Rembrandt’s Spaces

<p>In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in scholarship devoted to the study of pictorial spaces in seventeenth-century Netherlands. While much light has been shed on the spaces of such artists as Nicholaes Maes and Pieter de Hooch, those of Rembrandt have not been the objects of a scholarly gaze. Sparsely illuminated with few features of architectural spaces, Rembrandt’s spaces appear to be suggested rather than clearly articulated and thus challenge the conventional approach to pictorial spaces.</p> <p>In this dissertation, I engage with the spaces of Rembrandt’s history paintings by providing a different conceptual framework for approaching the spatial indeterminacy that marks his paintings. Drawing on phenomenological interpretations of space and theories of aesthetic reception, I approach Rembrandt from a primarily methodological point of view. I argue that space should not be perceived as a three-dimensional realm governed and bound by laws of perspective. Rather it is a fluid, constantly evolving entity that necessitates the active participation of a subjective beholder. Eschewing the notion of a prior-existing absolute space, I posit that a painting consists of multiple spaces created by the interaction, or the lack thereof, of human figures to one another and their environment.</p> <p>My dissertation has an introduction and four chapters. Each chapter is centered on a spatial property that addresses in some respect man’s relationship to space. I look at interiority and its relationship to interior spaces; liminality as expressed in transitional structures such as windows and doors; drapery’s bond with the body and theatricality; and finally, the role of light and shadows in the creation of spaces. I aim to contribute to the discussion of pictorial space in general as well as add to the understanding of Rembrandt and his oeuvre</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Bryn Mawr only

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

History of Art

Year dc:date.available

2007

Author dc:creator

• Girnius, Rima Marija

• History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.brynmawr.edu/dissertations/2

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.brynmawr.edu:dissertations-1001