Rembrandt: The power of his self portraits | National Gallery

[@lordbattlefield]

My most favorite KZbin channel! These lectures are a treasure! The knowledge, the history, the context. This is how art should be thought at school. This is how one can fall in love with it!

[@nationalgallery]

Thank you for watching! So glad you're enjoying our videos. ❤️

[@erepsekahs]

Yes. It's also how art could be taught at school,

[@susanwilson3594]

Yes thank you, these lectures make staying at home fascinating

[@susanwilson3594]

Greatly needed additions to everyday shut down

[@janawaw8293]

i pro mne je to video vždy jako odměna- třeba jako pro dítě nějaký zákusek v cukrárně :-) ten výklad byl po celou dobu tak zajímavý, že se usmívám ještě dalších pár minut a zkoumám ten obraz dál a znovu, výklad J. Heard - mluví tak skvěle, že si to člověk rád poslechne i vícekrát.

[@leylag1466]

I homeschool my 5 year old and 8 year old boys. We watch this channel 3-4 times a week and my kids are absolutely hooked. They follow the lectures with no interruption, are 100% focused and in awe. It’s a delight to see my boys fall in love with arts and wanting to learn more and more about it. Titian, Dali, Vermeer, van Gogh, Holbein, Van Dyke, Degas etc are all favorites of my boys. Thanks to his channel a new generation of art lovers is being raised and recruited. I can’t praise you enough. Thank you for all your work and effort. It’s very appreciated and valued.

[@nationalgallery]

We are so glad your boys are enjoying our videos, Leyla! We hope we'll see you all in the Gallery soon so they can show off their knowledge.

[@BannerLisa]

Mr. Heard has a wonderful way of engaging his audience, and making the relevant points sing.

[@janprevod]

No,he hasn't

[@jannetteberends8730]

That was such an informative lecture. The most amazing thing for me was how much contact there was between countries. How Rembrandt was aware of other painters in Europe, and referenced to them in this painting. It was a very special time, he probably played with the children of the pelgrim fathers. My favorite Rembrandt is the drawing of Elsje Christiaens, its heart breaking. Rembrandt captured that feeling of a lost life so perfectly.

[@SergeiMaria]

This lecture is a treasure! Thank you Mr.Heard, I enjoyed it so much that I’ve listened to it at least 10 times😊

[@LisaMurphy]

I visited the Museum of Art in S.F. about 10 years back and was walking through looking at painting after painting and not really feeling much, and then I came upon one that just stopped me in my tracks. It was a Rembrandt and it was unlike anything I'd ever seen. I've learned a lot about the artist since because he is by far my favorite painter of all time.

[@gnomechild76]

which museum in SF was it?

[@muckstumble2056]

@@gnomechild76 most likely The Legion of Honor Museum . They have one Rembrandt in the permanent collection.

[@Impaled_Onion-thatsmine]

Its renessaince work, multiple painters - that can't even compare to what they were doing before at the church.. and not even Picasso earlier works that drove him mad - i saw those. If they actually were Picasso.

[@LisaMurphy]

@@Impaled_Onion-thatsmine Are you familiar with the English language? Are you trying to say that Rembrandt's work was not done by Rembrandt alone? But by multiple painters? Are you freaking crazy?

[@rosavella7548]

Brilliant! Very informative and enjoyable. Great to see these videos made available to the public, particularly for those who live far away from the capital and can't very easily get to the talks. Thank you.

[@nationalgallery]

+Rosa Vella You're welcome Rosa! Glad you liked the talk

[@isabellelaval7294]

I'm watching from Paris. Thanks indeed!

[@sandfly60]

Watching from Australia.

[@Cool_Aed]

“Nobody creates in a vacuum. we’re always looking around.” Is exactly what I needed to hear as an artist

[@studogable]

The Rembrandt room in the National Gallery is incredible.

[@Huaimek861]

Thank you The National Gallery , I am enjoying this talk on the history of Rembrandt , a mine of immensely interesting information .

[@GregorysMode]

These lectures on youtube are priceless when you cant get there.

[@og1kanobi40]

Good to see someone from Minecraft enjoying the lecture.

