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– REMBRANDT – The Man Who Lit Up the World
INTRODUCTION
The Netherlands, or Holland, is a small country in north-western Europe, about half the size of Tasmania in Australia, or about the size of Maryland in the USA, but it’s packed with world famous icons. World renowned Dutch highlights include tulips, windmills, cheese markets, wooden shoes, millions of bicycles, and picturesque city canals.
But the most famous Dutch export and gift to the world has been its people and their talents. From this small country with a population of only 17 million people have come world famous athletes, explorers, inventors, scientists, writers, and artists.
Today we’re going to follow the footsteps of one of the Netherlands’ most loved and famous citizens, whose talents and masterpieces have touched the hearts and lives of people around the world for centuries.
And the life and works of this gifted Dutchman will perhaps highlight the typical Dutch character, creativity, innovation, and inherent capabilities for which they are famous. But, more importantly, his masterpieces will also highlight how we can all find true happiness and inner peace.
So stay with us, because Rembrandt’s discovery, use and understanding of light – the Light – will change your life forever.
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FASCINATING ATTRACTIONS
About 20 million people visit the Netherlands each year. They’re attracted here because although it’s only a small country it’s packed full of interesting things to see and do. Many come here to admire the beauty of Holland’s flowers, and in particular the tulips.
From mid-March to the end of May, the tulips transform big parts of the Netherlands into a colourful patchwork quilt. The fields are filled with gorgeous colour everywhere. It seems like the countryside is transformed into a vast sea of flowers.
But it’s not just the flowers that attract people. The Netherlands has some of the largest and most picturesque windmills in all the world. There are over a thousand windmills scattered across the country.
The five biggest windmills in the world are located in the centre of Schiedam. The windmills here are over 40m, or 130 ft high. But when it comes to beauty, the 19 polder-draining windmills of the Kinderdijk win first prize. They were built around 1740 and are a masterpiece of water management in a typical Dutch landscape.
At Zaanse Schans you get an idea of life in Holland in the 17th & 18th centuries. Back then there were more than 600 windmills in the area, creating the first industrial zone. A number of these windmills can still be visited today.
Now, what’s more Dutch than a cheese market? The Netherland’s history of cheese-making goes way back to the time of Julius Caesar. In fact, sometimes it seems that the number of dairy cows in Holland may rival the number of tulip bulbs in the fields!
The Dutch produce about 650 million kilos of cheese every year. Two-thirds is exported, which makes Holland the largest cheese exporter in the world. No wonder Holland has a worldwide reputation of being a cheese country.
A lot of the Netherlands cheese is sold at cheese markets. The oldest, biggest, and most famous Cheese Market is Alkmaar. Today, thousands of visitors from all over the world come here to watch the cheese traders at work.
The Netherlands is a country where bicycles are used a lot, thanks to its flat landscape, mild climate, short distances and wonderful infrastructure. In fact, almost 30% of all travel in Holland is done by bicycle and there are over 37,000 kilometres of dedicated cycle paths.
Another popular means of travel is on the canals, and a visit to the Netherlands isn’t complete without enjoying the canals. Many Dutch cities were built around canals. Amsterdam, the capital, has the best-known canals.
But after Amsterdam, Leiden is the city with the greatest number of bridges, canals and moats. The city has 28 kilometres of waterways and 88 bridges. Leiden’s canals run through the city and are lined with docks on which trees have grown, to anchor boats. These canals can take you all the way back to the Golden Age of the Old Dutch Masters.
REMBRANDT AND THE GOLDEN AGE
Now, the Dutch Golden Age was a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, when Amsterdam had a huge and unprecedented increase in wealth, and culture flourished.
In particular, Dutch art thrived during this period. This Golden Age of Dutch art produced famous painters such as Vermeer, Hals, Steen and de Hooch. But the greatest master of the Golden Age of Art, and one of the greatest artists of all time, was Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, who was born in 1606 in a house beside the beautiful Galgenwater Canal here in Leiden.
Today a plaque commemorates where his birth house stood. Rembrandt was the 9th child of a rich miller who planned big things for his son and sent him to the local Latin School. But he displayed a special talent for art and when his parents saw that’s where his heart was, they placed him under the tutelage of Jacob van Swanenburgh who became his mentor, teaching him how to draw, paint, and make etchings.
