,,masterpieces ,,in ,,colour  ,,edited  
,,by ,t4 ,,leman ,,hare  ,in the ,same  
,series  ,artist4               ,author4
 ,,velazquez4            ,s4 ,l4        
,bensusan4 ,,reynolds4             ,s4  
,l4 ,bensusan4 ,,turner4                
,c4 ,lewis ,hind4 ,,romney4             
,c4 ,lewis ,hind4 ,,greuze4             
,alys ,eyke ,macklin4 ,,botticelli4     
,henry ,b4 ,binns4 ,,rossetti4          
,lucien ,pissarro4 ,,bellini4           
,george ,hay4 ,,fra ,,angelico4         
,james ,mason4 ,,leighton4              
,a4 ,lys ,baldry4 ,,rembrandt4          
,josef ,israels4 ,,watts4               
,w4 ,loftus ,hare4 ,,titian4            
,s4 ,l4 ,bensusan4 ,,raphael4           
,paul ,g4 ,konody4  ,others in          
,preparation4     ,illustration3 ,,plate
 #a4--,,suzanna ,,van ,,collen  ,this   
portrait1 painted about #afcc1 and one  
of the gems of the ,wallace ,collection1
 presents ,susanna van ,collen1 wife of 
,jan ,pellicorne1 and her daughter4     
,,rembrandt  ,,by ,,josef ,,israels     

,,illustrated ,,with ,,eight            
,,reproductions ,,in ,,colour  ,,london3
 ,t4 ,c4  ,e4 ,c4 ,,jack ,,new ,,york3  
,,frederick ,a4 ,,stokes ,,co4  ,the    
plates are printed by ,bemrose ,dalziel1
 ,ltd41 ,watford  ,the text at the      
,ballantyne ,press1 ,edinburgh          
,,list ,,of ,,illustrations   ,plate ,i4
 ,suzanna ,van ,collen                  
,frontispiece     ,from the ,wallace    
,collection                             
,page ,,ii4 ,a ,portrait of ,saskia     
#ad     ,in the ,brera1 ,milan  ,,iii4  
,syndics of the ,cloth ,merchants'      
,guild        #bd     ,in the ,royal    
,museum at ,amsterdam  ,,iv4 ,portrait  
of an ,old ,man                         
#cd     ,in the ,pitti ,palace at       
,florence  ,v4 ,the ,company of ,francis
 ,banning ,cocq            #dj     ,in  
the ,royal ,museum at ,amsterdam  ,,vi4 
,portrait of a ,young ,man              
#ej     ,in the ,pitti ,palace at       
,florence  ,,vii4 ,portrait of an ,old  
,lady                      #fj     ,from

 the ,national ,gallery1 ,london        
,,viii4 ,head of a ,young ,man          
#gj     ,in the ,louvre                 
,,introduction   ,while the world pays  
respectful tribute to ,rembrandt the    
artist1 it has been compelled to wait   
until comparatively recent years for    
some small measure of reliable          
information concerning ,rembrandt the   
man4 ,the sixteenth and seventeenth     
centuries seem to have been very little 
concerned with personalities4 ,a man was
 judged by his work which appealed1 if  
it were good enough1 to an              
ever-increasing circle4 ,there were no  
newspapers to record his doings and1 if 
he chanced to be an artist1 it was      
nobody's business to set down the       
details of his life4 ,sometimes a       
diarist chanced to pass by and to jot   
down a little gossip1 quite unconscious 
of the fact that it would serve to      
stimulate generations yet unborn1 but1  
for the most part1 artists who did great
 work in a retiring fashion and were not

 honoured by courts and princes as      
,rubens was1 passed from the scene of   
their labours with all the details of   
their sojourn unrecorded4  ,rembrandt   
was fated to suffer more than mere      
neglect1 for he seems to have been a    
light-hearted1 headstrong1 extravagant  
man1 with no capacity for business4 ,he 
had not even the supreme quality1       
associated in doggerel with ,dutchmen1  
of giving too little and asking too     
much4 ,consequently1 when he died poor  
and enfeebled1 in years when his        
collection of works of fine art had been
 sold at public auction for a fraction  
of its value1 when his pictures had been
 seized for debt1 and wife1 mistress1   
children1 and many friends had passed1  
little was said about him4 ,it was only 
when the superlative quality of his art 
was recognised beyond a small circle of 
admirers that people began to gather up 
such fragments of biography as they     
could find4  ,shakespeare has put into  
,mark ,antony's mouth the statement that

 the evil that men do lives after them1 
and this was very much the case with    
,rembrandt van ,ryn4 ,his first         
biographers seem to have no memory save 
for his undoubted recklessness1 his     
extravagance1 and his debts4 ,they      
remembered that his pictures fetched    
very good prices1 that his studio was   
besieged for some years by more sitters 
than it could accommodate1 that he was  
honoured with commissions from the      
ruling house1 and that in short1 he had 
every chance that would have led a good 
business man to prosperity and an old   
age removed from stress and strain4     
,these facts seem to have aroused their 
ire4 ,they have assailed his memory with
 invective that does not stop short at  
false statement4 ,they have found in the
 greatest of all ,dutch artists a       
ne'er-do-well who could not take        
advantage of his opportunities1 who had 
the extravagance of a company promoter1 
an explosive temper and all the         
instincts that make for loose living4   

,illustration3 ,,plate ,,ii4--,a        
,,portrait ,,of ,,saskia  ,rembrandt's  
portraits of his wife ,saskia are       
distributed fairly equally throughout   
the world's great galleries1 but this   
one from the ,brera in ,milan is not so 
well known as most1 and on this account 
it is reproduced here4 ,it is called    
,portrait of a ,woman in the catalogue1 
but the features justify the belief that
 the lady was the painter's wife4  ,alas
 for these poor biographers1 who1 had   
they but taken the trouble to trust to  
the pictures rather than to the lies    
that were current1 would have seen that 
the artist's life could not have been   
nearly as bad as they imagined4         
,happily1 to-day1 we have more than the 
testimony of the painted canvas1 though 
that would suffice the most of          
intelligent men4 ,further investigation 
has done a great deal to remove the     
blemishes from ,rembrandt's name2 ,,mm4 
,vosmaer and ,michel have restored it as
 though it were a discoloured picture1  

