Studio: international art (51.1911)

Drawings by Rembrandt

are so worthy of study. His strong individuality,
his marvellous faculty for representing light and
shade, his diversified methods of work, even his
personal tastes and his home life, all these are
strongly reflected in his work with brush, pen and
pencil.

The fourteen fine drawings in the Wauters col-
lection are all executed with pen and sepia. But
Rembrandt was at home with all materials. A
classification of his works in Paris, Vienna, Berlin,
London, Amsterdam, Dresden and other art
centres shows that he worked with pencil, pen or
brush, red chalk, silverpoint, Chinese ink or wash,
either separately, or, as frequently happened, in
combination, with equal facility. He displays great
diversity, too, as regards manner. There are
careful drawings in which the most subtle deli-
cacies of light and shade are indicated ; others
which have been produced with the most exces-
sive haste. How wonderfully expressive are these
latter ? How much more they tell us about the
artist than his more deliberate, painstaking efforts !
He has seen some incident or other in the streets
of Amsterdam, and on returning to his studio he
would transfer it to paper without delay. Not a
moment is to be lost or the impression will be
gone! So he seizes his pencil, or his pen, or his
chalk, whichever comes handiest, and on the
nearest piece of paper makes his rough yet
eloquent record. Two of
his well-known drawings
were made, as we know,
on the backs of invitations
to a funeral. Nearly all
artists, whether ancient or
modern, are the same in
these matters. To my
own knowledge Henner
so set down his fleeting
impressions, and the only
studies he ever made for
the majority of his pic-
tures were little sketches
in charcoal and white
chalk on any chance scrap
of brown paper he could
find, or, in lieu of that,
the inside of a large slit-
open envelope that had
already passed through
the post. It is most
probable, however, that
Rembrandt’s method of
working underwent modi-

fication. In his early days he could not take too
much care over the finish of his drawings : he
worked on them with the same diligence which
he applied to his splendid copies of engravings
by Italian masters. But as he grew older he
developed a freer manner. He saw that he had
everything to gain by rapidity. These records
of choses vues were, after all, only notes made
solely for his own eyes and personal use. What
matter if the lines were somewhat incoherent, so
long as they served their purpose and aided him
in the preparation of his works ?

All Rembrandt’s drawings may be roughly
divided into two categories: his studies from
nature and his compositions. Examples of each
class of work are to be found among the sketches
owned by M. Wauters, and how admirably they
illustrate the artist’s life will be vividly remembered
by all who saw them on view at the memorable Rem-
brandt Exhibition at the Bibliotheque Nationale,
in Paris. It does not much matter which we take
first. Here is a page of sketches : some women’s
heads, the figure of a man standing, and that of a
woman sitting down. Whether done direct from
nature, or, as is more likely, from memory, they
witness to one indisputable fact—a desire for truth
and an all-absorbing interest in the people around
him. Strict fidelity to Nature was Rembrandt’s
ruling passion, so what more natural than that he

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