At the age of 18, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam to work for Pieter Lastman, a popular artist and painter. Six months later, Rembrandt returned to Leiden to open his own workshop. Back in his hometown, he accepted his first pupils, and his popularity grew rapidly.
In 1631, Rembrandt decided to return to the prosperous city of Amsterdam, and he soon established a reputation as one of Amsterdam’s leading artists. He created astonishingly life-like portraits of the city’s wealthy merchants, shipbuilders, and local politicians and their families.
Rembrandt could have lived a comfortable life, probably progressing on to work for wealthy aristocrats and even monarchs. But something changed his life and the focus of his art. His father had been influenced by the teachings and Bible beliefs of Martin Luther and the Protestant reformers.
He attended the local Protestant church and embraced the new ideas of faith, forgiveness, a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and the powerful stories of the Bible. So, Rembrandt grew up in a Bible-believing home and the Bible became everything to him. It was the backbone of his life.
And it was the stories and message of the Bible that inspired him and became the single major focus of his art. In fact, over one third of all his paintings and sketches are of Bible subjects and stories.
By his early twenties, Rembrandt had won fame and acclaim for the way he used light and shadows, to foreground events and figures in his paintings, which gave them a dramatic and dynamic effect.
He became known as the ‘painter of light.’ He brings the Bible stories to life and as you look at his paintings, by his brilliant use of light and shadow, he draws you in and immerses you in the story. You can literally feel the emotion, the tension, the passion.
This is clearly seen in one Rembrandt’s early famous paintings that he produced in 1633, when he was only 26. It’s called ‘The Storm on the Sea of Galilee.’ The painting depicts the Bible story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, that’s described in Mark’s Gospel. It’s Rembrandt’s first and only seascape.
The disciples are out in a boat on Galilee with Jesus, who was sleeping in the stern. Suddenly a storm came. The panic-stricken disciples struggle against this violent storm as a huge wave crashes over the bow. The wind and the waves have forced the boat upwards so that the whole vessel is on a dangerous tilt. The sails are torn, and the lines are broken. Water is flooding into their vessel.
By a remarkable use of lighting and angles Rembrandt instantly draws our eyes to the light at the front of the boat where the disciples are desperately trying to keep it afloat. We can see their panic, desperation, and despair. One is sea-sick and vomiting over the side of the boat.
But then we experience Rembrandt’s genius as he guides our attention to the contrast from left to right. After we’ve seen the panic and desperation going on in the left of the scene, there’s a shift to the peace and calm on the right of the painting where Jesus is sitting.
In contrast to those who struggle with the sails on the left, others are found lower down in the right in a haven of relative calm which is centred on Christ. Light surrounds His face as He offers peace and hope in the middle of the storm.
The face of Jesus is lit not by the sun hitting it, but from the inner light of God. The light that came to bring peace and hope. In the Bible it says in John 1:4, 5:
“In Him was life and that life was the light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
PAINTER OF LIGHT
Rembrandt, the painter of light, uses light in his painting to focus our attention on the true light – Jesus, the light of the world – who brings peace and hope.
But perhaps the most moving and evocative part of this painting is Rembrandt himself. If you look closely at this painting, you’ll see 14 figures. There are 12 disciples, and Jesus. That makes 13. So, who is the 14th person?
Well, at the front of the boat and along the centre line of the canvas there is a figure dressed in bright blue. He stares out at us. This is Rembrandt himself. Now, it wasn’t unusual for an artist to paint himself as an onlooker at some event. But here Rembrandt is a participant in the drama. He too is in the boat!
He’s staring out of the painting at you and me, and looking at us in such a way as to invite us into the scene as well. It’s as if he’s asking us to take a look at the disciples and their reactions to the storm. And then he asks us directly, which of the disciples are you like when you face the storms of life? Where do you run to?
Are we like the disciples fighting with the sails and rigging, trying to fix everything ourselves? Or, are we like the one hanging over the edge of the boat, sick and anxious with worry? You know, as I look at this painting, in a sense I find myself in each of the sailors. I often try to fix things myself and solve my own problems. Other times, I feel overwhelmed with stress and anxious thoughts. Other times, I’m reminded of my need to hurry to Jesus.
Rembrandt is looking directly at us and saying, ‘When the waves come, when the winds blow, then run to Jesus. That’s where you’ll find peace and safety.” He’s reminding us to trust God in the middle of our storms.
