Generally regarded as the greatest of the Dutch Masters

Generally regarded as the greatest of the Dutch Masters, Rembrandt created hundreds of paintings, etchings, and drawings during his long career. His paintings have been loved for centuries and are often recognizable by their distinctive use of light and shadow.

Despite his success as an artist, Rembrandt experienced tragedy, disappointment, and failure in his life. Eight years after their marriage, his 30-year-old wife Saskia died of tuberculosis, after bearing four children, three of whom died in infancy. Several years after her death Rembrandt entered into a common law marriage wit

h his housekeeper Hendrickje Stoffels, who later gave birth to a daughter Cornelia, the only one of Rembrandt’s children who outlived him. Henrickje died of the plague at age 34.

Even though his teaching and art brought him wealth during his life, Rembrandt continually lived beyond his means. By age 50 he was bankrupt and was forced to sell his home and possessions, including much of his artwork. He died in Amsterdam in October 1669 at age 63 and was buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. As was the practice at the time, ten years later his remains were dug up and discarded, to make room for another pauper.

In 2016 a couple in Rome sent their copy of one of Rembrandt’s paintings, a long-lost masterpiece titled “The Adoration of the Magi,” to an art restorer after it fell from their wall and was damaged. After the restorer began his work, he began to suspect that the couple’s “copy” was actually the original, a suspicion that has since been confirmed by experts. The painting is estimated to be worth as much as $250 million, but the owners say they have no current plans to sell it.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in Leiden, Holland on July 15, 1606, four hundred eighteen years ago today.

The images are a self-portrait of Rembrandt at age 51, and the newly discovered “Adoration of the Magi,” painted in 1632.