Rembrandt at the National Gallery ✎

This blog post is a write up of Room 44 at the National Gallery which is an intimate space with some really exquisite & captivating portraits by Rembrandt. Feel free to see my other write ups. I love going to galleries and writing about art.

Rembrandt van Rijn is one of the great masters. His visual art is utterly moving and captivating. I also love his family name “Van Rijn” refers to the river Rhine which flowed through his birthplace Leiden. Beautiful name.

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Rembrandt’s Self Portrait (aged 34) by Rembrandt (1640)

Beautiful. Partially-lit in a darkened alcove makes for a very captivating and fascinating portrait.

I believe this was influenced by Titian — or perhaps, the other way round?

There is a certain dignified gravity in his manner. Rembrandt is here clearly wealthy, successful and confident. His use of light reminds me of Caravaggio and the Italian Baroque paintings.

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Portrait of Aechje Claesdr by Rembrandt (1634)

Wow.

I think this was Rembrandt’s grandmother. It is so lovingly done and moving.

The subject evokes a fragile and tender feeling. Her elegant and delicately-pleated white ruffs balance her compelling face.

I think her unmet gaze, furrowed eyebrows, pursed lips, heavy eyes, bulbous nose create a melancholic face, even forlorn. Makes me feel protective and, as though, I want to embrace her warmly.

Rembrandt paints the deeper character of his subjects, and skillfully depicts the effects of age with some tenderness.

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Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume by Rembrandt (1635)

Rembrandt made this portrait of his wife Saskia in the year after their marriage. She ended up dying at the age of just 30!

She is depicted as Flora, the Roman goddess of spring.

Here, she appears with an armful of flowers in a gleaming opulent dress. She appears pregnant; and indeed she was. Their first child, Rombertus, named after her father died at birth.

I think it’s very sweet.

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Portrait of Philips Lucasz by Rembrandt (1635)

Very engrossing and beautifully painted.

Even the unruffled hair seems rather elegant and refined as his lace collars and the golden chain.

Philips Lucaszoon was an important official with the Dutch East India Company.

Rembrandt painted this portrait shortly before Philips left for Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia), where he died some years later.

If you notice, there is a thick and rather strange “un-contoured” line between his lips. According to the NG:

“Although both are signed by Rembrandt himself, there is a clumsiness to the execution of this one which suggests that one or more of his assistants may have had a hand in it. The thick black line representing the shadow between the sitter’s lips is quite rudimentary, for example. But it’s also possible that Rembrandt was forced to finish the painting quickly, and that what we see here are simply signs of overhasty work.”

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A Man seated reading at a Table in a Lofty Room by Rembrandt (1628-1630)

This painting is considered to be the work of an early follower.

The details and vivid contrasts of light and shadow imitate Rembrandt’s style from his early years, when he worked in his native Leiden (1625-31).

In the detail, the cracks and shadows in the walls ornately & meticulously painted.

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Anna and the Blind Tobit by Rembrandt (1630)

This is the story of Anna, her husband and their son Tobias is told in the Book of Tobit.

Light envelops a room through an open window. God tested their faith by reducing them to poverty and blinding Tobit.

The light pours onto Tobit, the old man. He sits facing the room, partially-lit, hands clasped, head lowered, in a meditative pose. He sits near his wife Anna, winding wool.

It’s beautiful and quite moving.

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Ecce Homo by Rembrandt (1634)

Ecce homo is latin for “behold the man” – the words Pontius Pilate used to present Jesus of Nazareth to a hostile crowd ahead of his crucifixion (John 19:5).

Pilate — wearing an exotic turban striking a sagacious bearing — rises to his feet; while the Sanhardians are depicted by Rembrandt as being distorted & ugly caricatures clamouring towards Pilate. Presumably to kill Jesus. This is the Pauline gospels of the NT. This would be radically different from the Jerusalem sect of the Jesus followers under St James. Also, a monument of Tiberius on the right. Also, interesting that the warm shining light focuses not on Christ and his crown of thorns (who turns his sight away) — but on the Jewish priests.

The painting evokes the chaos and mob.

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Portrait of Margaretha de Geer by Rembrandt (1661)

Margaretha de Geer was the wife of a wealthy Dutch merchant (Jacob Trip portrait below).

Her softly wrinkled flesh is captured with solemnity and sensitivity. Her millstone ruff seems to radiate. Mind you, she does seem somewhat aloof.

Amazing how Rembrandt captures the languid slightly-sunken eyes, narrow lips, patches of darker reddish hue on her cheeks.

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Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels by Rembrandt (mid-1650s)

This is quite interesting, and intimately beautiful.

It seems Hendrickje Stoffels may have been Rembrandt’s mistress - after the death of Saskia. Though the National Gallery says this isn’t absolutely clear. She entered the household as a nurse to his young son Titus.

