After learning the fundamentals of drawing and painting in his native Leiden, Rembrandt van Rijn went to Amsterdam in 1624 to study for six months with Pieter Lastman (1583–1633), a famous history painter. Upon completion of his training Rembrandt returned to Leiden.
Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1937 to NGA. [1] Although
This complex scene depicts a series of events as told in Exodus 32, with several vignettes carrying the main narrative from the middle into the background. In the center middle ground, the Israelites watch as the high priest Aaron collects golden ornaments for the making of an idol in the form of a golden calf, which he is shown casting in the far background.
Kress Foundation, New York;[3] gift 1939 to NGA. [1] The bill of sale to the Kress
Dordrecht, situated at the confluence of the Maas and the Merwede rivers, serves as a backdrop to this historical scene on the water. In July 1646, a large Dutch transport fleet carrying thirty thousand soldiers and their equipment gathered at Dordrecht in a show of force by the rebel northern provinces—fighting for independence from the Spanish crown—at the onset of the negotiations that would eventually result in the Peace of Münster in 1648.
Mellon Educational and Charitable Trust, Pittsburgh; gift 1940 to NGA. [1] Gerard
