Familienbildnis

Rembrandt painted this family in the last year or two of his life, around 1668, and we still have no idea who they are. A mother and children in glowing reds sit close together, the paint laid on so freely up close that the sleeves and hands dissolve into rough strokes and only settle into fabric when you step back. This was Rembrandt at the end, out of fashion and financially ruined, having buried people he loved, yet painting more loosely and more tenderly than ever. The picture has been in Brunswick for centuries and is the prize of the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, one of the oldest public art museums in Europe, which first opened its collection to visitors back in the 18th century.