THE STORMS OF LIFE
Rembrandt is speaking to us from experience. He faced many storms and challenges in life. About the time of this painting, he married the love of his life, Saskia van Ulyenburgh. Rembrandt’s career took off, and they were prosperous and happy. They had four children. But then tragedy struck. Sadly, three of the children died young.
Then his dear Saskia passed away in her early thirties and Rembrandt’s many debts forced him to sell his house and his possessions. A few years later, he lost his close friend and companion Hendrickje Stoffels, and his remaining son Titus as well. And then to add to his sorrows and burdens he was bankrupt[ed] and lost everything he owned, and ended up penniless.
But after all these tragedies and challenges, his legacy is one of someone who, in the middle of the storm, after losing everything and all those close to him, he points us to Jesus. He reminds us that when you’re going through a storm, God is not distant, apathetic or uninvolved. No, He’s right there with you and He’ll get you through the storm.
Stressful situations often feel like they’re out of control. But they’re not out of God’s control. When we’re battered by a storm, we don’t need to tell God how big the storm is. Rather, we need to tell the storm, and ourselves, how big God is!
We need to let our faith set the sails of our lives when our world feels out of control. You can’t control the wind, but you can control the direction you set your sail. Set your sail by choosing to focus on Jesus in the middle of the storm.
THERE WITH US
I love the fact that Jesus didn’t stand on the shore and shout out instructions to the disciples. When you’re in a storm, you don’t need advice. You need a miracle! You need somebody right there with you. And that’s exactly where Jesus is. He’s right there with the disciples in the storm.
This is the Gospel, the Good News. God doesn’t stand on the shoreline telling you what to do. Instead, He’s right there with you in your own storm – in your pain, in your fear, in your depression and discouragement. He’s right there with you.
You may feel abandoned right now, but you’re not. The Bible says in John 14:18,
“I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm – I will come to you.”
Jesus is right there with you! And that’s what Rembrandt is telling us in this masterpiece.
In the same year that Rembrandt painted this masterpiece about the storm on the Sea of Galilee, he completed another famous painting that focused on the crucifixion of Christ – a familiar theme in Rembrandt’s artwork. In 1633 he painted ‘The Raising of the Cross’..
In this painting the Roman soldiers are lifting the cross to stand it upright. Christ is front and centre, nailed to the cross. Many hands are pushing and pulling the cross into its place.
A ray of light coming from the top of the image illuminates Jesus, whose face is contorted in suffering. Crucifixion is probably the most brutal and torturous death penalty ever devised by men. It was specifically designed to cause excruciating pain, and this ray of light captures this cruel reality.
The same ray of light continues on and shines on a man in a blue beret who’s standing at Jesus’ feet helping to lift the cross. Obviously, this man is not from the first century. And yet, there he stands, playing a major role in lifting the cross with the others. So, who is it? Well, indeed, it’s Rembrandt himself. Again, he’s included himself in his painting.
Now, why would Rembrandt place himself at the feet of Jesus as He’s being hoisted up and crucified? Well, for no other reason than to tell the world that Rembrandt had made serious mistakes and had done wrong things in his life.
You see, Rembrandt was tremendously influenced by the Bible and the Protestant faith. He understood the Gospel of the Bible and the Reformers – that we’re all sinners who find forgiveness, grace, mercy and righteousness at the cross of Christ.
He understood the weight of his sin and the power of the cross. God’s compassion and mercy profoundly affected him. By placing himself here in the painting, is Rembrandt’s way of saying, “I am a sinner. I was there too. I’m guilty. I helped crucify Christ. My sins and mistakes crucified Him.”
Now, what’s also interesting, is the fact that Rembrandt not only painted himself as the one raising the cross into its place, but he’s also the Commander on the horse behind, in charge of overseeing the death of Christ.
And what’s striking, is the commander isn’t looking at those carrying out the punishment. Rather, he’s staring out from the canvas straight at you and me, pulling us into the scene. It’s as if he’s saying, “Don’t forget, you were there too. None of us are innocent.”
Rembrandt’s reminding me that I’m guilty too. I was also there. My sin crucified Christ. My human mistakes, my pride, my greed, my sins caused Jesus to suffer and die.
So, what does all this mean? Well, simply this: we’ve all sinned and made mistakes and deserve punishment, but Jesus took our place and paid the penalty for us.
When Jesus died on the cross, he paid for all your sins – the ones in your past, present, and future. Through the cross, everything you’ve ever done wrong was wiped out, forgiven, cleansed, purified, eliminated, and forgotten. That’s what Rembrandt’s telling us – and that’s the best news ever!
