Public Talk

Finding Rembrandt in Love and Life

Speaker: Dr Susan Broomhall, School of Humanities (History), UWA

This lecture explores how the character of Rembrandt van Rijn is interpreted through place, gender and emotions in museums and heritage sites in the Netherlands today. It focuses on the cities of Leiden and Amsterdam, Rembrandt’s homes, and particularly, the role of women in shaping interpretations of Rembrandt’s life and work. Historical women in Rembrandt’s life are increasingly employed as tools to understand the artist’s mind in creative responses such as Peter Greenaway’s 2006 film Nightwatching or the 2009 Australian opera by Andrew Ford and Sue Smith, Rembrandt’s Wife. This lecture investigates how heritage sites have likewise co-opted Rembrandt’s relationships with women, in a range of ways, in order to increase visitor engagement.

Rembrandt – 350th Anniversary Lecture Series

Rembrandt’s death took place 350 years ago this year, in 1669. Museums across the globe, from Amsterdam to the Arabian Gulf, are staging exhibitions to commemorate his artistic legacy, and a life that was far from a masterpiece.Sometimes dismissed contemptuously in his own time, the supreme genius of Rembrandt is now universally acknowledged. The Institute of Advanced Studies at The University of Western Australia is pleased to present a series of lectures offering insights into the artist’s life, his work and its reception.