Sunday Feature

Rembrandt 400

Sunday 9 July 2006 21:30-22:15 (Radio 3)

Director of the British Museum Neil MacGregor visits Amsterdam to reassess the qualities that make Rembrandt's subjects reach out to us today as long queues for exhibitions celebrating the 400th anniversary of the artist's birth snake round the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, evidence of the powerful hold his work continues to have.

The house where Rembrandt lived in Amsterdam prompts reflections on how his subjects were based on close observation, notably in his self-portraits and in the pictures peopled by those he knew, and particularly the women he loved.

The large-scale classical and Biblical scenes in the Rijksmuseum dazzle with their technical brilliance and mastery of paint, while the smaller drawings and etchings convey Rembrandt's intimate observation of the human qualities of tenderness and vulnerability.

These works soon made their way through the world and MacGregor follows their journey to British collections and to their continuing impact on artists working today.

Duration:

45 minutes

Sunday Feature

Episode and Playlist Information

• 24 Sep 06 The act of listening
• 27 Aug 06 Brecht
• 21 August 2006
• 20 August 2006
• 7 Aug 06 Reviving Asmara
• 6 Aug 06 Francis Petrarch
• 9 Jul 06 Rembrandt 400
• 2 Jul 06 Beyond a Boundary
• 25 Jun 06 George Stubbs
• 18 Jun 06 Astor Place Riots

Sunday Feature pages