The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 2, Winter 2019 | Page 20

Rembrandt: Compliant Calvi
also a dramatist. He became obsessed
with telling a story through a painting
or etching, finding the decisive moment
in a scene, and through it, expressing
commentary that was religious, social,
political, or all three.
In light of his artistic goals, how
religious Rembrandt actually was is difficult,
if not impossible, to determine.
Biblical tales were a principal source for
Rembrandt’s storytelling. The Italian
artist Filippo Baldinucci (1624-1697)
claimed that Rembrandt “professed in
those days the religion of the Mennonites.”
7 Scholars have speculated on the
truth of this claim, noting that austere
black and white Mennonite clothing
and themes of family ties, honesty, piety,
charity, and patience recurred often
in Rembrandt’s art. However, the clothing
of those images was common to the
period and worn by both Remonstrants
and Catholics alike. Rembrandt’s father
was most likely a liberal Calvinist Remonstrant,
but how much influence his
father had on him is unknown. Regardless,
Rembrandt did not appear to have
adhered to or cared for any organized
religion. 8
Rembrandt produced his first
known painting, The Stoning of St. Stephen,
in 1625. While art critics do not
consider it a good painting, it already
demonstrated Rembrandt’s strong
drive to become a history painter and
his dramatic storytelling capabilities. It
shows a group of men wielding stones
the instant before they crush a martyr’s
skull. In the background is a group of
men who show utter indifference to
Stephen’s plight. Behind the group of
7