Saint Bartholomew
ArtistWorkshop of
Rembrandt van Rijn
(Dutch, 1606–1669)
Dateabout 1633
Mediumoil on panel
Dimensionspanel: 63.3 x 47.6 cm (24 15/16 x 18 3/4 in.)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineCharlotte E.W. Buffington Fund
Object number1958.35
Label TextThe style and technique of the execution serve to date this painting at about 1633. At that time Rembrandt was employing the warm color harmonies and rich textural variations seen here. The agitated expression of the saint is also characteristic of this period when Rembrandt was particularly interested in capturing intense emotions in his subjects.
Saint Bartholomew is shown holding the instrument of his martyrdom, a knife, and looking forward to his grisly fate with a troubled, fearful expression. In two later representations of the same saint, painted by Rembrandt in 1657 and 1661, these violent emotions have disappeared, and Bartholomew is shown calmer, more secure in his faith, and with the profound psychological penetration which is characteristic of Rembrandt's later works.
Rembrandt was born at Leiden but lived and worked in Amsterdam after 1631 or 1632. Unlike most of his Dutch contemporaries, he was not a specialist but worked in virtually every category of painting and in the etching medium as well. In each of these fields he created works which rank with the most impressive in Western art.ProvenanceComte Guy de Leusse, Anet and Paris; from whom acquired by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Woods Bliss, Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C., 1920; given to Harvard University, 1940; sold through Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, to the Worcester Art Museum, 1958.On View
Not on viewCollections
