The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 8, Number 2, Winter 2019 | Page 21

nist or Independent Thinker?
stone throwers, a face gazes out at the
painting’s viewer with an “expression of
glee—another nice, chilling touch” to
the story’s mood, in the words of Rembrandt
biographer Charles L. Mee. 9 Intriguingly,
art experts identify the face
as one of Rembrandt’s many self-portraits.
What was he trying to convey?
Within the context of Rembrandt’s time,
the tightening austerity of the Calvinists
narrowed religious tolerance. With
hardliner Counter-Remonstrants pushing
for continued war against Catholic
Spain, a Remonstrant leader had been
arrested and beheaded in 1619 during a
period of sectarian strife. In this painting,
Rembrandt appears to have made
a daring and courageous plea for peace
and tolerance, putting him on the side
of the liberal Remonstrants.
But was Rembrandt truly commenting
on this event? Perhaps, but
not necessarily. The painting appeared
in the same year that Prince Frederik
Hendrik came to power. Perhaps Rembrandt
wanted to appear in a favorable
light to the prince or to wealthy liberal
Calvinists who might confer a lucrative
history painting commission
upon him. While this is conjecture, like
any other artist, in his early days Rembrandt
struggled to establish his career
through a good reputation.
Whether Rembrandt ever read
van Mander’s book on the rules of art
is doubtful, but he probably knew of
it. Even if he had read it, he produced
art by his own rules, not the way others
thought he should. He continued to
paint history scenes, numerous society
portraits that were the building blocks