and those who hail ,rembrandt master may
 do so without mental reservation4 ,his 
faults were very human ones and his     
merits leave them in the shade4         
,rembrandt was born in the pleasant city
 of ,leyden1 but it is not easy to name 
the precise year4 ,somewhere between    
#afjd and #afjg he started his troubled 
journey through life1 and of his        
childhood the records are scanty4       
,doubtless1 his youthful imagination was
 stirred by the sights of the city1 the 
barges moving slowly along the canals1  
the windmills that were never at rest1  
the changing chiaroscuro of the flooded1
 dyke-seamed land4 ,perhaps he saw these
 things with the large eye of the       
artist1 for he could not have turned to 
any point of the compass without finding
 a picture lying ready for treatment4   
,even when he was a little boy the      
fascination of his surroundings may have
 been responsible in part for the fact  
that he was not an industrious scholar1 
that he looked upon reading and writing 

as rather troublesome accomplishments1  
worth less than the labour involved in  
their acquisition4 ,and yet his father  
was a wealthy man1 he would seem to have
 had no occasion to neglect his studies1
 and the best one can find to say about 
these early years is that they may have 
been directed badly by those in         
authority4 ,in any case1 it is well-nigh
 impossible to make rules for genius4   
,the boy who sits unmoved at the bottom 
of his class1 the butt of his           
companions1 the horrible example to whom
 the master turns when he wishes to     
point a moral1 may do work in the world 
that no one among those who attended the
 school since its foundation has been   
able to accomplish and1 if ,rembrandt   
did not satisfy his masters1 he was at  
least paving the way for accomplishment 
that is recognised gratefully to-day    
wherever art has found a home4  ,his    
family soon knew that he had the makings
 of an artist and1 in #afbj1 when he    
could hardly have been more than        

sixteen1 and may have been considerably 
less1 he left ,leyden ,university for   
the studio of a second-rate painter     
called ,jan van ,swanenburch4 ,we have  
no authentic record of his progress in  
the studio1 but it must have been rapid4
 ,he must have made friends1 painted    
pictures1 and attracted attention4 ,at  
the end of three years he went to       
,lastman's studio in ,amsterdam1        
returning thence to ,leyden1 where he   
took ,gerard ,dou as a pupil4 ,a few    
years later1 it is not easy to settle   
these dates on a satisfactory basis1 he 
went to ,amsterdam1 and established     
himself there1 because the ,dutch       
capital was very wealthy and held many  
patrons of the arts1 in spite of the    
seemingly endless war that ,holland was 
waging with ,spain4  ,the picture of    
,st4 ,paul in ,prison would seem to have
 been produced about #afbg1 but the     
painter's appearance before the public  
of ,amsterdam in the guise of an        
accomplished artist whose work had to be

 reckoned with1 may be said to have     
dated from the completion of the famous 
,anatomy ,lesson1 in #afca or #afcb4 ,at
 this time he was living on the         
,bloemgracht4 ,rembrandt had painted    
many portraits when the picture of the  
medical men and the cadaver created a   
great sensation and1 if we remember that
 he could not have been more than       
twenty-seven years old1 and may have    
been no more than twenty-five1 it is not
 difficult to understand that ,amsterdam
 was stirred from its usual reserve1 and
 greeted the rising star with           
enthusiasm4 ,in a few weeks the entrance
 to the painter's studio was besieged by
 people wishing to sit for their        
portraits1 by pupils who brought #ajj   
florins1 no small sum in those days for 
the privilege of working for a year in  
the master's studio4 ,it may be         
mentioned here that even in the days    
when the painter's popularity with the  
general public of ,holland had waned1   
there was never any lack of enthusiastic

 students from many countries1 all      
clamouring for admission to the studio4 
,many a man can endure adversity with   
courage2 success is a greater trial4    
,bad times often avail to bring out what
 is best in creative genius2 success    
tends to destroy it4 ,rembrandt did not 
remain unaffected by the quick response 
that ,amsterdam made to his genius4 ,his
 art remained true and sincere1 he      
declined to make the smallest concession
 to what silly sitters called their     
taste1 but he did not really know what  
to do with the money and commissions    
that flowed in upon him so freely4 ,the 
best use he made of changing            
circumstances was to become engaged to  
,saskia van ,uylenborch1 the cousin of  
his great friend ,hendrick van          
,uylenborch1 the art dealer of          
,amsterdam4 ,saskia1 who was destined to
 live for centuries1 through the genius 
of her husband1 seems to have been born 
in #afab1 and to have become engaged to 
,rembrandt when she was twenty4 ,the    

engagement followed very closely upon   
the patronage of ,rembrandt by ,prince  
,frederic ,henry1 the ,stadtholder1 who 
instructed the artist to paint three    
pictures4 ,there seemed no longer any   
need to hesitate1 and only domestic     
troubles seem to have delayed the       
marriage until #afcd4 ,saskia is        
enshrined in many pictures4 ,she is seen
 first as a young girl1 then as a woman4
 ,as a bride1 in the picture now at     
,dresden1 she sits upon her husband's   
knee1 while he raises a big glass with  
his outstretched arm4 ,her expression   
here is rather shy1 as if she deprecated
 the situation and realised that it     
might be misconstrued4 ,this picture    
gave offence to ,rembrandt's critics1   
who declared that it revealed the       
painter's taste for strong drink and    
riotous living--they could see nothing  
more in canvas than a story4 ,several   
portraits of ,saskia remained to be     
painted4 ,she would seem to have aged   
rapidly1 for after marriage her days    

were not long in the land4 ,she was only
 thirty when she died1 and looked       
considerably older4  ,illustration3     
,,plate ,,iii4--,,syndics ,,of ,,the    
,,cloth ,,merchants' ,,guild  ,this fine
 work1 of which so much has been        
written1 is to be seen to-day in the    
,royal ,museum at ,amsterdam4 ,it is one
 of the finest examples of the master's 
portrait groups1 and was painted in     
#affa4  ,in the first years of his      
married life ,rembrandt moved to the    
,nieuwe ,doelstraat4 ,for the time he   
had more commissions than he knew how to
 execute1 few troubles save those that  
his fiery temperament provoked1 and one 
great sorrow1 arising out of the death  
of his first-born4 ,there can be no     
doubt at all that he spent far too much 
money in these years2 he would attend   
the sales of works of art and pay       
extravagant sums for any that took his  
fancy4 ,if he ever paused to question   
himself1 he would be content to explain 
that he paid big prices in order to show

