2 comments about Rembrandt (History and Tech of the Masters).

1. Like every book in this series, it seems to me to be the beginning of what could be a fascinating subject. The close ups are nice, but if you are looking for in-depth information on Rembrandt's technique, you may be disappointed. You only get a glimpse of his style and the book is over. However, the price is right, and these books could be of real value to someone just beginning a study of art.



2. Rembrandt by D.M.Fields is great place to start appreciating works by Rembrandt. Considering its size, reproduction quality, close ups, and its price at under $15 this book is an unbeatable value. Yes, there are other books which look more closely at his life's sordid details; others at his techniques. But this book doesn't claim to have it all; it is simply a great overview.

No comments about Rembrandt's Jesus: Meditations on the Life of Christ.

No comments about Willem Drost: A Rembrandt Pupil in Amsterdam and Venice.

1 comments about Rembrandt: See and Do Children's Book.

1. Beautiful full-color drawings, photos, and reproductions of major works of art offer children a way to explore Rembrandt and his works. Rembrandt blends biography with artistic insights for grades 4-6 and beyond, providing bright pages of art and fun drawings and color. Highly recommended.

2 comments about Rembrandt A&I (Art and Ideas).

1. 
   In her book Mariet Westerman guides us through the life and works of Rembrandt - from his earliest self-portraits to the introspective works of his later days. And she does so with empathy and a deep understanding of both the artist's character and the artistic, economic and social environment which he was a part of. Westerman writes in a matter-of-fact way without being superficial. Thus the book may be read by the specialist and novice alike and enhance the pleasure of both the next time they are confronted with the profound humanity of Rembrandt's art. This is no coffee-table book, but comes in a format made for reading and use in trains and galleries alike. Nevertheless, the book is beautifully illustrated with all the pictures relevant to a top biography of one of the most beloved artists in European culture. Highly recommended!



2. i received the book on time, it was in very good condition! i'd purchase from this company again.

No comments about Rembrandt (World of Art).

4 comments about Drawn to the Light: Poems on Rembrandt's Religious Paintings.

1. Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, professor of English, is an accomplished poet, with grace and sensitivity that crosses artistic media and achieves great expression in volumes such as 'Drawn By the Light: Poems on Rembrandt's Religious Paintings.'

   The layout and print quality of this text is remarkable. The colours leap from the page, even given the relatively muted tones and darker tones Rembrandt often used in his sacred topics. Some of the paintings in this small text are the most famous of Rembrandt's; besides his self-portrait on the cover, the book includes the following:

   Two Scholars Disputing; Woman Bathing in a Stream; The Sacrifice of Isaac; Jacob Wrestling with the Angel; Jacob Blessing the Children of Joseph; Moses Smashing the Tablets; Hannah and Samuel; The Reconciliation of David and Absalom; Simeon with the Christ Child; The Head of Christ; Christ and the Woman of Samaria; The Return of the Prodigal Son; The Apostle Peter Denying Christ; Christ on the Cross; Christ at Emmaus; Self-Portrait as the Apostle Paul

   Rembrandt had an art for taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary; he also brought the biblical stories into his own time period, in architecture, decoration, style of dress. McEntyre similarly brings the biblical stories and paintings into relief in words that are both timeless and current for the present. One cannot tell if the paintings adorn the poems or the poems adorn the paintings. The details brought out of the paintings, both in McEntyre's words and the highlighted sections of paintings assist in setting a mood of reflection that includes both the big picture and the details.

   McEntyre's poetry sometimes seeks the thoughts and emotions of Rembrandt. Other times, the poetry seeks to elaborate upon and seek the meaning brought out in the paintings themselves. Her words invite emotional reflection, spiritual growth, theological inquiry, and a search into the mysteries of life, particularly life with God. God is in the shadows of the paintings; God is in the deep-etched faces of the people; God is in the verse.

