DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61252#0053
INTRODUCTION.
9
imagination framed strange spells out of elemental light
and shade. Thence he brought his unearthly shadows; his
dreamy splendours; his supernatural gleams; his gems,
flashing and sparkling with internal light; his lustrous
glooms; his wreaths of flaming and embossed gold; his
wicked, wizard-like heads — turbaned, wrinkled, seared,
dusky; pale with forbidden studies, solemn with thoughtful
pain, keen with the hunger of avarice, and furrowed with
an eternity of years! I have seen pictures of his, (such is
the Wise-Men’s Offering, in this gallery,) in which the
shadowy back-ground is absolutely peopled with life. At
first, all seems palpable darkness—apparent vacancy; but
figure after figure emerges—another, and another; they
glide into view, they take shape and colour, as if they
grew out of the canvas; even while we gaze, we rub our
eyes, and wonder whether it be the painter’s work or our
own fancy.
“ Of all the great painters, Rembrandt is perhaps least
understood; the admiration bestowed on him, the immense
prices given for his pictures, is, in general, a fashion—a
mere matter of convention, like the price of a diamond.
To feel Rembrandt truly, it is not enough to be an artist
or an amateur picture-fancier; one should be something of
a poet too.”* What is most extraordinary about him is,
the intense impression of nature, of a presence—a reality
which comes upon us from amidst this world of light and
shadow:—■
I see a mighty darkness
Filling the seat of power, and rays of gloom
Dart round, as light from the meridian sun,
Ungazed upon and shapeless—neither limb,
Nor form, nor outline ; yet we feel it is
A living spirit.
Those who would understand and feel the poetry of
* Visits and Sketches. A. J.
B 3
9
imagination framed strange spells out of elemental light
and shade. Thence he brought his unearthly shadows; his
dreamy splendours; his supernatural gleams; his gems,
flashing and sparkling with internal light; his lustrous
glooms; his wreaths of flaming and embossed gold; his
wicked, wizard-like heads — turbaned, wrinkled, seared,
dusky; pale with forbidden studies, solemn with thoughtful
pain, keen with the hunger of avarice, and furrowed with
an eternity of years! I have seen pictures of his, (such is
the Wise-Men’s Offering, in this gallery,) in which the
shadowy back-ground is absolutely peopled with life. At
first, all seems palpable darkness—apparent vacancy; but
figure after figure emerges—another, and another; they
glide into view, they take shape and colour, as if they
grew out of the canvas; even while we gaze, we rub our
eyes, and wonder whether it be the painter’s work or our
own fancy.
“ Of all the great painters, Rembrandt is perhaps least
understood; the admiration bestowed on him, the immense
prices given for his pictures, is, in general, a fashion—a
mere matter of convention, like the price of a diamond.
To feel Rembrandt truly, it is not enough to be an artist
or an amateur picture-fancier; one should be something of
a poet too.”* What is most extraordinary about him is,
the intense impression of nature, of a presence—a reality
which comes upon us from amidst this world of light and
shadow:—■
I see a mighty darkness
Filling the seat of power, and rays of gloom
Dart round, as light from the meridian sun,
Ungazed upon and shapeless—neither limb,
Nor form, nor outline ; yet we feel it is
A living spirit.
Those who would understand and feel the poetry of
* Visits and Sketches. A. J.
B 3