 how great was his respect for art and  
artists4 ,he came to acquire a picture  
by ,rubens1 a book of drawings by ,lucas
 van ,leyden1 and the splendid pearls   
that may be seen in the later portraits 
of ,saskia4 ,very soon his rash and     
reckless methods became known to the    
dealers1 who would push the prices up   
with the certain knowledge that         
,rembrandt would rush in where wiser    
buyers feared to tread4 ,the making of  
an art collection1 the purchase of rich 
jewels for his wife1 together with good 
and open-handed living1 soon began to   
play havoc with ,rembrandt's estate4    
,the artist's temperament offended many 
of the sober ,dutchmen who could not    
understand it at all1 his independence  
and insistence upon the finality of his 
own judgment were more offensive still1 
and after #afcf there were fewer        
applications for portraits4  ,in #afch  
we find ,rembrandt taking an action     
against one ,albert van ,loo1 who had   
dared to call ,saskia extravagant4 ,it  

was1 of course1 still more extravagant  
of ,rembrandt to waste his money on     
lawyers on account of a case he could   
not hope to win1 but this thought does  
not seem to have troubled him4 ,he did  
not reflect that it would set the       
gossips talking more cruelly than ever4 
,still full of enthusiasm for life and  
art1 he was equally full of affection   
for ,saskia1 whose hope of raising      
children seemed doomed to               
disappointment1 for in addition to      
losing the little ,rombertus1 two       
daughters1 each named ,cornelia1 had    
died soon after birth4 ,in #afdj        
,rembrandt's mother died4 ,her picture  
remains on record with that of her      
husband1 painted ten years before1 and  
even the biographers of the artist do   
not suggest that ,rembrandt was anything
 but a good son4 ,a year later the      
well-beloved ,saskia gave birth to the  
one child who survived the early years1 
the boy ,titus4 ,then her health failed1
 and in #afdb she died1 after eight     

years of married life that would seem to
 have been happy4 ,in this year         
,rembrandt painted the famous ,night    
,watch1 a picture representing the      
company of ,francis ,banning ,cocq1 and 
incidentally a day scene in spite of its
 popular name4 ,the work succeeded in   
arousing a storm of indignation1 for    
every sitter wanted to have equal       
prominence in the canvas4 ,they had     
subscribed equally to the cost1 and     
,rembrandt had dared to compose the     
picture6  ,it may be said that after his
 wife's death1 and the exhibition of    
this fine work1 ,rembrandt's pleasant   
years came to an end4 ,he was then      
somewhere between thirty-six and        
thirty-eight years old1 he had made his 
mark1 and enjoyed a very large measure  
of recognition1 but henceforward1 his   
career was destined to be a very        
troubled one1 full of disappointment1   
pain1 and care4 ,perhaps it would have  
been no bad thing for him if he could   
have gone with ,saskia into the outer   

darkness4 ,the world would have been    
poorer1 but the man himself would have  
been spared many years that perhaps even
 the devoted labours of his studio could
 not redeem4  ,saskia's estate1 which   
seems to have been a considerable one1  
was left to ,rembrandt absolutely1 in   
trust for the sole surviving child      
,titus1 but ,rembrandt1 after his usual 
free and easy fashion1 did not trouble  
about the legal side of the question4   
,he did not even make an inventory of   
the property belonging to his wife1 and 
this carelessness led to endless trouble
 in future years1 and to the            
distribution of a great part of the     
property into the hands of gentlemen    
learned in the law4 ,perhaps the painter
 had other matters to think about1 he   
could no longer disguise from himself   
the fact that public patronage was      
falling off4 ,it may be that the war    
with ,spain was beginning to make people
 in comfortable circumstances retrench1 
but it is more than likely that the     

artist's name was not known favourably  
to his fellow-citizens4 ,his passionate 
temperament and his quick eye for truly 
artistic effects could not be tolerated 
by the sober1 stodgy men and women who  
were the rank and file of ,amsterdam's  
comfortable classes4 ,to be sure1 the   
,stadtholder continued his patronage2 he
 ordered the famous ,circumcision and   
the ,adoration of the ,shepherds4       
,pupils continued to arrive1 too1 in    
large numbers1 many of them coming from 
beyond ,holland2 but the public stayed  
away4  ,rembrandt was not without       
friends1 who helped him as far as they  
could1 and advised him as much as they  
dared2 but he seems to have been a man  
who could not be assisted1 because in   
matters of art he allowed no outside    
interference1 and he was naturally      
impulsive4 ,money ran through his hands 
like water through a sieve1 though it is
 only fair to point out that he was very
 generous1 and could not lend a deaf ear
 to any tale of distress4  ,between     

#afdb1 when ,saskia died1 and #afdi1 it 
is not easy to follow the progress of   
his life2 we can only state with        
certainty that his difficulties         
increased almost as quickly as his work 
ripened4 ,his connection with           
,hendrickje ,stoffels would seem to have
 started about #afdi1 and this woman    
with whom he lived until her death some 
thirteen years later1 has been abused by
 many biographers because she was the   
painter's mistress4 ,some have          
endeavoured to prove1 without any       
evidence1 that he married her1 but this 
concession to ,mrs4 ,grundy seems a     
little beside the mark4 ,the relations  
between the pair were a matter for their
 own consideration1 and it is clear that
 ,hendrickje came to the painter in the 
time of his greatest trouble1 to serve  
him lovingly and faithfully until she   
passed away at the comparatively early  
age of thirty-six4  ,she bore him two   
children1 who seem to have died young1  
and1 curiously enough1 her position in  

the house was accepted by young ,titus  
,rembrandt1 who1 when he was nearing    
man's estate1 started1 in partnership   
with her1 to deal in pictures and works 
of art--a not very successful attempt to
 support the establishment in comfort4  
,in the year when ,hendrickje joined    
,rembrandt1 he could no longer pay      
instalments on the house he had bought  
for himself in the ,joden ,breestraat4  
,about the following year he began to   
sell property1 hoping against hope that 
he would be able to tide over the bad   
times4 ,three years later he started    
borrowing on a very extensive scale4 ,in
 #afef a fresh guardian was appointed   
for ,titus1 to whom his father          
transferred some property1 and in that  
year the painter was adjudged bankrupt4 
,the year #afeg saw much of his private 
property sold1 but his collection of    
pictures and engravings found           
comparatively few bidders1 and realised 
no more than #ejjj florins4 ,a year     
later his store of pictures came under  

