Glimpses of Rembrandt
Rembrandt's Oath
Rembrandt had a special way of painting. At times he would take an oath that he would not allow anyone to watch him paint. He wanted to work all by himself, in pin-drop silence. If anybody came near him, he became furious.
He said to his friends and colleagues, "You think that just because you are my friends, colleagues and students that I am behaving this way. But I tell you, it is not true. I will not give audience even to the first monarch of the world when I don't want to see anybody.
"Rest assured, this is not my whim. This is my oath When I don't want to do something l won't do it. When I want something to be done, I will get it done by any means. Here I am telling you; even the greatest monarch of the world will not be able to see me while I am painting, if I don't want to see him. In what way am I indebted to anybody on earth? Since I am not indebted, I am under no obligation to see the greatest monarch of the world. When I want to be all by myself, I am at perfect liberty to keep myself to myself."
Painful is the Story of Fate
Rembrandt worked very hard. He blessed the world with hundreds of painting-boons, etching-boons and drawing-boons. His achievements are truly immortal.
His painting Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer was sold for more than $2,000,000. Alas, what a shocking stroke of cruel fate. Penniless he died. A close friend of his offered $85.20 to meet with the cost of the burial.
Rembrandt's Monkey
The great artist Rembrandt was extremely attached to his possessions. One of his possessions was a pet monkey. He was extremely fond of this monkey and, alas, when it died, he felt extremely miserable, to say the least. A strong desire haunted him for some time. He wanted to keep some kind of remembrance of his monkey.
Once, a couple came to Rembrandt's place for their portrait. The artist did a very good job. Then he begged them to allow him to paint from memory a picture of his pet monkey in the portrait. The couple said, "No, it cannot be done. We don't want your monkey to be with us."
But Rembrandt insisted and insisted. The couple did not listen to his request. Nevertheless, he drew the monkey's picture in the portrait and the couple got furious. They left the artist's home without taking the picture.
So Rembrandt's love for a monkey far surpassed his love for name, fame and money power. And he cherished that painting for the rest of his life.
By: Sri Chinmoy