Where can you see Rembrandt in London?

At the National Gallery: Self Portrait at the Age of 34 and Belshazzar's Feast. At the Kenwood House: Self-Portrait with Two Circles. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Rembrandt's most famous work in London?

Self Portrait at the Age of 34, of 1640, at the National Gallery. At the height of his success, leaning on a stone ledge in velvet and fur, in a costume a century out of date. He had seen a Titian and a Raphael at auction in Amsterdam and meant to be measured against them.

When and where was Rembrandt born?

On 15 July 1606, at Leiden, Netherlands. Rembrandt died on 4 October 1669, at Amsterdam, Netherlands, aged about 63.

What is Rembrandt known for?

Painted the self-portrait at 34 in the pose of portraits by Titian and Raphael. The Hebrew writing in Belshazzar's Feast runs in columns, which is why nobody at the feast can read it. The Kenwood self-portrait is free to see. Rembrandt was a Dutch painter, of the Dutch Golden Age.

Painter, 1606 to 1669

Rembrandt

London is one of the best cities in the world for Rembrandt. You can see him at thirty-four, rich and dressed as a Renaissance prince, and at sixty-three, in the year he died.

Born: 1606, Leiden, Netherlands
Died: 1669, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Movement: Dutch Golden Age
In London: 3 works in 2 museums

Where to see Rembrandt in London

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

The National Gallery2 works

Self Portrait at the Age of 34
1640
At the height of his success, leaning on a stone ledge in velvet and fur, in a costume a century out of date. He had seen a Titian and a Raphael at auction in Amsterdam and meant to be measured against them.
Belshazzar's Feast
about 1636 to 1638
The king of Babylon starts up from the table as a hand writes his doom on the wall in letters of light. Wine spills, a woman recoils, and the gold thread of his cloak is laid on thick as rope.

Kenwood House1 work

Self-Portrait with Two Circles
about 1665
The painter in his working cap with palette and brushes, in front of a wall on which two great arcs are drawn. Nobody knows what the circles mean. It hangs in a house on Hampstead Heath that is free to enter.

The life of Rembrandt

Rembrandt van Rijn was born in Leiden in 1606 and moved to Amsterdam, where he became the most sought-after portrait painter in the richest city in Europe. He painted, drew and etched without stopping, and made dozens of portraits of himself, from a confident young man to a ruined old one.

His wife Saskia died young, his spending outran his income, and in 1656 he was declared insolvent and his house and collection were sold. The paintings of his last years, darker and rougher, are the ones later centuries came to value most. He died in Amsterdam in 1669.

What to know

Painted the self-portrait at 34 in the pose of portraits by Titian and Raphael
The Hebrew writing in Belshazzar's Feast runs in columns, which is why nobody at the feast can read it
The Kenwood self-portrait is free to see

Born: 15 July 1606, Leiden, Netherlands
Died: 4 October 1669, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Rembrandt: common questions

Where can you see Rembrandt in London?: At the National Gallery: Self Portrait at the Age of 34 and Belshazzar's Feast. At the Kenwood House: Self-Portrait with Two Circles. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Rembrandt's most famous work in London?: Self Portrait at the Age of 34, of 1640, at the National Gallery. At the height of his success, leaning on a stone ledge in velvet and fur, in a costume a century out of date. He had seen a Titian and a Raphael at auction in Amsterdam and meant to be measured against them.
When and where was Rembrandt born?: On 15 July 1606, at Leiden, Netherlands. Rembrandt died on 4 October 1669, at Amsterdam, Netherlands, aged about 63.
What is Rembrandt known for?: Painted the self-portrait at 34 in the pose of portraits by Titian and Raphael. The Hebrew writing in Belshazzar's Feast runs in columns, which is why nobody at the feast can read it. The Kenwood self-portrait is free to see. Rembrandt was a Dutch painter, of the Dutch Golden Age.