[@mina0rahman]

💀

[@lisastallingskeelor3328]

OG1KaNobi LOL! That’s funny. I’m wondering who is so famous or rich is sitting there and insisted on being blurred out??. Who would attend a lecture who is either that wealthy or famous?

[@sopo1608]

It’s Enda from the incredibles

[@zdanlins]

HAHAHAHA

[@lstarrtna4288]

Hahaha so funny I see

[@annaperova7092]

Dear, Mr. James Heard, thank you so much for shareing your knowledge about Rembrant paintings. Always when i see his works i start crying because of the details. Iam always so impressed by his attention to details and when i realise, he was working on his painting in 17th century, for me his works look like a miracle as well as opportunity to see them myself. Thank you so much for a great and deep pleasure!

[@sandrachitayat2124]

Rembrandt's eyes are amazing! So soft, yes blue, & transparent. Really like looking into the soul of the artist. I now understand how important Rembrandt is. Thank you to the lecturer, James Heard. Thoroughly enjoyable & engaging.

[@mrbutch308]

The genius of Rembrandt is that he had a magical ability to portray emotions (such as sadness or suffering) in the eyes of his subjects.

[@MiaFeigelsonGallery]

National Gallery, I was so fortunate to have been able to attend this great talk about Rembrandt, whose works I love beyond words, since I was on holidays in London on 15 February. I'd like to thank you for this great initiative and James Heard for his highly interesting dissertation!

[@9sheri9]

Outstanding & interesting presentation; a bit of a deeper dive into what I learned in art history. Very well done, Mr Heard. I didn't want it to end. 👏

[@amilinks5684]

Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! Beautiful account of his life! I hope that more of these lectures are posted. I hope that many more people watch.

[@jeffhreid]

What a remarkable lecturer. Quite an interesting character

[@DanNic88]

No

[@viviwil30]

Thank YOU very much! Warm regards from Argentina ❤️🇦🇷

[@cryptonite8495]

The woman in red in the front row, apparently the back of her head is so recognizable, and it being so crucial that she not be seen attending an art lecture, that she must be pixelated.

[@janawaw8293]

Mnohokrát děkuji za velmi zajímavé informace a detaily. Lituji, že jsem nestudovala tento obor, mohla bych to poslouchat každý den a nikdy by se mne to nepřestalo bavit.

[@katietheenergyworker6701]

James Heard - you are brilliant! I enjoyed this so much. Thank you

[@huntsail3727]

Loved your enthusiam for Rembrandt and his art. Well done!

[@ralphmilburn6245]

Mr. Wrinkles and Mrs. Pixels ;-). The presentation was great.

[@Scottie404]

I visited the Rembrandt Exhibition at Art Institute of Chicago a couple of years ago - his paintings are mesmerizing.

[@MiaFeigelsonGallery]

On this day in 2016 my younger and I attended this fantastic lecture which we both enjoyed enormously ! Dear National Gallery, I'd like to thank you for this great initiative as well as Professor James Heard for his highly interesting dissertation!

[@Jameson_Visual_Arts_Studios]

Love these talks on great works of art in the National Portrait Gallery that I listen to while painting in my art studio! They remind me so much of talks at The Art Institute Of Chicago that I listened to as a student at SAIC next door working in the museum day in, and day out with patrons, and works by the Old Masters, and Contemporary artists! I got to listen to the gallery talks, work in art studios next door, and meet, and talk with artists like David Hockney, Ellsworth Kelly, Kehinde Wiley, Susanna Coffey, Richard Hunt, Barbara Rossi, Jim Nutt, William Pope L., and James Bishop among others whose generous conversations, and work I appreciate to this day! 🎨🖼️🌿🌌

[@YoshiMario69]

wonderful painting, wonderful explanation, this man loves his job and loves art and is enjoying sharing his joy!

[@brianthornton79]

This history lesson here is wonderful!

[@KevinSpence]

Somehow just found this channel. Unreal. Thank you!!!

[@cassior7460]

Professor James Heard, thankyou so much for this wonderful lecturer! Amazing.

[@fleur7891]

Thank you for yet another most enjoyable lecture.

[@daveh9521]

Wonderful exploration of Rembrandt's portraiture and methods. As an artist of realism, these works have been a source of life long inspiration. '...not just a portrait..' indeed!