Expensive pearl earrings, golden chains, arm resting on a gilded chair, luxurious white fur. She is painted with magnificence.

There is a hint of a breast and it’s suggestive of a romantic connection. There is a sweet tenderness to her.

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A Woman bathing in a Stream by Rembrandt (1654)

This makes me smile. It’s tender and intimate; but also quite silly.

This lady wades into a small pool, robes behind her, almost up to her knees in a stream. Smilingly, she lifts her shift in the pleasure of the cool water against her legs.

According to the gallery:

“Although it’s not certain, this woman may be Hendrickje Stoffels, who came into Rembrandt’s household to look after his infant son after his first wife, Saskia, died. Hendrickje and Rembrandt became lovers but were unable to marry. In the year this picture was painted, Hendrickje endured public humiliation because she was pregnant outside of marriage. Perhaps the painting was a homage to her strength and loyalty.”

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Portrait of Margaretha de Geer by Rembrandt (1661)

Amazing.

Another Margaretha de Geer. She was obviously wealthy lady alongside her husband Jacob, Trips the merchant family.

Margaretha here seems to exert a force of character, will, and intelligence. I like the frontal pose, phlegmatic and resolute.

Can’t believe how enormous those millstone collars were!

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Portrait of Jacob Trip by Rembrandt (1661)

Jacob Trip was one of the richest men in Holland.

It seems to me Jacob is painted with respect and dignity. He is given august and stately loose-flowing gowns and vestments. He seems to occupy an ornate ceremonial & throne-like chair. Floating almost. The rod, lightly clasped in his hand, as a symbol of authority.

The face is self-assured man, stolid, philosophical, distinguished. While his frailty is quite clear, Rembrandt doesn’t allow any fragility to overtake his solemnity.

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An Old Man in an Armchair by Rembrandt (1650s)

God. I love this.

There is something very moving in Rembrandt’s depictions of the elderly and senescent. Perhaps, part of our natural affection to our grandparents?

I find this old-timer’s deep contemplation — and slight anxiety or restlessness — quite moving and engrossing. There is an unease to this painting, and the lambent light adds to the effect. He seems slumped on his chair, one hand gripping the wooden arm and the other lightly massaging his temple, his eyes cast downwards distantly, and some of his torso caught under a shadow. The furrowed head and thin side-tufts of hair add to the effect.

Pretty amazing.

Bold, intense, heavy brushstrokes.

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A Seated Man with a Stick by Rembrandt (1606-1669)

Dramatic painting.

Lit on one-side, walking-stick in hand, and a haughty gaze. He seems to have a raised eyebrow, suggesting impatience? It’s an interesting face on a shimmering luxurious aureate silk garments.

A very imposing figure.

But not Rembrandt himself it seems. According to the National Gallery:

“X-ray images reveal that the figure has been painted over a rather roughly sketched image of the Crucifixion, suggesting that this was a piece of canvas on which a previous composition had been tried but then abandoned, before being re-used for this painting.”

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An Elderly Man as Saint Paul by Rembrandt

Love it.

There is a deep introspective, reflective and sereneness to St Paul. Love the red chapeau (almost falling off!!) & wisps of hair to the sides. Hands folded, and gazing into the distance ... this also makes for a striking painting.

Apparently, painting is a portrait of some contemporary sitter in the guise of Paul.

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Portrait of Frederick Rihel on Horseback by Rembrandt (1663)

I might have to revisit this painting. It is huge & I struggled to capture it, with the light shining behind me in the museum.

The subject Frederick Rihel was a wealthy Amsterdam businessman. It is supposed to commemorates his part in welcoming William of Orange into Amsterdam in 1660.

I do like the vividly yellow jerkin, gloves and shimmering sleeves and plumed hat against a rather gloomy background. But it does rather lack in personalities of the above portraits; and the horse doesn’t seem to have potence and energy of a classic Rembrandt?

Middle Temple Library ✎

I’m taking a break from blogging for a few weeks.

More photos:

Sir Horace Avery — very famous judge.

The world wants a ceasefire, but Hamas doesn’t want it ✎

Political theater this week in the United Nations.

I wonder if the UN is aware that there was a ceasefire in place already. And, guess who broke it?

The Biden Administration has thrown a bone to the progressives and China and Russia while burnishing their reputation among the global south to save face. But, I think this has hurt Israel and bolstered Hamas. I don’t think it amounts to a serious shift from America per se; but it’s noteworthy.

From Julian Borger & Lorenzo Tondo, in “Israel isolated as UN security council demands immediate ceasefire in Gaza” (The Guardian):

The UN security council has voted to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, after the US dropped a threat to veto, bringing Israel to near total isolation on the world stage.

