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.

Nandalal Bose

When Nandalai Bose was a little boy, one day he saw a man drawing something on a wall. When he came nearer and saw that it was a beautiful picture, he requested the artist to draw something for him. The artist said, "I cannot do anything free. You have to give me some money."

So the little boy gave the artist three paise, which is the equivalent of about one tenth of an American cent. The artist took the three paise and drew two or three lines. The little boy said, "You have not completed the picture."

The man said, "You gave me three paise. What more can you expect for three paise! If you give me more, then only will I draw more."

So the little boy gave the artist three more paise. Then the artist drew a few more lines, but it was still not complete.

"It can never be complete," the man said, "unless you give me more money."

The boy kept giving the artist three paise at a time, and each time the artist would draw a little more. Finally, to his wildest surprise, the boy saw that the artist was drawing his picture. The boy was so moved and amazed to see his own face so beautifully drawn. The artist was drawing with charcoal and water. And instead of a brush, he used rags.

Eventually, Nandalai became a great, immortal artist. He also used charcoal, water and rags for some of his most important works. These were done in Santiniketan, which is so well-respected by millions for its literary, cultural and artistic life.

By: Sri Chinmoy