[@americaneagle76]

THAT IS AN AMAZING INTERPRETATION, WELL DONE!

[@artplussk_222]

Wow great to see this painting as well as the video.

[@terencebarrett2897]

absolutely brilliant and informative ''thank you'' as I live far away from the capital, and to put it bluntly, from a town in north east of england where really you live day to day and this can be another world,if you know what I mean, its absolutely wonderful I can get to see these wonderful paintings and lectures and information. thank you very much ,thanks you tubers

[@stephenchristian6231]

Spoil yourself and go to the gallery. It's free. To be next to the art looking straight into the eyes of the master is unforgettable. Just a train ride into the city.

[@terencebarrett2897]

@@stephenchristian6231 I might just do that Stephen .its just health situations, but we have a big city near, and I might try that,when everything settles down and things get back to normal., you tube caters for everyone,worldwide, no matter what your interest is, best of luck Stephen 'to you and your family.

[@mziuri]

This is one of the best guides I’ve ever met! Love the story very much!

[@jasonmason2471]

I never cared much for Rembrandt, but this speaker certainly tickled my interest.

[@lynnoleary9953]

James Heard is a remarkable "teacher." What a gift.

[@waldoisdead3507]

If you zoom in closely on to the lecturers glasses you can see the pixel lady's face

[@richardevans8979]

Not only did Mrs Minecraf ruin a perfectly good video, she's managed to generate more interest for herself than the artist! Way to go, #nailedit

[@NoxLegend1]

Quite rude isn’t it!

[@scottbranham4839]

A bit of a distraction yes but ruin the video..no

[@rgomoffat]

Amazing presentation

[@JFBArteist]

Thank you for an excellent narrative to Rembrandt's art. I have studied Rembrandt along with the other great artists as they're a true inspiration to my own art. Gladly you mentioned a few things here which I didn't already know.

[@TerpeneProfile1]

John Barrows do u like Caravaggio ? Cool you study art, I love it as well

[@xw049]

Thank you very much for National Gallery! Great lecturer!

[@anadecozar9562]

What a brilliant lecture - thank-you!

[@nationalgallery]

Thanks for watching! What was the favourite thing you learned?

[@stevie-ray2020]

Rembrandt's self-portraits could seen as an effective method of advertising his skills to potential clientele in a period when an artist needed to prove that he could produce a flattering but realistic image of the sitter in whatever attire they chose!

[@Jelenicza]

Brilliant, thank you!

[@andrzejmaranda3699]

The National Gallery: it's SOO INTERESTING & FULL INFORMATION.

[@jacobusbaker9285]

When he was good, he was the best. Unsurpassed. Hollands Glorie.

[@Ninanotlina]

Was introduced to Rembrandt’s paintings in my 3rd year Aesthetics lectures. Now he’s one of the masters I look out for whenever I visit an art gallery. Thanks for an interesting lecture 🤗

[@cameronboden]

Margaret was in a decisively “bold” mood on museum day when she made the gut decision to not only sit in the front row but also be the sole person refusing to sign the video release form..

[@2335467]

Why is that one lady pixalated, only that one lady, that's odd.

[@olyalamb7179]

AMAZING from 🇳🇿👏💐

[@saraht4973]

Lovely, thank you so much for giving us the lessons on these fantastic paintings.

[@daniellescott3198]

Hello...Sarah how are you?

[@riccardosabatini353]

Ok, ok, forgive me, I'm a boring person, but at 1:20 the latin word "fecit" have to sounds like "fetch it", not "fake it" (which almost has an unintentional comic effect...). Fun fact: sometimes the ancient wrote also "..... me fecit" that mean ".... he made me", as if the artwork was talking.

[@babybutchie]

Hardly boring, sir.

[@laus7080]

I love the passion with wich he speaks.

[@outsidethepyramid]

i don't want to be seen in the video. I know I'll sit front center.

[@ThePosiview]

This

[@crispinshawellis]

Maybe it’s a Minecraft character?

[@NanaYawAforo]

lol that's hilarious

[@mikey20is]

ShipBuilding It's Elvis!

[@stevebuk100]

You need to make the audience aware that they will be shown if they sit in at the talk, if they don’t want to be seen then they can leave and not spoil it for the rest of us.