the hammer1 and in #affj1 ,hendrickje   
and ,titus started their plucky attempt 
to establish a little business1 in order
 that they might restore some small part
 of the family fortune4  ,illustration3 
,,plate ,,iv4--,,portrait ,,of ,,an     
,,old ,,man  ,rembrandt painted very    
many portraits of men and women whose   
identity cannot be traced1 and it is    
probable that the original of this      
striking portrait in the ,pitti ,palace 
at ,florence was unknown to many of the 
painter's contemporaries4 ,this is one  
of ,rembrandt's late works1 and is said 
to have been painted about #afeh4  ,for 
a little time the keen edge of trouble  
seems to have been turned4 ,one of      
,rembrandt's friends secured him the    
commission to paint the ,syndics of the 
,drapers' ,guild1 and this is one of the
 last works of importance in the        
artist's life1 because his sight was    
beginning to fail4 ,to understand why   
this fresh trouble fell upon him1 it is 
necessary to turn for a moment to       

consider the marvellous etchings he     
produced between #afbh and #affa4 ,the  
drawings may be disregarded in this     
connection1 though there are about a    
thousand undisputed ones in existence1  
but the making of the etchings1 of which
 some two hundred are allowed by all    
competent observers to be the work of   
the master1 must have inflicted enormous
 strain upon his sight4 ,when he was    
passing from middle age1 overwhelmed    
with trouble of every description1 it is
 not surprising that his eyes should    
have refused to serve him any longer4   
,one might have thought that the        
immortals had finished their sport with 
,rembrandt1 but apparently their        
resources are quite inexhaustible4 ,one 
year after the state of his eyes had    
brought etching to an end1 the faithful 
,hendrickje died4 ,a portrait of her1   
one of the last of the master's works1  
may be seen in ,berlin4 ,the face is a  
charming and sympathetic one1 and moves 
the observer to a feeling of sympathy   

that makes the mere question of the     
,church's participation in her relations
 with ,rembrandt a very small affair    
indeed4  ,in the next seven years the   
old painter passed quietly down towards 
the great silence4 ,a few ardent        
admirers among the young men1 a few old 
friends whom no adversity could shake1  
remained to bring such comfort as they  
might4 ,with failing sight and health he
 moved to the ,lauriergracht1 and the   
capacity for work came nearly to an end4
 ,the lawyers made merry with the       
various suits4 ,some had been instituted
 to recover money that the painter had  
borrowed1 others to settle the vexed    
question of the creditors' right to     
,saskia's estate4 ,in #affe ,titus      
received the balance that was left1 when
 the decision of the courts allowed him 
to handle what legal ingenuity had not  
been able to impound4  ,in the summer of
 #affh1 when he was about twenty-seven  
years old1 ,titus married his cousin    
,magdellena1 and this little celebration

 may be supposed to have cheered the    
elder ,rembrandt a little1 but his      
pleasure was brief1 for the young       
bridegroom died in ,september of the    
same year1 and in the following year a  
posthumous daughter was born4  ,by this 
time the immortals had completed their  
task1 there was nothing left for them to
 do2 they had broken the old painter's  
health and his heart1 they had reduced  
him to poverty4 ,so they gave him half a
 year to digest their gifts1 and then   
some word of pity seems to have entered 
into their councils1 and one of the     
greatest painters the world has seen was
 set free from the intolerable burden of
 life4 ,from certain documents still    
extant we learn that he was buried at   
the expense of thirteen florins4 ,he has
 left to the world some five or six     
hundred pictures that are admitted to be
 genuine1 together with the etchings and
 drawings to which reference has been   
made4 ,he is to be seen in many         
galleries in the ,old ,world and the    

,new1 for he painted his own portrait   
more than a score of times4 ,saskia1    
too1 may be seen in several galleries   
and ,hendrickje has not been forgotten4 
,illustration3 ,,plate ,v4--,,the       
,,company ,,of ,,francis ,,banning      
,,cocq  ,generally known as the ,night  
,watch4 ,this famous picture1 now to be 
seen in the ,royal ,museum at           
,amsterdam1 is the best discussed of all
 the master's works4 ,it has been       
pointed out that it is in reality a day 
scene although it is known to most      
people as the ,night ,watch4 ,the       
picture was painted in #afdb4  ,there is
 no doubt that many of ,rembrandt's     
troubles were self-inflicted2 but his   
punishment was largely in excess of his 
sins4 ,his pictures may be admired in   
nearly all great public collections2    
they are distributed1 too1 among private
 galleries4 ,rembrandt's art has found a
 welcome in all countries4 ,we know now 
that part of his temporary unpopularity 
in ,holland was due to the fact that he 

was far in advance of his own time1 that
 the conventions of lesser men repelled 
him1 and he was perhaps a little too    
vigorous in the expression of his       
opinions4 ,now1 in the years when the   
voice of fame cannot reach him and his  
worst detractors are silent1 he is set  
on a pedestal by the side of ,velazquez 
and ,titian4     ,,rembrandt  ,,an      
,,appreciation ,,of ,,the ,,pictures    
,,in ,,amsterdam   ,will the reader turn
 away with a shrug of the shoulder1 when
 he sees1 heading this essay1 the famous
 name that we hear so often8  ,i feel   
like one sitting among friends at a     
banquet1 and though many of the guests  
have expressed and analysed the same    
feelings in different toasts1 ,i will   
not be restrained from expressing1 in my
 turn1 my delight in the festive        
gathering4 ,i touch my glass to ensure a
 hearing1 and ,i speak as my heart      
prompts me4 ,it is not very important or
 interesting1 but ,i am speaking in     
praise of him in whose honour the feast 

is given4  ,in this frame of mind ,i am 
contributing my little share to the pile
 of written matter1 which has been      
produced from all quarters1 in honour of
 the great painter4   ,i  ,many years   
ago ,i went to ,amsterdam as an art     
student1 to be trained under the        
auspices of the then famous portrait    
painter ,kruseman4 ,very soon ,i was    
admitted to the master's studio1 and    
beheld with admiration the portraits of 
the distinguished personages he was     
painting at the time4  ,the pink        
flesh-tints of the faces1 the delicate  
treatment of the draperies and dresses1 
more often than not standing out against
 a background of dark red velvet1       
attracted me immensely4  ,when1 however1
 ,i expressed a desire to be allowed to 
copy some of these portraits1 the master
 refused my request4 ,no1 he said2 if   
you want to copy1 go to the museum in   
the ',trippenhuis4'#a  ,i dared not show
 the bitter disappointment this refusal 
caused me4 ,having come fresh from the  

