Rembrandt: A Self-Portrait (1954)

Did you know that Rembrandt was his Christian name, or that the face he painted most throughout his life was his own? Well we see many of them here as the narration tells us of an unacademic man. The son of a miller, he lived an happily bucolic life content to spend his days painting his parents and drawing his home. An apprenticeship followed then by the age of 20, he had his own studio and was producing works of art that would ultimately fund his residency, aged 25, in Amsterdam. There he arrived just as the Dutch were starting to trade globally; it's merchant classes now giving him an opportunity to paint portraits of the great and the good from the upper echelons of society. "The Anatomy Lesson" changed the game, though - a group painting of surgeons carrying out an inspection of a bloodied corpse. Flushed with success, he choses to marry and finds another object for his brushwork. Now wealthy and successful, his works become more and more luxurious, textured and elaborate. To an extent he is now giving the client what they wanted, but deep down appears keen to explore what lies beneath. His success didn't fulfil him for long though, and soon he was using copper plate to create even more detailed images of his subjects - many entirely fictitious, or friends given new pictorial identities - the man wearing a turban shown here. Torn now between his artistic and commercial conflicts, he turned to biblical topics in the hope that these multi-faceted characters might satisfy his need to progress. His extravagance was starting to take it's toll, has wife's health was fading and he really did need to up his game. "The Night Watch" emerged. Liked by some, loathed by others who had funded it but didn't feature - it didn't clear his debts and the subsequent death of his wife left him with her young son and his servant and a new target. The Jewish community. Their faces showing the stresses and strains of their tough lives. Again, original portraits or biblical interpretations - especially of Christ and the crucifixion. By the end, he was bankrupt and sought solace in the bottom of bottle. His gout clearly visible in his final unfancied paintings. The storytelling is a little too wordy, but is still informative and well paced. The score is disappointing, though - little better than a sort of tidal mood music that does little to complement some of the most emotional and detailed facial portraiture ever painted. It's all in the eyes!