Rembrandt: His Art and Legacy



Overview

The work of Rembrandt has fascinated and perplexed in equal measure ever since his obscure death in 1669. Known mainly as a moderately successful, yet insolvent, painter of portraits during his lifetime, Rembrandt was virtually forgotten by immediately succeeding generations - until the 19th century when his work was rediscovered as representing a body of uniquely idiosyncratic, yet powerfully insightful psychological and emotional studies, spanning an entire range of subject, media and genre.

We will explore the many facets of Rembrandt’s life and work. Chart his progress in technical terms from the smoothly finished haut bourgeois portraits of his earlier career to the solitary, densely textured impasto introspections of his final years. Delve into the complexities of his personal and financial affairs and shall ask how far these found expression in his paintings. We shall explore the constantly evolving intricacies of his work as a painter and print-maker and shall look for the influence of other artists, such as Rubens and Caravaggio, upon his work. Finally, we shall seek evidence of the long-term impact of Rembrandt's work upon modern visual art forms - from the paintings of Frank Auerbach, to the photography of Julia Margaret Cameron, and the cinema of the 1940s ‘Noir’ school.

Programme details

Course starts: 24 April 2025

Week 1:  Introduction - Rembrandt and the Dutch 'Golden Age'

Week 2:  Early Influences: the Northern & Italian Renaissance

Week 3:  Lieden to Amsterdam: Early Portraits

Week 4:  Religious & Genre Paintings

Week 5:  History Painting & the High Baroque - The Night Watch

Week 6:  'The Artist in His Studio': Oils, Prints, Chiaroscuro and Palette

Week 7:  Psychological Introspection: Rembrandt's Self-Portraits

Week 8:  Retrospective: Illusionism to Impasto

Week 9:  Attribution and Criticism: Rembrandt and the Scholars

Week 10:  Legacies: Julia Cameron to Frank Auerbach

Certification

To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £285.00
Take this course for CATS points £10.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Dr David Morgan

David Morgan teaches art history and architectural history for Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education (OUDCE) and has taught previously for Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of two online courses in architectural history for OUDCE; and has recently published peer-reviewed papers on Georgian visual satire and on Lacanian psychoanalytical approaches to the study of visual culture.

Course aims

To introduce students to the works, life, techniques, and influences upon and of Rembrandt van Rijn

Course Objectives:

  • To introduce students to the principal works of Rembrandt
  • To set Rembrandt's life and works against their wider artistic and historical context
  • To investigate the influence of Rembrandt upon subsequent generations of artists
  • To enable students to analyse and assess the works of Rembrandt in art-historical terms

Teaching methods

The course will be taught primarily by means of illustrated Powerpoint-based lectures. However ample provision will be made for proactive, tutor-guided student interaction, by means of group discussions, small-group or pair-based exercises, occasional student projects, and so forth. A fully interactive and student-focused learning environment will be maintained.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to:

  • Recognise the principal works of Rembrandt
  • Appreciate these works as products both of Rembrandt's own life as well as as expressions of the age in which he lived 
  • Assess the ways in which Rembrandt came to influence succeeding generations of artists

Assessment methods

The course will be assessed using a variety of potential assessment methods. Students will be able to choose between a traditional summative essay-based assessment option; or a cumulative portfolio-based assessment pathway. Provision will also be made for assessment by means of a student-led end-of-course classroom presentation. 

Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled will be expected to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work the required standard.

Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form

Application

To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £10 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.

Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an application form.

Level and demands

This course requires no previous knowledge.

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)

To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.

Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

 

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support