country1 the old masters were a sealed  
book to me4 ,i failed to discover any   
beauty in the homely1 old-fashioned     
scenes of dark landscapes over which    
people went into ecstasies4 ,to my      
untrained eyes the exhibition in ,arti#b
 seemed infinitely more beautiful2 and  
,pieneman1 ,gallait1 ,calame1 and       
,koekoek especially excited my          
admiration4  ,i was not really lacking  
in artistic instinct any more than my   
fellow-students1 but ,i had not yet     
gained the experience and practice1     
which are indispensable to the true     
understanding of the quaint but highly  
artistic qualities of the old ,dutch    
masters4 ,i maintain that however       
intelligent a man may be1 it is         
impossible to appreciate old ,dutch art 
to the full1 or even to enjoy it1 unless
 one has become thoroughly familiar with
 it1 and has tried to identify oneself  
with it4 ,in order to be able to sound  
the real character and depth of         
manifestations of art1 the artistic     

sensibility has to be trained and       
developed4  ,it was long before ,i could
 summon up sufficient courage to enter  
this ,holy of ,holies armed with my     
colours and brushes4 ,indeed ,i only    
started on this venture after a long    
spell of hard work1 out-of-doors as well
 as in the studio1 and after having made
 many studies from the nude1 and many   
more still-life studies2 then a light   
broke in upon my darkness4  ,i began to 
understand at last that the true aim of 
art does not consist in the smooth and  
delicate plastering of the colours4 ,i  
realised that my chief study was to be  
the exact value of light and shade1 the 
relief of the objects1 and the attitude1
 movements1 and gestures of the figures4
  ,having learned to look upon art from 
this point of view1 ,i entered the old  
,trippenhuis with pleasure4 ,little by  
little the beauty and truth of these    
admirable old masters dawned upon me4 ,i
 perceived that their simple subjects   
grew rich and full of meaning through   

the manner in which they were treated4  
,the artists were geniuses1 and the     
world around them either ignored the    
fact1 or did not see it until too late4 
,knowing little of art1 ,i chose for my 
first copy a small canvas1 a ,hermit by 
,gerard ,dou1 not understanding that1   
though small1 it might contain qualities
 which would prove too difficult for me 
to imitate4 ,i had to work it over and  
over again1 for ,i could not get any    
shape in the thick1 sticky paint4 ,then 
,i tried a head by ,van der ,helst1 and 
succeeded a little better4              
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,vi4--,,portrait
 ,,of ,a ,,young ,,man  ,this portrait  
may be seen to-day in the ,pitti ,palace
 at ,florence4 ,it is said to be one of 
,rembrandt's portraits of himself1      
painted about #afce4  ,at last ,i       
stopped before one of the heads in the  
,syndics of the ,cloth ,merchants'      
,guild4 ,the man in the left-hand       
corner1 with the soft grey hair under   
the steeple-hat1 had arrested my fancy4 

,i felt that there was something in the 
portrait's beauty ,i could grasp and    
reproduce1 though ,i saw at once that   
the technical treatment was entirely    
different from what ,i had attempted    
hitherto4 ,however1 the desire to       
reproduce this breadth of execution     
tempted me so much that ,i resolved to  
try my hand at it4 ,i forget now what   
the copy looked like2 ,i only remember  
that for years it hung on my studio     
wall4  ,so ,i tried to grasp the colour 
scheme1 and the technique of the        
different artists1 until the beauties of
 the so-called ,night ,patrol and the   
,syndics took such hold of me that      
nothing attracted me but what had come  
from the hand of the great master1 the  
unique ,rembrandt4 ,in his work ,i found
 something which all the others lacked4 
,freedom and exuberance were his chief  
attractions1 two qualities utterly      
barred and forbidden in the drawing     
class and in my teacher's studio4       
,although ,frans ,hals impressed me more

 than any other painter with the power  
with which he wielded the brush1 even he
 was put in the shade by ,rembrandt's   
unsurpassable colour effects4  ,when ,i 
had looked at ,rembrandt's pictures to  
my heart's content1 ,i used to go down  
to the ground floor in the ,trippenhuis 
to the print cabinet4 ,here ,i found his
 etchings beautifully arranged4 ,it was 
a pleasant room overlooking a garden1   
and in the centre stood a long table    
covered with a green cloth1 on which one
 could put down the portfolio and look  
at the gems they contained at leisure4  
,i often sat there for hours1 buried in 
the contemplation of these two hundred  
and forty masterpieces4 ,the conservator
 never ceased urging me to be careful   
when he saw me mix them up too much in  
my efforts to compare them4 ,how        
astonished ,i was to find in the painter
 who1 with mighty hand1 had modelled in 
paint the glorious ,night ,patrol1 an   
accomplished engraver1 not only gifted  
with the power and freedom of a great   

painter1 but thoroughly versed in all   
the mysteries of the use of the etching 
needle on the hard1 smooth copper4      
,still it was not the extraordinary     
skill which attracted me most in these  
etchings4 ,it was rather the singular   
inventive power shown in the different  
scenes1 the peculiar contrast between   
light and shade1 and the almost         
childlike manner in which the figures   
had been treated4 ,the artist's soul not
 only spoke through the choice of       
subject1 but it found an expression in  
every single detail1 conveyed by the    
delicate handling of the needle4  ,many 
,biblical subjects are represented in   
the ,amsterdam collection2 they are full
 of artistic imagination and sentiment  
in their composition in spite of their  
seeming incongruity4 ,the conception is 
so highly original1 and at the same time
 betrays such a depth of understanding1 
that other prints1 however beautifully  
done1 look academic and stilted beside  
them4  ,among those etchings were       

excellent portraits1 wonderfully        
lifelike heads of the painter's friends 
and of himself2 but when one has looked 
at the little picture of his mother1 he 
is compelled to shut the portfolio for a
 moment1 because the unbidden tears rise
 to the eyes4  ,it is impossible to find
 anything more exquisite than this      
engraving4 ,motherly kindness1          
sweetness1 and thoughtfulness are       
expressed in every curve1 in the        
slightest touch of the needle4 ,each    
line has a meaning2 not a single touch  
could have been left out without injury 
to the whole4  ,hokusai1 the ,japanese  
artist1 said that he hoped to live to be
 very old that he might have time to    
learn to draw in such a way that every  
stroke of his pencil would be the       
expression of some living thing4 ,that  
is exactly what ,rembrandt has attained 
here1 and1 in this portrait1 he realised
 at the age of twenty-four the ideal of 
the old ,japanese2 it is one of his     
earliest etchings4  ,i re-open the      

