Rembrandt van Rijn was born to a humble house in South Holland in 16061. His early success came from commissioned portraits and religious scenes from wealthy merchants. This allowed him to live a comfortable life of teaching and collecting art. That was, until he started living outside his means and died impoverished and alone. But Rembrandt’s legacy lived on through his students. He taught his students to imitate his style as strictly as possible, and only allowed them to draw in their own styles after they had graduated his school. Many of his pupils still imitated his style, unable to escape their teacher’s influence2.
Rembrandt's Lion
This particular lion comes from a series of careful studies in which Rembrandt taught himself for reference in future Biblical pieces. I bring Rembrandt up to teach us the animation fundamental of skilled draftsmanship. This is a straightforward principle, where the artist successfully renders something and gives it the illusion of three dimensions3. Weight is an important idea here; without anchor points the figure could easily drift off into space and the illusion of life is ruined.
This drawing was made in pen with both black and brown ink4, all the more astonishing because every stroke in ink is permanent. It seems Rembrandt chose pen and ink because of its ability to show texture; he could both render the lion’s shaggy mane and sleek back in the same medium5. It is a testament to Rembrandt’s draftsmanship and confidence in his skills. The lion appears to be a living, breathing creature and it wouldn’t take any stretch of the imagination to visualize it moving. It lays in a relaxed pose, but his eyes are alert, hinting that he is ready to leap to action at any moment.
1. “Rembrandt Van Rijn: Biography and Chronology”. Rembrandt Painting. http://www.rembrandtpainting.net/rembrandt_life_and_work.htm
2. Bevers, Holm. “Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling the Difference”, “The J. Paul Getty Museum”. (1).
3. Lightfoot, Nataha. “12 Principles”. Animation Toolworks.
4. Bevers, Holm, Schatborn, Peter, Welzel, Barbara. “Rembrandt: the Master and his Workshop”, “Yale University Press”. (10, 96).
5. Slive, Seymour. “Rembrandt Drawings”, “J. Paul Getty Museum”, (121).
6. Image via: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt-A-Lion-Lying-Down-207063.jpg
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Posted on November 4, 2011
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