The vote result sets up the strongest public clash between the US president, Joe Biden, and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, since the war began.

The US abstained and the 14 other council members all voted in favour of the security council ceasefire resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members who voiced their frustration with more than five months of deadlock between the major powers. Applause broke out in the chamber after the vote.

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Hamas doesn’t want a ceasefire, even if the rest of the world does

Last week, a hostage deal was agreed with Hamas in which they would release 40 Israelis against 800 Palestinian prisoners. (Yes, a joke; but that’s a tangent). Israeli negotiators agreed to it via an American-brokered compromise. But, then, on Monday, the UN General Security Council passed a resolution submitted by Russia and China demanding a ceasefire without stipulating the release of hostages.

Then, Hamas rejected the hostage deal. And just yesterday, Hamas fired rockets into Israel — for the first time in 2 months. They clearly don’t want a ceasefire; but the rest of the world still maintains Hamas somehow wants “peace”.

This resolution has done nothing but to bolster Hamas. The Biden Administration’s abstention has isolated Israel diplomatically; and has shown Hamas that the international community will pivot their pressure against Israel demanding a ceasefire which mentions but doesn’t condition the ceasefire on the release of the hostages. (Mind you, when the US proposed a resolution for a temporary ceasefire with the condition that hostages be released, Russia and China shot it down swiftly). 

The resolution tells Israel that it needs to ceasefire until the end of Ramadan, whether or not the hostages are released. And separately, it also tells Hamas that they need to unconditionally release the hostages. This subtle American shift against Israel is also a message to Hamas that they will get a ceasefire without having to pay anything. And hence, as I have mentioned, Hamas have derailed the negotiations. Afterall, why ‘negotiate’ if you’re already going to get what you want via the UNSC. Namely, their original demands of a permanent ceasefire, troop withdrawal and hostages-for-all-prisoners exchange.

Moreover, there already was a ceasefire in place on Oct 6 which Hamas broke. It was agreed after rocket attacks on 21 May 2021. We’ve always had ceasefires which Hamas keeps on breaking.

There’ll be calls for another ceasefire next week, and probably pressure on Israel to release much more prisoners and accept even worse terms.

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The Yasser Arafat romantic projection

Secular liberals in the West keep projecting onto Islamic terrorist organisations some kind of anti-colonial/imperial rationality which we are more familiar with. There are ‘good guys’ against the ‘bad guys’. We tend to think about this conflict as if we are dealing with charming Yasser Arafat … like an alternate reality. Mind you, Yasser Arafat was anything but charming. As such, big-strong westerners sweep in, rescue the “oppressed”, reverse centuries of resentment and hatred, and put the jewel back in the crown.

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Failure to understand Hamas’ support

A real problem in the West — and particularly among the Left — is to look at the Hamas-Israel war and think it’s just some innocent Palestinians that are getting killed here; and that Hamas is a separate conceptual entity. However, almost every single poll on the issue shows overwhelming support for Hamas among the Palestinians (e.g. “57% of respondents in Gaza and 82% in the West Bank believe Hamas was correct in launching the October attack, the poll indicated”). 

With respect to Hamas, or a majority of the general Palestinian population in greater Israel; when asked in interviews about peoples’ solutions — the average answer was not coexistence. That is the problem. The desire for political autonomy is understandable; but when you see the exultation of ‘martyrdom’, you know you are dealing with a very dangerous and warped outlook.

Palestinians have been lectured, preached, and taught that Israel is only a week or a month away from non-existence. “If you resist a little longer, the Jews will leave ...”. This fascistic guerilla-warfare psychology is not just totally delusional, but presents no clear military path to any kind of victory. Afterall, what was the military object of Oct 7 – besides a bloodletting? They don’t want a two-state solution.

Every peace negotiation begins with Israel asking: “are you prepared to recognise the sovereignty of Israel?” Israel’s non-negotiable demand is the precise negation of Palestine’s non-negotiable demand. Once Palestinians stop seeing the Jews of Israel through the prism of French rule in Algeria, and drop the ridiculous ‘right of return’ nonsense, then negotiations can finally happen.

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The principle of negotiating with terrorists

Something I’ve been thinking about is what happens once a liberal democracy starts “negotiating” with terrorists? I think you invariably incentivise terrorist activities. You make it profitable. It suddenly becomes attractive to kidnap citizens of a government and hold them ransom. So, while the Israeli government thinks it may be saving lives in the immediate negotiation, that government is putting future Israeli lives at greater risk. As soon as you pay the ransom for one person, it gives an inherent legitimacy to the transaction.  

On the other hand, Ronald Reagan traded arms for hostages in the Iran-Contra affair. Also, the United States has been negotiating with Iran on their development of their nuclear weapons programme? Also, there were negotiations with the IRA. 