portfolio to have a look at the pictures
 of the wonderful old ,jewish beggars4  
,they were types that were to be found  
by the score in the ,amsterdam of those 
days1 and ,rembrandt delighted to draw  
them4 ,one is almost inclined to say    
that they cannot be beggars1 because the
 master's hand has endowed them with the
 warmth and splendour with which his    
artistic temperament clothed everything 
he looked at4  ,when ,i had looked      
enough at the etchings1 ,i used to go   
home through the town1 and it seemed to 
me as if ,i were meeting the very people
 ,i had just seen in the engravings4 ,as
 ,i went through the ,hoog ,straat and  
,st4 ,anthony's ,breestraat to the      
,joden ,breestraat1 where ,i lived a few
 doors from the famous house where      
,rembrandt dwelt and worked so long1 ,i 
saw the picturesque crowd passing to and
 fro2 ,i saw the vivid ,hebrew          
physiognomies1 with their iron-grey     
beards2 the red-headed women2 the       
barrows full of fish or fruit1 or all   

kinds of rubbish2 the houses1 the       
people1 the sky4 ,it was all            
,rembrandt--all ,rembrandtesque4 ,a     
great deal has been changed in those    
streets since the time of which ,i have 
been writing1 yet1 even now1 whenever ,i
 pass through them ,i seem to see the   
colours1 and the kind of people         
,rembrandt shows us in his works4  ,in  
the meantime ,i had found a third       
manifestation of ,rembrandt's talent1   
viz41 his drawings4 ,to a young painter1
 who himself was still groping in the   
dark for means of expressing his        
feelings1 these drawings were           
exceedingly puzzling1 but at the same   
time full of stimulus4  ,less palpably  
living than his etchings1 it was some   
time before ,i could properly appreciate
 them1 but when ,i understood what ,i   
firmly believe still1 namely1 that the  
master did not draw with a view to      
exhibiting them or only for the pleasure
 of making graceful outlines ,i felt    
their true meaning4 ,they were simply   

the embodiments of his deeper feelings2 
emanations from the abundance of his    
fertile imagination4 ,they have been    
thrown on the paper with an unthinking1 
careless hand2 the same hand that       
created masterpieces1 prompted by the   
slightest impulse1 the least sensation4 
,when ,i looked at them superficially   
they seemed disfigured by all sorts of  
smudges and thick black lines1 which    
cross and recross in a seemingly wild   
and aimless sort of way2 but when looked
 into carefully1 they all have a meaning
 of their own1 and have been put there  
with a just and deep felt appreciation  
of light and shade4 ,the greater        
compositions crowded with figures1 the  
buildings1 the landscapes--all are      
impregnated with the same deep artistic 
feeling4  ,illustration3 ,,plate        
,,vii4--,,portrait ,,of ,,an ,,old      
,,lady  ,this famous portrait of an old 
lady unknown is in our ,national        
,gallery4 ,it is on canvas #d ft4 #bc_/d
 in4 by #c ft4 #b in4  ,one evening one 

of my friends gave us a short lecture on
 art and showed us many drawings by     
ancient and modern artists1 most of     
them1 however1 being by contemporaries  
who had already become famous4 ,among   
them was one drawing by ,rembrandt1 and 
it was remarkable to notice the peculiar
 effect it produced in this collection4 
,the scene represented on the old smudgy
 piece of paper was so simple in        
execution1 so noble in composition1 done
 with just a few strokes of the pencil1 
that all the other drawings looked like 
apprentice-work beside it4 ,here was the
 master1 towering above all4  ,thus ,i  
saw ,rembrandt1 the man who could tell  
me endless stories1 and could conjure   
them up before my eyes with either      
brush1 pencil1 or etching needle4       
,whether heaven or earth2 the heroes of 
old2 or only a corner of old            
,amsterdam--out of everything he made   
the most beautiful drawings4 ,his       
pictures of lions and elephants are     
wonderfully nave4 ,his nude figures of  

female models are remarkable1 because no
 painter dared paint them exactly as he 
saw them in his studio1 but ,rembrandt1 
entranced by the glow and warmth of the 
flesh tints1 never dreamt of reproducing
 them otherwise than as he saw them4 ,it
 was no ,venus1 or ,june1 or ,diana he  
wanted4 ,he might1 perhaps1 even take   
his neighbour's washerwoman1 make her   
get up on the model throne1 and put her 
on the canvas in all the glory of       
living1 throbbing flesh and blood4  ,and
 the way in which he put his scrawls and
 strokes is so wonderful that one can   
never look too long at them4 ,all his   
work is done with a light-heartedness1 a
 cheerfulness1 and firmness which       
preclude at once the idea of painful    
study and exertion4   ,,ii  ,what do ,i 
think of the master now1 after so many  
years8  ,come with me1 reader1 let us   
look together at the strongest          
expression of ,rembrandt's art1 viz41   
his picture ,the ,night ,patrol4  ,our  
way leads us now to the ,ryksmuseum1 and

 we sit down in the newly built         
,rembrandt room1 with our backs to the  
light1 so as to obtain a full view of   
the picture1 and we try to forget all   
about the struggle it cost to erect this
 temple of art4  ,at first sight1 we are
 struck by the grand movements of light 
and shade1 which seem to flood the      
canvas as if with waves of coloured     
harmonies4 ,then1 suddenly1 two men seem
 to step out from the group4 ,the one is
 dressed in sombre-coloured clothes1    
whilst the other is resplendent in      
white4 ,that is ,rembrandt all over1 not
 afraid of putting the light in bold    
contrast against the dark4 ,so as to    
maintain the harmony between the two he 
makes the dark man lift his hand as if  
he were pointing at something1 and in   
doing so1 he casts a softening shadow on
 his brilliant companion4 ,genius finds 
a way where ordinary mortals are at a   
loss how to help themselves4 ,clearly   
these men are in earnest conversation   
with each other1 and it is quite evident