Rembrandt had flaws in his life, he made mistakes, but he experienced the freedom of forgiveness and the inner peace of a close relationship with God. And this is the message that permeated much of Rembrandt’s artwork, right up to the end.
PRODIGAL SONS
In fact, it’s most clearly seen in his very last major painting. Shortly before his death in 1669, Rembrandt completed what many believe to be the greatest picture ever painted. He painted a life-size depiction of Jesus’ timeless parable of ‘The Return of the Prodigal Son’, also known as the Lost Son.
It’s a famous story Jesus told to the Pharisees about a rich man and his two sons. The story describes how one day the younger son comes to his father and says: “Dad, I’m leaving. I want my half of the family inheritance right now so I can leave immediately.” So, he takes half of the family inheritance and moves to a foreign country.
He then wastes his life and fortune on wild living. After some time he’s squandered everything he has. His inheritance is gone. All wasted and misused. There’s nothing left, and he experiences hardship and falls on difficult times. He ends up on a farm feeding pigs.
One day when he’s flat on his back, he comes to his senses and asks himself, “What am I doing here? I know I blew it – I’ve really messed up and it’s all my own fault. But the people back home who work for my father as servants live better than this.”
So, he decides to return home and tell his father, “Dad, I know I’ve messed up and made a huge mistake. I’ve wasted half the family inheritance. I don’t deserve to be called your son anymore. But just hire me as a servant, and I’ll work for you for the rest of my life, because your servants live better than I’m living now.”
So, he got up and went home. Yet the father was both loving and gracious to him. He saw his son when he was still a long way off and rushed out to meet him. He threw his arms around him and embraced him. The father was so happy and overjoyed to have his son back home that he threw a huge party for him.
OLDER SONS
The older son, however, is not so happy. While his younger brother was squandering the family inheritance, he has continued to work hard for the father’s business and has never gotten such a big party. The father tells the older son that everything he has is his, but that on this day he celebrates the return of his younger son.
The story of the prodigal son is a picture of God’s love for His children. God’s love doesn’t depend on our faithfulness. It’s unconditional. He loved us while we were still rebellious and disobedient. Though we are demanding and do not remain faithful, God still loves us and wants to be with us. He’s still our faithful and loving Father.
Rembrandt could relate to this profound concept. He had personally experienced this heavenly love and forgiveness. It brought him peace, and he wanted to share it. He depicts this story as though this is his spiritual testament to the world – as if it’s his final statement.
All of his experience, wisdom, genius and talent are encapsulated and summed up in this one final masterpiece. It’s a depiction of overwhelming love and forgiveness.
By a brilliant use of light and darkness, Rembrandt helps us feel the impact of the event and brings the story to life. From a deliberately dark background, the three spotlighted men immediately attract our attention. An arc of light runs from the feet of the prodigal son up through his ragged clothes and shaven, downcast head, into the arms of the father. The light swells and ascends to the father’s illuminated face, across his brow, and then shoots like an arrow across the picture to the other son – the elder brother who remained at home.
But the brightest section of the arc of light focuses on the father’s tender embrace of his returned son. The son leans into the father and there finds mercy, acceptance, forgiveness and love.
The prodigal’s father is like your heavenly Father. No matter what you’ve done, when you come home to God, he wraps you in his love. He gives you his best and says, “All is forgiven! Go get the robe. Go get the shoes. Let’s have a feast! My child has returned to me.”
SPECIAL OFFER AND CLOSING PRAYER
If you’re tired of living away from God, and want to get back to Him and experience His unconditional love and the inner peace and happiness it brings, then I’d like to recommend the free gift we have for all our Incredible Journey viewers today. It’s the popular booklet, Amazing Grace.
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If you’ve enjoyed our journey to the Netherlands in the footsteps of Rembrandt, and our reflections on God’s unconditional love for us, then be sure to join us again next week, when we will experience another of life’s journeys together. Until then, let’s pray to our Heavenly Father, whose love for us is unconditional and never ends.
Heavenly Father, We know that we haven’t always been living the way you want us to. Even though we know the right thing to do, we’ve turned away from you and chosen the things that hurt your heart. Thank you that you’ve never turned away from us. You’ve never left us or changed how you feel about us. Thank you for loving us still. We pray in Jesus‘ name. Amen.
