Rembrandt van Rijn’s most famous paintings—such as The Night Watch and The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp—may represent his 17th-century Dutch surroundings. But the artist’s well of inspiration reached deep into antiquity, tapping sources like the Old Testament and Greek myth.
A newly announced Rembrandt exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York will dissect the artist’s unique relationship with stories and artistic traditions of the past. Several of the pieces coming to the Met have never been seen in the United States before. One piece on display will be Rembrandt’s The Abduction of Ganymede (1635), depicting the myth of a young Trojan boy who is kidnapped by Zeus, disguised as an eagle.
Another, Bathsheba Holding King David’s Letter (1654), shows the eponymous biblical character—a serial Rembrandt subject—holding a letter from King David, who in the Old Testament observes her bathing on her roof and forces her into adultery. Such timeless tales have inspired many artists throughout history, including Renaissance masters like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Rembrandt’s own fascination with antiquity was partially inspired by such artworks, an art historical connection that the exhibition will outline by including Renaissance objects alongside the Dutch master’s paintings.
One Rembrandt painting included in “Rembrandt and Ancients” is itself a meditation on inspiration across centuries. In Aristotle with a Bust of Homer (1653), the fourth-century-B.C.E. philosopher contemplates the author of the Odyssey, who lived centuries before Aristotle was born. Rembrandt’s classically-inspired paintings are identifiable by his style of dramatic light, shadow and emotional depth.
Seidenstein singles out Bathsheba Holding King David’s Letter for its subject’s facial expression, telling the Times that it is “a masterpiece of painting and one of the artist’s most affecting treatments of emotion and psychological interiority.” That painting will be displayed alongside an ancient Roman relief and a print that inspired Rembrandt’s work. Also on display will be Rembrandt’s interpretation of the myth of Diana and Actaeon, famously depicted by Renaissance master Titian, as well as a red chalk drawing of the biblical King Solomon. During Rembrandt’s lifetime, there was a “flourishing interest in antiquity” in the Dutch Republic, per the statement.
In 17th-century Amsterdam, the elite collected ancient art, staged classical dramas and translated ancient texts into Dutch. Rembrandt’s interpretations of ancient stories and characters often articulated ideas about his own era. Many of the exhibition’s pieces belong to the Louvre Museum, which is co-organizing the exhibition with the Met.
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