 that they are the leaders of the       
company4  ,but when everything was put  
on the canvas that he intended to put   
there1 the master stood in front of it  
and shook his head4  ,to him these two  
leaders did not stand out sufficiently  
from the rest4 ,so he took up his       
palette again1 and again he dipped his  
broadest brushes deep in paint and with 
a few mighty strokes he transformed     
these two figures2 a little more depth  
here1 some more light there4 ,he tried  
every means to give the scene more      
depth1 and a fuller meaning4 ,then he   
saw that it was all right and left it4  
,the likeness of his patrons was1       
perhaps1 not very exact and most likely 
some murmurs were raised at the want of 
minutely finished detail2 but he did not
 heed such matters4 ,to him the main    
point was to make his figures live and  
breathe and move2 and see how he        
succeeded6 ,from the plumes of their    
hats to the soles of their feet         
everything is living1 tangible4 ,how    

full of energy and character are their  
heads6 ,their dress1 the steel gorget1  
the boots of the man in white2          
everything bears witness to the         
wonderful power of the master4  ,and    
look at the man in black1 with his red  
bandolier1 his gloves1 and his stick4   
,this does not strike one as anything   
out of the common1 because the          
composition is so true1 so perfectly    
natural and simple4 ,i cannot remember  
having seen a single picture in which   
the peculiar style and picturesqueness  
of those days is so vividly expressed1  
as in the figures of these two men      
calmly walking along on the giant       
canvas4  ,now let us turn to the right  
and have a look at the perspiring       
drummer4 ,his pock-marked face1         
overshadowed by a frayed hat1 is of the 
true ,falstaff type4 ,the swollen nose1 
the thick-lipped mouth1 every detail is 
carried out with the daring of the true 
artist which characterises all the      
master's work4 ,look at him1 drumming   

away as if he wanted to make it known   
that he himself is one of the most      
magnificent specimens of the work of the
 genius whom men call ,rembrandt4  ,on  
looking at this man ,i can understand   
why ,gerard de ,lairesse exclaimed in   
his great book on painting3 ,in         
,rembrandt's pictures the paint is      
running down the panel like mud6 ,but it
 was only his conscientious             
narrow-mindedness which made him say it4
 ,genius never fails to get into        
conflict with narrow thought4  ,but now 
let us turn our attention to the        
left-hand corner4 ,there we see that    
pithy soldier all in red4 ,rembrandt1   
with his intuitive knowledge of         
chiaroscuro1 was not afraid of painting 
a figure all in red4 ,he knew that the  
play of light and shade on the colour   
would help him out4 ,here part of the   
red is toned down by a beautiful soft   
tint1 which makes the whole figure blend
 harmoniously with the greyish-green of 
the others4 ,this man in red1 too1 has  

been treated in the same masterly manner
 of which ,i spoke above4 ,if one looks 
at him attentively1 it seems as if the  
man1 who apparently might step out of   
the canvas at any rate1 had been painted
 with one powerful sweep of the brush4  
,how firm is the treatment of the hand  
loading the gun2 how true the shadows on
 the red hat and jerkin4 ,there the     
figure stands1 alert1 living1 full of   
movement1 rich in colour4  ,in this     
marvellous picture we come across       
something striking at every turn4 ,how  
life-like is the halberdier looking over
 his shoulder2 and the man who is       
inspecting his gun1 just behind the     
figure in white2 observe the wonderful  
effect of the laughing boy in the grey  
hat against the dark background4 ,even  
the pillar which serves as a background 
to the man with the helmet adds to the  
harmony of the whole4  ,but here we meet
 with something peculiar6 ,what is that 
quaint little girl doing among all those
 men8  ,illustration3 ,,plate           

,,viii4--,,head ,,of ,a ,,young ,,man4  
7,unknown7  ,in the ,louvre  ,numbers of
 critics have racked their brains about 
the meaning of different details4 ,but  
if ,rembrandt could have heard them1 he 
would have answered with a laugh1 ,don't
 you see that ,i only wanted this child 
as a focus for the light1 and a contrast
 with all the downward lines and dark   
colours8  ,the man with the banner in   
the background1 the dog running away1   
all these details help each other to    
carry out the effect of line and colour4
 ,there is not a square inch in this    
canvas which does not betray a rare     
talent4 ,this is a case in which the    
assertion1 ,cut me a piece out of a     
picture and ,i will tell you if it is by
 an artist1 could successfully be       
applied4  ,now1 ,i hope my readers won't
 object to accompanying me a little     
further1 and stopping with me before the
 ,syndics4 ,there it hangs1 the great   
simple canvas1 quite different in       
character from the ,night ,patrol4      

,everything here is dignified and       
stately4 ,the whole picture is a        
glorious witness to the consummate      
knowledge the master possessed of       
expressing the individual soul in the   
human face4 ,here they sit1 those old   
,dutch fathers1 assembled in solemn     
conclave1 debating about their trade1   
with the books on the table in front of 
them2 and ,rembrandt has painted these  
heads so true to life that in the course
 of years they have become like old     
friends2 yes1 old friends1 though they  
lived hundreds of years before we were  
dreamt of4  ,how long have ,i known that
 man on the left1 with his hand on the  
knob of his arm-chair1 and the fine grey
 hair on his broad wrinkled brow showing
 from under the high steeple-hat8 ,the  
flesh tints in the face1 whether        
catching the full light1 or partly      
veiled by shadows1 display an endless   
variety of shades1 and the neutral      
greens and reds1 greys and yellows1 are 
put against each other in such a        

wonderful manner that an effect has been
 attained which strikes us dumb with    
admiration4 ,the way in which he is made
 to stand out from the background is in 
itself marvellous1 but just look at the 
man6 how full of life and understanding 
is the look in those eyes4 ,it is       
something quite unique1 something       
,rembrandt himself has never surpassed4 
,and then there are the other figures2  
the man who is leaning forward2 the one 
sitting right in front of the book1 his 
neighbour2 even the fifth merchant on   
the right1 with his servant behind      
him--one and all are full of life and   
light4  ,the background is such as      
,rembrandt only1 with his understanding 
of lines1 could have devised4 ,the wall 
and the panelling shut in the           
composition in such a way that one      
cannot possibly imagine it ever having  
been otherwise4 ,and even this skilful  
touch is made subordinate to the warm   
red colour of the tablecloth1 which     
lends the picture an additional depth4  

