Aristotle with a Bust of Homer by Rembrandt van Rijn was created in 1653. The painting is in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The size of the work is 143,5 × 136,5 cm and is made of oil on canvas.
Among The Met’s most celebrated works of art, this painting conveys Rembrandt’s meditation on the meaning of fame. The richly clad Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) rests his hand pensively on a bust of Homer, the epic poet who had attained literary immortality with his Iliad and Odyssey centuries before. Aristotle wears a gold medallion with a portrait of his powerful pupil, Alexander the Great; perhaps the philosopher is weighing his own worldly success against Homer’s timeless achievement. (Read more in Metropolitan Museum of Art).
About the Artist: Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman Rembrandt was born on 15 July 1606 in Leiden, in the Dutch Republic, now the Netherlands. As a boy, he attended a Latin school. At the age of 13, he was enrolled at the University of Leiden, although according to a contemporary he had a greater inclination towards painting. In 1624 or 1625, Rembrandt opened a studio in Leiden, which he shared with friend and colleague Jan Lievens. In 1627, Rembrandt began to accept students, which included Gerrit Dou in 1628 and Isaac de Jouderville… Read more
Order a reproduction of this work (printed on canvas)
