50 Rembrandt's on Show

An exhibit of 50 art works by Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn has opened in his former home in Amsterdam to commemorate the 400th anniversary of his birth. The show, "Rembrandt - Quest of a Genius," features about one-sixth of his art in the four-story house where he lived from 1639 to 1658. Ernst van de Wetering, head of the Rembrandt Research Project, said Rembrandt earned a good living as an artist, but died almost penniless in 1669 at the age of 63 because of his poor money management skills. Van de Watering said Rembrandt painted his own self-portrait many times because they sold well, and not because he wanted to experiment.The works are so different that "you can't believe it's the same person," he said. Amongst the art are two recently discovered pieces from Warsaw - "Scholar at His Desk" and "Girl in a Picture Frame" as well as a painting of a maid in a white bonnet, auctioned off recently to a New York art collector for $4.3 million. For the full story - click the title Irish Art