The Munsey Magazine

# Content Description

Munsey's Magazine, July 1906, includes a substantial article by Royal Cortissoz examining Rembrandt on the tercentenary of the Dutch master's birth. The piece traces the painter's life and artistic development, beginning with his 1606 birth in Leyden to a miller's family and his apprenticeships under Swanenburch and Pieter Lastman. Cortissoz emphasizes Rembrandt's foundational role in modern painting technique, particularly his distinctive use of pigment and light. The article analyzes his portraiture—including multiple self-portraits and paintings of his wife Saskia van Uylenborch—highlighting his technical mastery in draftsmanship, color fusion, and the sensuous quality of paint application. Cortissoz contrasts Rembrandt's approach to portraiture with Italian masters like Raphael, stressing the Dutch painter's attention to paint texture itself. The text covers his early career success and fashionability among patrons, accompanied by reproductions of paintings from major European collections.