[@manueldelcerro6426]

Who is the pixilated lady, and why did her image needed to be obliterated while attending a public lecture in a public space? Thanks for the good lecture.

[@kevinchambers1609]

She was having a bad hair day and she didn't want anyone to know.

[@ОльчикПозднякова]

Thank you very much! Very informative.

[@SouthArtDealer]

Great informative, must admit Mr James it is fascinating to hear this with such elegant accent

[@y2ktube]

The BACK of a head ! I've never heard or seen a Magazine Cover, or a Wanted Poster, or a Security Video, or Crime Photo of the BACK of a HEAD ! - RIdiculous ...

[@jamesvanderhoorn1117]

Maybe it's Quirrell sitting there.

[@rgomoffat]

It may be someone who did not sign a release.

[@DM-cy2tj]

Here's a tip for future video's. As this is essentially a video about the appreciation of a painting, why not keep the camera more fixed on the painting itself, with periodic shots of the commentator for variety where appropriate, NOT vice-versa. Where the painting itself was shown, rather than the audience, the clips were too short to fully appreciate the detail being described. In other words, forget about filming rows of backs of heads, no-one is interested in the audience, and as a real bonus viewers won't sometimes need to watch 30 minutes of distracting and unnecessary pixellation. I do think that most people who come to this National Gallery video channel arrive with a genuine hope of learning and appreciation of the painting and its painter, together with full due respect for the first class curators and commentators. Yet like this video and many others show, many probably leave in great disappointment at extremely poor videography and subsequent editing.

[@EM-qx3hx]

Well said, I totally agree!

[@olavbjortomt1596]

I assumed a lot of people interested in these videos downloaded a hi-res photo of the painting from the National Gallery website, or just opened the webpage in another desktop window, rather than settle for peaks on the lower quality video, if that's what you really want to look at. You can even just listen to the audio and fill your computer screen with the painting if you want. In other words, visit www.nationalgallery.org.uk. (Apologies if this has already occurred to you).

[@noeldeleon1671]

Stop complaining

[@madeleineblu]

So informative, thank you. Rembrandt's eyes, the painting of, superb yes, but slightly a skewed? The right eye (looking in) does not seem to be focussing on the same subject as the left. Any thoughts on this please?

[@adelezierler1547]

This was an excellent and enlightening lecture & experience for me to know something I would have never found out on my own.

[@midnightchannel111]

Really very interesting lecture, wonderful selection of little-known facts on the man, thank you! :-)

[@SrinivasanDurairaj]

Wonderful !!! Brilliant !!!

[@wilsonconvictor]

Interesting lecture, especially towards the end.

[@WillN2Go1]

They're hung too high. A Rembrandt portrait should be viewed at eye level. In the 1970s I learned of a technique for viewing Rembrandt portraits. Works also for portraits by Reuben, Murrillo, at least one Lucien Freud, Francis Bacon. Stand a bit more than arm's length from the canvas, where the artist would've stood while viewing the painting as he worked. For right handed painters like Rembrandt stand with your right eye towards the painting, close your left eye just a little. You want to primarily use your right eye, but you also need you left. The effect will be that the face in the portrait will 'pop' almost three dimensional, and the emotional expression the artist put into the painting will be apparent. It can be quite startling. For left handed painters (Reubens, Freud, Murillo?) do the opposite. Now is this real? Well, switch eyes. What will happen with a Rembrandt portrait where the subject is looking off to your left, the left cheek in the portrait will appear wider. If you switch between eyes, the handedness of the artist usually becomes apparent, and the distortion in the cheek will seem either right or wrong. I haven't noticed this in any Italian painters. The earliest instance of the effect is from a 1515 painting by a Spanish painter who may have spent some time in the Netherlands. And Rubens work in the National Gallery (London)? If it's a portrait, then yes the effect is there. If there's a second person or figure, or more in the canvas the effect is not there. I also think that this technique or trick could be rediscovered by artists over and over again. If you just keep tweaking a portrait and looking, I think you'll eventually arrive at it. One would expect Leonardo, one of the most observant painters in history to have discovered this. I wasn't able to look at enough portraits by Italians to see. (In the Louvre I was all alone looking at the Rembrandts while the gallery with the Mona Lisa was a hot mosh pit) With modern painters like Freud and Bacon, the effect is at the same distance as Rembrandt, so there's a lot of canvas that isn't wasted, it just means that this effect is not all there is to the work. A general principle that could be derived from this is, how did the artist look at their work? Where did they stand? What was the lighting like? (I photographed some Rothkos donated to Los Angeles MOCA. Count Ponza who'd donated them stipulated they be exhibited in low light. Some of the paint Rothko used is fugitive, meaning it's shifting in color over the years. Low light helps delay this. Low light also helps the hypnotic floating shapes to hypnotically float. If you've ever woken up in a dark room, things are a lot more mysterious. This is probably what Rothko intended.) Rembrandt seems well aware of how human vision worked. The fovea area, dead center and very small. We can read text with this very small part of the eye, a bit farther out we can't -- if we look at a page of text we think we can see all the words, we can only see a small circle. But if we wonder, what about the corner - then our eye snaps on it and we can. Color information also drops off away from the very center, but my ad hoc experiments is that it doesn't seem to drop off as quickly as the explanations say it does. Just being a busy body. It boggles my mind that curators don't seem to be aware of this. I read about this, this is not my discovery, but haven't even seen a reference to or mention of the effect since.

