Dutch celebrate Rembrandt at 400

Real Rembrandts or imitations?
A 1935 inventory listed 611 Rembrandt oils, but the Rembrandt Research Project has whittled that down by about half. Yet even van de Wetering changes his mind sometimes. The project was created in 1968 to settle questions of attribution.

New works are still being discovered. Two, borrowed from Warsaw Castle for exhibit, were long attributed to "Rembrandt's studio." Cleaned of grime, X-rayed and chemically tested while still in Poland, van de Wetering announced earlier this year that they came from the master's own brush.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in Leiden, 20 miles south of Amsterdam, the son of a miller. He moved to Amsterdam in 1631 where he married Saskia van Uylenburgh, the cousin of an art dealer who introduced him to wealthy clients.

After Saskia died in 1642, Rembrandt bedded his son's nursemaid, Geertje Dircx, but discarded her for his 23-year-old housekeeper, Hendrickje Stoffels. Dircx took him to court for breach of a promise to marry her, but Rembrandt took his vengeance by testifying that she was unbalanced and had her committed.

Rembrandt was never the poor struggling artist. He won fame from an early age and commissions kept flowing. But he was a miserable money manager and profligate spender. He went bankrupt and was evicted from his home in 1658. Four years later, he even sold his wife's grave site to pay off debts.

He painted self-portraits throughout his life, not to satisfy his ego or to explore his soul, but because he was a name brand and the works sold well.

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