The artist’s debt: Arent de Gelder and Rembrandt

Abstract

This paper explores a case of artistic debt towards the end of the 17th century in the Netherlands and more particularly in the city of Dordrecht. Arent de Gelder, Rembrandt’s allegedly most faithful pupil, continued to pursue the – by this time – unfashionable manner of his teacher. Shortly before, Rembrandt had to face a heavy artistic and financial crisis. De Gelder’s debt was not only that of a mere pupil. His own social and financial independence fully allowed him to explore and experiment with the Rembrandtian manner, even in more radical ways than Rembrandt himself. In Dordrecht, De Gelder moved in a social milieu that still cherished the Rembrandtian manner. Former Rembrandt pupils, many of whom came from Dordrecht, had already successfully chosen other artistic paths, as the new taste of the Dutch elite evolved in favor of a grander, more ‘aristocratic’ habitus and hence manner, that greatly differed from Rembrandt’s. This article focuses on this both creative and contradictory nature of artistic debt.