among the Ruins (1634), Jan Cornelisz Sylvius,the Preacher (1644-1645), Self-Portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill (1639), Portrait of Rembrandt with a Gorget (after c. 1629). Philosopher in Meditation, recently renamed Philosopher in Contemplation by the museum, is the traditional title of an oil painting in the Muse du Louvre, Paris, that is attributed to the 17th-century Dutch artist Rembrandt. (Cambridge, Mass., 1948), 1:5963. Whilst being one of Rembrandt's lesser known pieces, and even sometimes linked to other artists, there is a beautful balance to the composition here as the stairs curl across the height of the canvas and the philosopher sits quietly in deep reflection. The chiaroscuro treatment and the presence of many straight lines that are structured by curved lines speaks for an effort at reconciling oppositions. [25] Though a large book and a quill seem to be among the few objects on the table in front of the main figure, they are summarily depicted and impossible to identify more precisely: a Bible alone would not suffice to make the figure depicted a scholar or "philosopher." Along with this alteration are a number of other design changes. Learn more about our exhibitions, news, programs, and special offers. Korthals Altes, 2001, 259, note 32, which lists the sale catalogues known to have belonged to Lormier. Almost ten years after his purchase of this painting, Ruffo would go on to commission two more paintings from Rembrandt: a representation of Homer (remnants now in the Mauritshuis) and one of Alexander (now lost). Since provenance was generally cited in Sedelmeyer's catalogues, and Maurice Kann bought almost all of his paintings from Sedelmeyer, it seems reasonable to infer that The Philosopher had not yet been owned by Kann when Sedelmeyer offered it for sale in 1905. See Emile Dacier. Tobit was raised by his grandmother and remained loyal to the worship of God at the temple in Jerusalem. List of paintings by Rembrandt The following is a list of paintings by Rembrandt that are accepted as autograph by the Rembrandt Research Project. [40] The subject matter and details of the Koninck picture seem to have been directly inspired by a Rembrandt etching dated 1642 that represents St. Jerome in a dark chamber (Bartsch 105), which is the only other known work by Rembrandt that features a complete helical staircase. Return of the Prodigal Son. Landscape with Water, the Village of Amstelveen in the Background, C.1654-55. A86 with the title Interior with a window and a winding staircase and the parenthetical information: "a study in Kamerlicht." The curved stairs of which we can see from above and below also demonstrates the wide skills of this artist whose career would produce landscapes, architectural pieces and portraits at a high level. "[6] The type of signaturemonogram plus patronymicwould argue for 1632, since the artist is known to have used this type of signature only in that year. Amsterdam: Rijksmuseum, 2015, pp. to experts illuminate this artwork's story. In that regard, it was a perfect piece for an educated, thoughtful collector in the Early Modern period and remains an invitation to look and to learn for future generations of visitors to The Met. [13] 24 x 36 inches. It remains there today. It remains there today. [11] On 27 June 1748, Lormier sold the painting for Dfl. Purchase, special contributions and funds given or bequeathed by friends of the Museum, 1961, In the Footsteps of the Monuments Men: Traces from the Archives at the Metropolitan Museum. Rembrandt, in full Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Rembrandt originally spelled Rembrant, (born July 15, 1606, Leiden, Netherlandsdied October 4, 1669, Amsterdam), Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker, one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, possessing an exceptional ability to render people in their various moods and dramatic g. Ruffo was an avid collector; at his death he had 364 paintings, including a work by Van Dyck, Don Antonio Ruffo, principe della Scaletta, Messina, Sicily (165473; inv., 1660, [no. $210. [2] [2]Louis-Michel Van Loo sale, Paris, December 14, 1772, no. [53], With his inversion of the title, Aldous Huxley (1954) sums up most of the "deeper" interpretations of the painting: "There hangs in the Louvre a Mditation du Philosophe, whose symbolical subject-matter is nothing more or less than the human mind, with its teeming darknesses, its moments of intellectual and visionary illuminations, its mysterious staircases winding downwards and upwards into the unknown. Advertisement Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, 1653 by Rembrandt Courtesy of www.RembrandtPaintings.com Rembrandt's fame reached far beyond the frontiers of the Netherlands, as is clear from a commission Rembrandt received in 1653 from Sicily. Similar observations argue against identifying the main figure as an "alchemist," a subject that would allow for other figures, such as an assistant tending a fire. Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded. The complexity of Rembrandts workshop makes identification of the artist difficult, as it was common for Rembrandt to sign paintings produced in his workshop. This man, with his sad eyes and sharply chiseled features, is seen again in one of Rembrandts most memorable figure studies, A Bearded Man in a Cap from 165[7] (National Gallery, London) [fig. (Paris, 19091921), 5:1911. A third figurea woman standing in the stairs carrying a basket and turned to the spectatoris visible in 18th- and 19th-century engraved reproductions of the painting, but virtually invisible in the painting's present state. This week, artist Anselm Kiefer, author of a permanent dcor at the Louvre in 2007, brings together two of Rembrandt's masterpieces from the Louvre collection - Self-Portrait with an Easel and Meditating Philosopher. Rembrandt's portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible are regarded as his greatest creative triumphs. 3]  [fig. Bodes assessment of the Kappel version has found little support in the literature. Philosopher in Meditation (Bredius 431) is the traditional title of an oil painting in the Muse du Louvre, Paris, that has long been attributed to the 17th-century Dutch artist Rembrandt . 12 x 16 inches. A masterpiece of the Louvre This image is in the public domain. Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie, and more. [31] framed: 105.4 x 92.4 x 9.2 cm (41 1/2 x 36 3/8 x 3 5/8 in.) Described as Portrait of a Jewish Philosopher by early twentieth-century scholars, this painting is alternately titled The Philosopher, and is described in recent literature as Bust of a Man in Fancy Dress. The main narrative is dedicated to Tobits son, who is sent by his father to collect money in distant Media. Not only does it not define a logical form, but the nuances of shading that one finds along such a contour in Rembrandts paintings are absent. A discussion of the Philosopher in Meditation along essentially Gurdjeffian lines can be found on the Objective Art website (2011).[65]. Rudolf Steiner, "The History of Art: Rembrandt" (lecture 5), 28 November 1916, Dornach (Eng. Painted in oils on an oak panel measuring about 11 x 13 in. 3 Cornelis Bos (possibly), after Enea Vico, Aristotle, ca. The Mill . Leclair, 2006, 42, transcribes the note: This passage remains as a sentence fragment: "Le hasard qui les a rassembls l'un est plus fin l'autre a plus de piquant . The book that sits on his desk maybe a bible but again, this could symbolise all manner of things. 'Philosopher Reading' was created in 1631 by Rembrandt in Baroque style. It is signed "RHL-van Rijn" and dated 1632, at the time of Rembrandt's move from Leiden to Amsterdam. My Two Decades Living as an American in Europe - The New York Times The other objects in the painting suggest a domestic setting, yet the improbable architecture echos a riddle to be solved. [3] The most conspicuous figure is that of an old man seated at a table in front of a window, his head bowed and his hands folded in his lap. Florence Simmonds, 8 vols., Paris, 1897-1906, 8: 39, 126, 378), Bode noted on page 126 that the painting was in the Kann Collection and then on page 378 that it had changed hands and was with Sedelmeyer. Assistant Curator Adam Eaker invites readers to see The Met's five paintings by Johannes Vermeer in a new installation in gallery 630.

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