,i don't know whether this picture was  
very much discussed by ,rembrandt's     
contemporaries when it was finished4    
,but to us1 who have seen so much of the
 art of the great ,italians1 ,germans1  
and ,spaniards1 these heads are the     
highest achievement of the art of       
painting4  ,when ,i was in ,madrid1     
where ,i was charmed by ,velasquez'     
work1 our party was one day walking     
through the broad streets of the        
capital4 ,passing a large1 picturesque  
building1 our attention was attracted by
 a gaudy poster informing us that an    
exhibition of the works of modern       
,spanish artists was being held within4 
,our curiosity being aroused1 we        
entered1 and found that in this country1
 where so many famous artists lived and 
worked1 there are among the modern      
artists many studious1 highly talented  
men1 who serve their art with true love 
and devotion4 ,but suddenly it seemed as
 if we had been carried by magic from   
,spain back to ,amsterdam4 ,we had come 

face to face with a copy of the         
,syndics1 painted by a ,spanish artist  
during a stay in ,amsterdam4  ,was it   
national prejudice1 or was it           
conviction8 ,i don't know2 but this copy
 spoke to us of a spirit of greater     
simplicity1 of a truer conception of the
 nature and dignity of mankind than     
anything we had admired in the ,prado4  
,yes2 this picture even kills its own   
,dutch brothers4 ,it makes ,van der     
,helst look superficial1 and ,franz     
,hals unfinished and flat4 ,so much     
thoroughness and depth combined with    
such freedom and grace of movement is   
not to be found anywhere else4  ,these  
people have lived on the canvas for     
centuries1 and they will outlive us all4
 ,and the man who achieved this         
masterpiece was at the time of its      
production a poor1 struggling burgher   
living in an obscure corner of the town 
where his tercentenary festival was     
lately celebrated4   ,,iii  ,but this is
 not the place for the sad reflections  

which are awakened in our minds on      
examining the records of him whose name 
the world now glorifies and raises to   
the skies4 ,better to honour the great  
master who1 for so many centuries1 has  
held the world in awed admiration4      
,there is no need to-day to drag        
,rembrandt forth from the obscurity of  
the past to save him from oblivion2 we  
were not obliged to cleanse his image   
from the dust of ages before showing to 
the world this unequalled genius to whom
 ,holland proudly points as one of her  
own sons4  ,on the contrary1 never was  
,rembrandt's art valued so highly as it 
is now4 ,archives and documents are     
searched for details about his life and 
works4 ,we want to know all about his   
life1 and are anxious to share his      
inmost feelings in prosperity and       
adversity4 ,the houses where he lived   
are marked down and bought by           
art-lovers4 ,at the present time        
,rembrandt is in the zenith of his      
glory4 ,gold loses its value where his  

pictures are concerned4 ,fortunes are   
spent to secure the most insignificant  
of his works2 people travel across      
continents to see them2 and criticism1  
which for long years did little more    
than snarl at ,rembrandt1 has for nearly
 fifty years been dumb4  ,it is         
remarkable that none of the great       
painters have1 in the course of years1  
been subjected to so much criticism as  
,rembrandt4 ,and notwithstanding all the
 things which have been said about the  
improbability of the scene1 and the     
exaggeration of the dark background1 the
 ,night ,patrol is now1 as it ever was  
and ever will be1 the ,world's wonder1  
as our ,english neighbours say4  ,during
 his lifetime there were people who     
condemned ,rembrandt because he refused 
to follow in the footsteps of the old   
,italian painters1 because he persisted 
in painting nature as he saw it4  ,to us
 such a reproach seems strange1 yet it  
is quite true4 ,even during the last    
years of ,rembrandt's life a growing    

dissatisfaction with the existing ideas 
on art and literature had taken         
possession of the ,dutch mind4 ,people  
developed a morbid taste for everything 
classical2 and when ,i read in the prose
 works and poems of these days the      
,latinised names and the constant       
allusions to ,greek gods and goddesses  
and mythological personages1 so         
strangely out of place under our        
northern sky1 ,i am filled with disgust4
  ,it was fortunate1 indeed1 that       
,rembrandt always felt strong in his own
 conviction and only followed his own   
views4 ,for many years after his death1 
even as late as the middle of the       
nineteenth century1 a number of art     
critics raised objections against the   
dangerous theories of which his pictures
 were the expression4 ,again and again  
they attacked his technical treatment2  
none of them ever grasped its deeper1   
fuller meaning4  ,happily those days are
 far behind us4 ,a great number of books
 and pamphlets have been published on   

,rembrandt during the last fifty years1 
and they are almost unanimous in their  
praise and admiration of the great      
master4 ,the more liberal feelings of   
the modern world have achieved some     
victories in the realms of art as well  
as elsewhere4 ,we moderns feel that the 
apparent shortcomings and exaggerations 
are nothing but the inevitable          
peculiarities attendant upon genius4    
,and we even go so far that we would not
 have him be without a single one of    
them1 for fear of losing the slightest  
trait in the character of the great man 
whose every movement roused our         
intellectual faculties4  ,so ,rembrandt 
has been raised in our days to the      
pinnacle of fame which is his by right2 
the festival of his tercentenary was    
acknowledged by the whole civilised     
world as the natural utterance of joy   
and pride of our small country in being 
able to count among its children the    
great ,rembrandt4  ,i finish1--with the 
pen1 but not with the heart6 ,for if ,i 

should go on until the inclination to   
add more to what ,i have written here   
should fail me1 my readers would have   
tired of me long before ,i had tired of 
my subject4 ,i am thinking of that rare 
gem1 the portrait of ,jan ,six--of the  
,louvre1 of ,cassel1 of ,brunswick1 of  
what not6  ,may these pages convey to   
the reader the fact that ,i have always 
looked upon ,rembrandt as the true type 
of an artist1 free1 untrammelled by     
traditions1 genial in all he did2 in    
short1 a figure in whom all the great   
qualities of the old ,republic of the   
,united ,provinces were concentrated and
 reflected4   ,,footnotes3  ,footnote   
#a3 ,the ,trippenhuis was used as a     
picture gallery before the ,ryksmuseum  
was built4 ,it was an old patrician     
family mansion belonging to the ,trip   
family4 ,several members of this family 
filled important posts in the government
 of the old ,republic of the ,united    
,provinces1 and some were burgomasters  
of ,amsterdam4  ,footnote #b3 ,arti et  

,amiciti is a society of modern ,dutch  
painters4 ,occasionally the members     
organise exhibitions of the work of     
contemporary countrymen or of foreign   
artists1 and every year there is an     
exhibition of their own works4 ,these   
shows are held in the society's own     
building in ,amsterdam at the corner of 
the ,rokin and ,spui4