[@robertdegroot8302]

Fascinating, thanks for this.

[@angelazou1530]

This is amazing!

[@Siansonea]

If I'm a portrait painter, I would probably paint self-portraits as 'commercials', to show a prospective client how well I can capture and/or embellish a likeness. I could also paint portraits of well-known or often-seen persons for the same purpose, but then I run the risk that the prospective client is unfamiliar with that person. If the portrait is of the artist, then the client can look from one to the other in real time, and decide if the technique is up to scratch. These portraits would have a limited shelf life, as the appearance of the artist changes, so I would have to do new ones periodically.

[@sandrachitayat2124]

Yes, but this painting he discusses is so...humanist. Way before it's time. It shows Rembrant as a very sensitive & perceptive artist. You only have to look at the eyes. Like a photo! So translucent, the eyes through which the artist SEES & CREATES!

[@enzocypriani5055]

Interesting point of view

[@Gizmo2261]

Fantastic presentation - that was excellent!

[@dasLeichtflugzeug]

Very educational. This exact painting is on loan at the Norton Simon Museum Pasadena, CA until March 2018.

[@kocahilmi]

J Wang Thomas crown much?

[@8nansky528]

I ADORE READING

[@王骏原]

thank you for your lecture!

[@judihopewell7148]

Marvellous thank you

[@daniellescott3198]

Hello...Judi how are you?

[@anthonyflores1606]

I love these National Gallery videos. They are marvelously informative, wonderfully produced and expertly curated. If I may make one suggestion: find a good dry cleaner, Your shirt is a distraction to your obvious genius.

[@sherrylhenning5630]

Thank you for posting this interesting and informative lecture where people like me can access it! This is awesome!!!!!!!

[@lisastallingskeelor3328]

Very informative. The speaker looks familiar. Isn’t he a regular on the antiques roadshow?

[@daniellescott3198]

Hello...Lisa how are you?

[@sicko_the_ew]

This is just speculation, but maybe one of the reasons for doing self portraits is that then you can place the "model" and the painting side by side while trying to convince a potential client that you can do a good job of representing the character of whoever is sitting for the portrait. The successful portraits of others go off to someone's house, and even when the buyer doesn't collect, you don't have the subject of the portrait to offer for comparison. Makes sense to me that this would be a good sales strategy: be sure to show them what you can do.

[@MariannaK94]

Thank you for shearing.

[@daniellescott3198]

Hello...Marianna how are you ?

[@rexchristiankennedymontroy2052]

Why is the lower central part /head of one of the audience is covered/blurred?

[@b3blueblue]

The pixalated lady is distracting me from enjoying this video. :/

[@imambaybars3405]

I feel sorry for the people sitting behind her, they must have thought Rembrandt was a cubist

[@ljonathan9661]

I Thought I was the only one. Gee!

