Abraham Entertaining the Angels by Rembrandt van Rijn

Rembrandt van Rijn, Self-Portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill, 1639, etching, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Rosenwald Collection 1943.3.9117

The Artist

Rembrandt's life story has proven irresistible to biographers. Written documents allow us insight into the critical events of his life, and the many self-portraits he made let us follow him from youth to old age—a remarkable journey.

Born in Leiden in 1606, he first studied painting. In 1624, after three years of artistic training, he went to Amsterdam, where he studied briefly with the important history painter Pieter Lastman.