Rembrandt's Universe: His Art, His Life, His World

With more full-colour reproductions of Rembrandt’s work than any other collection, Rembrandt’s Universe is a definitive text – on Rembrandt, and on art. Eminently readable and packed with information about the painter and interpretations of his work including a pleasing treatment of scholarship to date.

Celebrated in his own time as well as the present, Rembrandt’s works have remarkable staying power. His output was prodigious totalling around 600 paintings, 300 etchings and 2,000 drawings, ranging from commissioned portraits to landscapes to religious allegories.

In spite of his longstanding popularity, authoritative accounts of Rembrandt’s life and work have been difficult to compile, and there has long been debate over the precise number of works that can be absolutely attributed to the great master. Distilling centuries of debate into a single volume, Gary Schwartz provides a completely accessible overview of the controversies and mysteries surrounding Rembrandt and his masterpieces. In addition, Schwartz addresses the more particular aspects of Rembrandt scholarship: the painter’s personal relationships; his finances; his artistic influences; his choice of subject matter; his techniques.

Gary Schwartz is one of today’s best-known writers on Dutch art. He was born and raised in New York but has lived in the Netherlands for most of his life. As an art historian he has written numerous specialist articles and books, but also books for the general public and children, including a prizewinning volume on Rembrandt. He writes a popular column on museums and art history in the Dutch daily Het Financieele Dagblad and is the webmaster of two highly regarded art historical websites.