So, what is the answer? Should Israel be negotiating the hostages?

In the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, Israel negotiated the soldier’s release in exchange for 1027 prisoners held in Israeli custody. According to wikipedia, of which “two hundred and eighty of these had been sentenced to life in prison for planning and perpetrating various attacks against Israeli targets”. So v. dangerous people were released. Among the prisoners released was Hamas Chief Yehiya Sinwar who is one of the architects of Oct 7.

I think Israel has to ignore international pressures, keep plowing through and get the job done of eliminating Hamas. Israel has a duty to guard its borders and the rest of its Israeli civilians. 

At least, with these new missile launches, Hamas can’t use the excuse of Ramadan anymore.

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Corrigendum (28.03.2024): Above, it said rockets were fired for first time in 2 months. Thanks to Yael, rockets have been fired from Gaza repeatedly.

Princess of Wales undergoing cancer treatment ✎

Poor woman. A young mother faces much more than just her own suffering; and having to go through this publically must be brutal for her and the family. I hope the press give her some privacy which she deserves.

I understand some horrid and unscrupulous type had accessed her medical records in order to sell it to the tabloids. 

It’s pretty awful that she had to release the announcement of her surgery earlier than, I think, she would have wanted because some idiot wanted to make a quick buck.

Must be awful for William too. He lost his own mum at a young age. This has to be heartbreaking for him as well. He finds out his dad has cancer; then, almost immediately, finds out his wife does too. He recently lost his granny, and his brother is an estranged idiot. Poor guy.

Wishing her all the best.

Ceasefire is on the table, but Hamas terrorists don’t want it ✎

In “US president warns of looming Ramadan deadline and tells Israel there are ‘no excuses for not letting aid into Gaza’” (Daily Telegraph):

Joe Biden has said a ceasefire deal is in the hands of Hamas as he urged the terror group to accept an Israeli proposal for a pause in fighting.

“It’s in the hands of Hamas right now,” Mr Biden. “The Israelis have been co-operating, the offer (of a ceasefire) is rational. We’ll know in a couple of days. But we need the ceasefire.”

The talks broke down after Hamas refused to provide a list confirming which hostages in Gaza are still alive.

The deal involves:

Hamas releasing all women, children and wounded hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, to a ratio of about one hostage to 10 prisoners.

It also allows for hundreds of aid lorries to enter Gaza during a 40-day pause in fighting.

There seem to be no protests & exhortations calling on Hamas to release the women, children and injured? Indeed, a few days ago, Hamas even “refused to reveal how many hostages are alive” (DT):

Hamas was refusing to hand over the names of living hostages, stalling talks for a ceasefire, on Sunday night.

Israel has demanded to know how many of the roughly 130 hostages that remain in Gaza are still alive as a condition of returning to the negotiating table.

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Israel doesn’t want to be at war; but Hamas wants it

Israel is amenable to a ceasefire — as long as Hamas releases the Israeli civilians being held hostage. Hamas have not only instigated this war; but have refused to observe measures which would bring about a ceasefire — even a modest reprieve for Ramadan. They want to be in a perpetual state of war. 

People will be thinking as they read this: “oh... but is that a reason to be killing civilians?”. But, they need to blame the right people: Hamas. Hamas grabbed these non-combatants; women and children as hostages. They have wrought hell-on-Earth upon ‘their own’ people in Gaza.

A fundamental problem is that people regard Hamas as a vague external actor and not as the government of Gaza. Hamas have somehow managed to shift the responsibility for Gazan citizens wellbeing onto Israel. However, Hamas simply don’t care about the innocent Palestinian civilians. Ismail Haniyeh has called “the blood of women, children, and the elderly of Gaza ... so as to awaken our revolutionary spirit”. They will never prioritise peace, prosperity and wellbeing for the ordinary Gazans. They don’t want a ceasefire because the more the Gazans suffer, the more the West will turn on Israel and Jews in general. There’s also a report of the Hamas leadership citing civilian causalities as a good bargaining chip. 

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As far as I see it, a ceasefire would only ever be entertained by Hamas if it offered a strategic advantage in stopping Israel from winning the war which Hamas declared on Israel & Gaza.

The harsh reality, in my view, is that the kidnapped victims are very unlikely to be released safely. Probably Ever. And, I suspect that the Israeli government knows this.

From a strategic perspective, enacting a ceasefire would now only strengthen Hamas. They are now in a position of an almost defeated enemy, and desperate to regroup. Only Rafah is left in Hamas’ control. I think Israel should go forward with their offensive. A ceasefire called now will, in a few months/years, be another war with heavy civilian casualties against a fascist adversary that cares not for its civilian population. I don’t think Israel is going to stop until they wipe out the capabilities of Hamas. Hamas and their Iranian backers have overplayed their hand on October 7th.