Chapter 25, Movement

From The Art Studio Companion: A Master Class for Artists (May 2024)

Rembrandt, Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels, 1656. WC.

In this study, we examine how Rembrandt creates movement in painting. Since painting is frozen, a stagnant form, movement is nearly an impossible concept, yet Rembrandt accomplishes it. Rembrandt is justly famous for being one of, if not the greatest painter of light. But he equals that in his ability to paint three-dimensional depth. Understanding spatial relationships is key to comprehending how movement operates in painting.

When we feel movement in a painting, it is not that anything literally moves in the painting, rather it is our eyes that feel the simulation of movement. Through a masterful shift in tone and hue the paint will literally take on vibrations. Think of the frequency of two grays or a white and a black juxtaposed. Both sets have different effects (vibrations) on our eyes. When those vibrations are placed in spatial depth, we can feel as if we are moving through the space, it has to do with the physiological sensation that our eye is feeling. Our eye can feel the energy of Rembrandt painting as if the people and the space are present.[1] 

To demonstrate we will use this Rembrandt painting, Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels, with some of my markups.

185 Rembrandt with my markups.

I took color samples of her flesh tones, and turned them into arrows pointing to the area where their colors came from.

Looking at her right hand on the window sill, notice how the colors of the fingers recede back to her little finger, or conversely come forward towards her forefinger. The arrows stress how each of those colors is placed through space.

Notice how light rotates over her forehead.

A more subtle range is along her left hand and wrist and part of her covered forearm. The tones gently dissipate as her hand recedes from us.

The brightest light is on her left bosom and dims as it recedes back towards her neck and ended on her very dimmed earlobe.

Notice how all the arrows feel like they are placed in spatial depth. These brilliant technical manipulations are tricking our eye to move from vibration to vibration like a sensual wind current.

Rembrandt is swinging the light vibrations through space, while maintaining the integrity of her human form, and while also simply making her feel lit.

An additional level is the symbolism that the brightest light highlighting, it is her cord or leather necklace with presumably a key tucked under the top of her shift. The key is placed over her heart, her bosom, and it surrounded by the brightest light. An extraordinarily sensual and romantic concept-theme of this painting.

Practice #1

As always, it is crucial to reinforce your understanding through practice. There is no easy way, if ever, to master Rembrandt’s incredible level of movement in paint. But a fun, quick, and relatively easy exercise would be simply to paint color swatches matching the colors of the arrows. Like this:

186 Newberry. Demo of moving color through space.

Use a small canvas 12x9”, then using a soft cloth or a blue shop towel rub the entire surface with black oil paint, no medium just straight paint. Wipe off any excess paint, it should have a very dark space-like feeling. If it looks like slick black enamel, keep wiping it until it takes on a dull sheen. Give it two or three days to dry, then paint in the colored swatches, making sure the darker colors feel like they recede and the lightest colors come forward.

Practice #2

As always, it is crucial to reinforce your understanding through practice. This 2^nd lesson is much more difficult, make a copy of this Rembrandt painting and channel your inner Rembrandt! It will be time-intensive, give yourself at least 25 hours. You can download for free a high-resolution image of it from Wikimedia Commons. Search: “Rembrandt, Portrait of Hendrickje Stoffels, 1656.”

Rembrandt’s darks are also difficult to mimic, but there is a fun, and messy technique we already mentioned, using a soft cloth or blue shop towel, you can rub Ivory Black for the darks, but paint the lit areas like you normally would do with a brush.

If you choose to copy the Rembrandt, think about it is almost like he is whispering in your ear, and giving you suggestions once in a while. Also think about it as if you were taking classical painting course, not just one class. If you can spare the time, and your prepared to learn from the greatest, it will be a great learning experience.

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[1] In real life things like zooming through traffic or skiing through trees gives us a physical thrill. When a painting depicts spatial depth it excites our physiological response, giving us the sense we can move through the space. There is point of realization that the painting is a flat thing, yet it can feel like a 3D portal inviting us into another world. For the painter and the viewer movement equals emotion.