   God is also in the questions. Perhaps the most powerful piece here, and one of the most famous painting accompanying, is the Sacrifice of Isaac. McEntyre's verse speaks of the questions: 'What kind of God would require such appalling fidelity?' Of course, Abraham was faithful, but not without cost, as McEntrye continues that 'some madness will always haunt him', and Sarah his wife will always mistrust him, her eyes darkened with suspicion.

   Further in the text, McEntyre explores another famous painting, the Return of the Prodigal Son. Here she speculates on the painter's gaze, as well as the human condition -- so little in life is private, and even reconciliation comes with a great cost. The prodigal son receives forgiveness, but the painting, like the gospel parable, is just a snapshot. The prodigal now returned will continue to bear his brother's enmity and be in his father's debt. McEntyre compares this with the attire of the prodigal -- that he will wear his past as a hair shirt regardless of the more festal vestments he dons over himself.

   In all, this is a fascinating and wonderful text, a great meditation tool, and great for new insights into these important paintings.




2. I loved this book. The poems, like the art work, are beautiful and provocative. And true. I spent a peaceful, prayerful afternoon with it, but am looking forward to working with it at a women's conference and at another meeting where members enjoy experiencing art in various contexts. It would also be a great gift idea for homebound people, for it is both broadening but not intimidating. Experience it for yourself.



3. This book is a treat. As one explores Rembrandt and delights in McEntyre's poetic responses, a relationship of exploration and response is created. And through this process we, the readers, are encouraged to first pause with DRAWN TO THE LIGHT and then find our own poems and our own subjects worthy of exploring-a lovely invitation well worth taking.



4. "Drawn to the Light" is the perfect book with which to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt's birth. The meditative poems of Marilyn Chandler McEntyre will convince you that no full-blown biography is needed to appreciate the strengths of this artist. Your celebration should involve the opening of heart, mind and soul to Rembrandt's gift of shedding light - illuminating those aches we hold in common - the Joys, also.
   
   Many will have absorbed vague prejudices, that Rembrandt was profligate. Yes, he did suffer his wife Saskia's death in 1642, and a traumatic bankruptcy in the mid-1650s. He was not known to be an active church-goer but his spirituality is revealed through his art. It is evident in his paintings from Biblical themes that his knowledge of these stories was not shallow.
   
   Poet McEntyre must have experienced many different emotions as she studied the paintings, and wrote about Rembrandt's interpretations. Readers, too, doubtless have many varied reactions while studying these paintings, shown here in excellent reproduction.
   
   In reverie I feel as though I've 'audited' three courses : in religion, painting & writing, and there has been revealed a new understanding of Rembrandt's ingenious use of brush & palette. Augmented by one's favored translation from the New Testament, it becomes an unforgettable encounter.
   
   It isn't widely known that the famous "Return of the Prodigal" was left on Rembrandt's easel at his death and later completed by a pupil. The poignancy and power of this story in poetry and painting, foretelling a future of living with consequences - does make us more aware of the universality of an aching need for forgiveness. The painting is a threefold revelation with meditation, and the study of Henri Nouwen's "Return of the Prodigal Son"(isbn # 0385473079) and McEntyre's poem. The world could be transformed by such study, believes this reviewer.

1 comments about Rembrandt's Women (Art & Design).

1. This book is by far the most complete collection of drawings and paintings of women by Rembrandt. Very well-written and organized, the book reveals how Rembrandt perceived and expressed the beauty of the female body. Interestingly enough, Rembrandt went above the common practice of his time, that is the use of "goddess-like" proportion in painting females. At one time considered hideous by his contemporaries, Rembrandt's paintings of women are among the most beautiful, earthly, and sensual. Each painting reproduction is so vivid; readers who understand the process of painting by the Old Masters can somewhat picture how ingenius effects may have done just by looking into these plates.

   A must-have for any art lover!

5 comments about Rembrandt's Jews.

1. After having enjoyed Michael Zell's book on Rembrandt and the Jews, I looked forward to the release of Nadler's publication. While Rembrandt's Jews is well-written and at times touching, I found it to be a pastiche of other books I have read on Dutch Jewry. What Nadler has done, albeit in an engaging way, is combine other scholars' ideas about Dutch tolerance of the Jews and Jewish life in seventeeth-century Holland (Yosef Kaplan and Miriam Bodian, for example), while throwing in a few works of art for illustration.



