1657, Rembrandt van Rijn, Saint Bartholomew -- Timken Museum of Art (San Diego)
From the museum label: Rembrandt van Rijn is one of the most celebrated figures in Western art history. During his own lifetime, Rembrandt was renowned for his portraits, landscapes, prints, and drawings. Working in Protestant Amsterdam, religious subject matter was still extremely important to him. In this large oil painting Rembrandt depicts Saint Bartholomew. According to legend, Bartholomew was martyred for his Christian beliefs by being skinned alive. Here, he holds the instrument of his own martyrdom—a knife—in his right hand. Unlike other artists of the baroque period who favored this particular iconography because of its dramatic potential, Rembrandt deliberately avoids any overt representation of violence. Instead, he focuses on Bartholomew's psychological state: a furrowed brow and intense expression suggest that he is deep in thought.
1657, Rembrandt van Rijn, Saint Bartholomew -- Timken Museum of Art (San Diego)
From the museum label: Rembrandt van Rijn is one of the most celebrated figures in Western art history. During his own lifetime, Rembrandt was renowned for his portraits, landscapes, prints, and drawings. Working in Protestant Amsterdam, religious subject matter was still extremely important to him. In this large oil painting Rembrandt depicts Saint Bartholomew. According to legend, Bartholomew was martyred for his Christian beliefs by being skinned alive. Here, he holds the instrument of his own martyrdom—a knife—in his right hand. Unlike other artists of the baroque period who favored this particular iconography because of its dramatic potential, Rembrandt deliberately avoids any overt representation of violence. Instead, he focuses on Bartholomew's psychological state: a furrowed brow and intense expression suggest that he is deep in thought.