Rembrandt’s Five Senses

A detail from the young self-portrait of the 22-year-old artist, circa 1628, by Rembrandt. The inexperienced, young artist did not shy away from experimenting with chiaroscuro. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public Domain

On Sept. 22, 2015, a New Jersey auctioneer opened bidding for a painting believed to date from the 19th century. Projected to sell for between $500 to $800, the artwork’s price rose to $870,000 after the bidding war ended. The two rivaling purchasers recognized it to be Rembrandt’s “Unconscious Patient”—a painting from a five-part series that is the Dutch artist’s earliest known work.

Painted circa 1624 to 1625, “The Senses” dates from the time that Rembrandt (1606–1669) opened a studio in partnership with Jan Lievens (1607–1674). The studio was a startup business: Rembrandt and Lievens were still teenagers and both had recently completed their apprenticeships. The studio itself occupied part of Rembrandt’s parents’ house in Leiden. Working in that minor Dutch city allowed the artists to avoid the higher guild fees they would have had to pay in Amsterdam.

“Unconscious Patient (Allegory of Smell),” between 1624 and 1625, by Rembrandt. Oil on panel; 8.5 inches by 7 inches. The Leiden Collection, New York City. Public Domain

‘Five Senses’ Series

At this point in time, Rembrandt’s signature coloration was dark, pale, and deep with subdued shades. By 1630, chiaroscuro—strong contrasts between light and dark—became a key component in most of his work.

“The Senses” exemplifies Rembrandt’s early artistic career. The four extant paintings suggest relatively little about his mature, characteristic style—which explains why the auctioneers didn’t suspect that “Unconscious Patient” came from his brush.

The full set includes: “A Peddler Selling Spectacles (sight),” “Three Singers (hearing),” “Unconscious Patient (smell),” “Stone Operation (touch),” and an allegory of taste. The taste-themed painting’s whereabouts are currently unknown.

Four of the "The Senses," between circa 1624 and 1625, by Rembrandt. Oil on panel; 8.5 inches by 7 inches. (L-R) “A Pedlar Selling Spectacles (sight),” “Three Singers (hearing),” “Unconscious Patient (smell),” “Stone Operation (touch).” Public Domain

With subdued shades of pink, lavender, orange, and pale blue, “The Senses” are more colorful than his later work. Rembrandt’s eventual move towards a characteristic somber palette was neither predictable nor surprising. For an artist of his generation, the pervasive influence of Italian painter Caravaggio (1571–1610)—who Rembrandt greatly admired—most likely directed his stylistic development.

Rembrandt’s Inspiration

Despite exceptions within Rembrandt’s and Caravaggio’s body of work, there are three key contrasts between them: tenebrism, chiaroscuro, and color.

The terms chiaroscuro and tenebrism are often used interchangeably; however, it’s important to note the difference between the two techniques. Chiaroscuro creates three dimensions by using extreme contrasts of light and dark. Artists have portrayed depth through graduations of light and shadow since the Renaissance, but it was the Baroque master Caravaggio that took this technique to new heights with the creation of tenebrism, which means dark and gloomy.

(L) "The Calling of Saint Matthew," circa 1599, by Caravaggio. (R) “The Inspiration of Saint Matthew,” 1602, by Caravaggio. Oil on Canvas. Contarelli Chapel, Church of San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome. These paintings are a classic example of the spotlight effect of Caravaggio's tenebrism. Public Domain

Similar to chiaroscuro, tenebrism uses striking contrast between light and shadow but darkness becomes the painting’s dominating characteristic. Tenebrism is exclusively used to create dramatic illumination through a spotlight effect. A painter can spotlight a subject or a group of people, while leaving the other areas black, in order to create contrast and drama. Chiaroscuro employs subtler gradation of light and shadow to create a more natural, softer effect.

Caravaggio’s tenebrism inspired Rembrandt and other Dutch artists who worked in the “candlelight tradition”—where all compositional light emanates from a single candle.

“The Nightwatch,” or “Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq,” 1642, by Rembrandt. Oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Rembrandt's most famous painting, "The Night Watch" demonstrates his soft use of chiaroscuro and tenebrism in his later career. Public Domain

In “The Senses,” Rembrandt already showed a talent for contrasting light and darkness—here in a very moderate chiaroscuro—that laid a foundation for his later development. Each of his four known paintings has a neutral colored, shadowy background contrasted with darker or more colorful main figures. When compared to his mature style, Caravaggio’s influence on his transition to strong chiaroscuro is obvious. But a degree of Rembrandt’s earlier subtlety remained with him. He never habitually embraced Caravaggio’s more dramatically contrasting tenebrism.

Color and Continuity

Rembrandt’s turn to dark colors and deeper shades owes much to Caravaggio. When using other shades of primary colors, Rembrandt generally continued using the softer ones of his early works rather than the bold shades that Caravaggio preferred.

No comparable elements of continuity can be seen between Rembrandt’s subject matter and handling of it in “The Senses” and all but a handful of his other—mainly early—paintings. Each has an obvious lightness and humor that appears in his work from time to time. Familiarity with day-to-day life in Rembrandt’s world reveals that “The Senses” go beyond that. They’re a form of satirical allegory to which he rarely (if ever) returned.

(L) “A Peddler Selling Spectacles,” between circa 1624 and 1625, by Rembrandt. Oil on panel; 8.5 inches by 7 inches. Museum De Lakenhal, Leiden, Netherlands. (R) “Stone Operation,” between circa 1624 and 1625, by Rembrandt. Oil on panel; 8.5 inches by 7 inches. The Leiden Collection, New York City. Public Domain

Details of his satire are clear in two of the four known paintings. “A Peddler Selling Spectacles” and “Stone Operation” based off 16th-century Dutch idioms. “To sell someone glasses without [corrective] lenses” refers to the ability to deceive those whose eyesight is too weak to tell they are not being sold the product they need. “Cutting out the stone” referred to barbers who claimed they could cure headaches but removing a stone from a person’s head—another swindle. It’s likely that his allegories to smell, hearing, and taste alluded to similar idioms whose meaning is now lost to us.

It is precisely in Rembrandt’s differences with Caravaggio that we see elements of continuity between the Dutch artist’s early paintings and his mature style. His subtle tones and transitions demonstrate his enduring preference for elegant understatement over vibrancy and flamboyance. While dignity and gravitas were common, levity was rare.

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