16 Rembrandt Portraits Burning the Getty Walls

16 Rembrandt Portraits Burning the Getty Walls

Among the great artists of the past there are a few Masters who have the miraculous ability to speak in an especially personal voice to ever changing generations. My short list includes: Titian and Vermeer, Goya and Velasquez. And then, set apart from the rest, is Rembrandt.

Norton Simon shelled out a then unheard of $2.2 million for the it made headlines around the world. With all that, you would think that Hollywood would mine Rembrandt's life for a weepy blockbuster staring Russell Crowe chewing the scenery.

Getty Museum last week as part of an exquisite exhibition first seen at the National Gallery in Washington. Surprisingly enough, the L.A. Times hasn't mentioned it yet - saving its breath, I guess, for the upcoming King Tut extravaganza. No one knows for sure why Rembrandt painted this series of Apostles and Saints using himself and his friends and acquaintances as models. There is no information about who commissioned this series, if it was commissioned at all.

I went already to see this exhibition twice and plan to go several times more. The longer you stare at the 300 year-old canvases, the more comes to the surface from their deep physical, emotional space, with its palette of glowing coal. Ask your self: when was the last time you were in the company of sixteen wise men and women, who cared about you and offered their compassion? Here is your chance.

Rembrandt's Late Religious Portraits

The Getty

1200 Getty Center Drive

310-440-7360

Ends August 28