2. Part Art History, part Jewish history, and with beautiful illustrations, this book tells the story of the Jews who were expelled from the Catholic countries of Southern Europe, and how they were fortunate to find a home in Holland for the 400 years up until the Nazis. Rembrandt did quite a few Old Testament paintings and had Jewish neighbors and patrons, thus the connection. This is more a Jewish history than a Rembrandt biography.



3. 
   The Spanish and Portuguese Jewry in Rembrandt's Amsterdam is the ultimate paradigm of Sephardic rebirth. It was realized at the heels of the demonic relentlessness, notoriously known as the "holy office" of Spanish Inquisition. However, in Amsterdam the doors were open to members of the Portuguese Nation to reinvent themselves, to live in relative peace amongst their correligionist. These merchants and their families brought with them strong ties to overseas commerce but most important of all, the unyielding need to shed the dark cloak of Christianity, and worship in their ancient way. Many brought with them the noble bearing of the Hidalgo, With it's love for the better things in life such as; art, literature, and fine dress. Yet, besides bringing Iberian refinement to the Netherlands, together with the need to pursue a better economic life, their greatest achievement was that they built from the ashes of persecution, a lasting memoire, of Sephardic survival. It is From Amsterdam that the spark of Judaism branched out to England and the Americas, The Spanish and Portuguese Jews being historically speaking, some of the first Hebrews to bring Judaism west of Europe.
   This testimony of Sephardic grandeur survives within the confines of Art and literature. Here we see Rembrandt in a sense, inadvertently chosen, to be a chronicler of the survival and rebirth of a proud and prominent people.
   In Nadler's book we read this episode in Sephardic history unfolding in a very eloquent way. Nadler's research into this perplexing Jewish phenomena is noteworthy and I enjoy reading Nadler's account of interaction between The Spanish and Portuguese Jews and their Protestant neighbors from Amsterdam, specifically Rembrandt, who I have an artistic affinity towards. My only complaint being that Nadler could have given us more color plates to appreciate and mull over, while turning the pages.
   
   Shmuel Fuentes Hazzan



4. Nicely written and only fairly illustrated, it opened up for me more questions than it answered. I would have liked more illustrations and more discussion of the art of painting in 17th century Holland, but you can't have everything in a relatively short book. The one important point that Nadler touches on is the way the Dutch painters and print makers saw the Jew and the Jewish community and portrayed them in their work. The fact that the Jew was portrayed in the art of an earlier period in Europe as ugly, twisted and dark, gives us an idea as to how the Jews were depicted and thus how this helped to spread anti-semitism among the populations of Europe. Unfortunately, art as well as literature played a role in developing and spreading anti-semitic feelings and beliefs throughout Europe. These Dutch painters break with an older ugly tradition and paint the Jew and his community in a better light. One simply has to look at the paintings and prints to see the sensitivity of the Dutch artists and their desire to capture the Jewish culture of their time.



5. Very interesting book; fast reading. Strays from the subject at the end. Casual touch of tourist viewpoint fits in with the general mood. It referred me to Schama's The Embarrassment of Riches, which was HEAVY.

1 comments about How Rembrandt Reveals Your Beautiful, Imperfect Self: Life Lessons from the Master.

1. Part of my low rating has to do with the format of the book, likely nothing the author could control. That is the paucity of photographs of Rembrandt's paintings--and the ones that are here are in black and white, completely insufficient for a book on a painter famous for his use of colors!
   That said, I did find the facts about Rembrandt's life interesting, not having known them before. Those more familiar with those facts will probably not find anything new here. The author's personal thoughts on similarities between Rembrandt's life and our modern lives are occasionally thought-provoking, as we might notice how life hasn't changed that much in over 350 years. But thost same thoughts are not very penetrating, falling under chapter titles such as "Trust your own way," "Love leads to forgiveness," and "Age will come."