[@raduapp123]

@@imambaybars3405 :)))))))))))) This is the funniest comment on youtube

[@clearlake3492]

@@imambaybars3405 I laughed

[@Sumonebody]

What a prick, why would they sit at the very, very front of a recorded lecture, then actively remove permission to be on camera.

[@Sneewitchen1]

Amazing lecture! 🙏💝

[@marthahill9192]

If one does not want to be seen on video, one must sit in the back so as not to be a distraction. Before filming, ask for those who do not want to be seen, and move them out of the front rows please.

[@lafregaste]

I was only listening but I did look at the video a couple times and it was quite interesting the blurring of the one person. Why? is only 1 person so it means that one person had an issue with his face online, did they ask everyone if they wanted to be in the video and he didn't agree? are they a minor? I wonder...

[@pegtrezevant3809]

Wonderful lecture, thank you James Heard. I would like to track down the quote about portraiture said in the final moments of the video clip: "A portrait is a miraculous digest of the whole man both in body and spirit." I believe it's attributed to Christian Huygens...but I can't locate the quote.

[@lorraines1173]

Leonardo painted one of the most important paintings in the world hardly thing he had difficult with colour in that on sir.

[@nothersheep]

Any luck tracking down that quote? It might be that Heard is ascribing a Constantijn Huygens quote to his son Christiaan? In the first chapter of STYLISTIC FEATURES OF THE 1630’S: THE PORTRAITS there’s a similar quote describing the work of Lievens. ‘ut huit potissimum parti, tanquam, potius hominis, corporis, iniquam, animique mirabili compendio, incumbat’ (translated as: that the latter [Lievens] may apply himself best to that part [of art] that as it were provides a wonderful summing-up of the whole man, of both his body and his spirit). The footnote reads : J.A. Worp, ‘Constantijn Huygens over de schidlers van zin tiljd’, O. H. 9 (1891), pp. 106-136, 307-308, esp 121 122 and 128

[@brochanteur8253]

Merci beaucoup .

[@serenakoh136]

not trying to detract from Heard's fascinating analysis but I do wonder why the black haired lady in red in the first row has been pretty much pixelated out.. also, is it just me or is that some sort of cyst at the upper outer corner of Rembrandt's right eyelid?

[@inkwarp]

lol.. yeah, i'd like to know why you would do that.. very odd...

[@sp4de69]

Because she most likely refuse sign a permission slip allowing the met to free use to the video, so they are required to pixelate out her identity. It's hugely distracting and detracting from the video's analysis. Really not sure why you'd sit in the front row if you did not wish to be filmed, but there is always one in the bunch.

[@CallieMasters5000]

that's an alien!

[@ccmassis]

Must be someone that it is not supposed to be there.

[@egparis18]

Bad hair day?

[@blueocean9305]

Flash photography where only half of the face is direct lit and and the shoulders are turned is often used for portraits. This is very popular for headshots. The pose is called "the Rembrandt".

[@jannybloemers9508]

Marten and opjen,very beautiful painting from the netherlands and france,i hope it is to see,thank you,janny,the netherlands.

[@frankpapandrea1]

she had a nike logo tatooed on her head

[@contecrayononpaper]

Thanks for the ride.

[@fuminchang7874]

Why one audience was pixelated?

[@cristina-nt8vs]

Thank you.

[@ievaieva6886]

here the night before my art history exam. thank you

[@midnightchannel111]

(Just because an item or posture is seen in two different works by two different artists does not mean there has been copying, e.g. the crucifix... Maybe Rembrandt always wore one, and to paint his puictire without it would be to make that picture incomplete... It does not necessarily mean he "copied" the idea from an earlier artist)

[@paulashford4155]

Enjoyable..Thanks!!

[@maskretek4099]

Prachtig college. Bravo!

[@suigenris]

Slightly off topic. Is anyone aware of the name of the large piece that is often to the right of the presenter? It appears to be several grouped around a man seeing something magical on the wall. While I’m here for Rembrandt, I am very curious if anyone has any info on the other painting....

[@nationalgallery]

Hi there, that is another painting by Rembrandt - 'Belshazzar's Feast': www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/rembrandt-belshazzars-feast

[@karenholland6910]

Thankyou so much, this was wonderful. I am training to be an art gallery guide so watching your presentation was a bonus.