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A Sailing Boat on a Wide Expanse of Water

Creator

Dutch Artist · 1606–1669

The ninth child of well-to-do millers, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn was born in Leiden on July 15, 1606. In 1620, after two years at Leiden University, Rembrandt became the pupil of Jacob van Swanenburgh. He subsequently moved to Amsterdam to apprentice with the leading history painter in the Netherlands, Pieter Lastman, absorbing his colorful palette and eloquent narrative approach. After six mon

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Date: about 1650
Medium: Pen and brown ink and brown wash, on tinted paper
Culture: Dutch
Department: Drawings
Institution: Getty Museum

The flatness and broad, horizontal expansiveness of the Dutch landscape is punctuated by a lone sailboat. A gentle breeze blows to the right, agitating the rushes, and filling the sail of the boat. The vista opens to the right where a small peninsula of land, a house, and sensitively rendered architectural forms appear on the horizon. To the left, a mass of bulrushes balances the composition. In this area, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn modeled the reeds using wash; to simulate nuances of sunlight and shadow, he left portions of the paper blank. The pen strokes are varied, changing from rapid, thin touches to broader strokes that emphasize the marshy area and sailboat.

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