But evil days were at hand. The long-continued wars and civil troubles had worn out the country, and money was scarce; and we find Rembrandt borrowing considerable sums of money on the security of his house. Then, in this year of 1654, we find him involved in the scandal of having a child by his servant Hendrickje Jagers or Stoffels, as appears by the books of the Reformed Church at Amsterdam. He recognized the child and gave it the name of Cornelia, after his mother, but there is no proof that he married Hendrickje, who seems to have continued to live with him, for we find her claiming a chest as her property at his sale in 1658.
The beautiful portrait of the "Lady" in the Salon Carre of the Louvre and the "Venus and Cupid" of the same gallery may represent Hendrickje and her child. Both pictures belong to this date, and by their treatment are removed from the category of Rembrandt's usual portraits. But if this is conjecture, we get nearer to fact when we look at the picture to which tradition has attached the name of "Rembrandt's Mistress," now in the Edin burgh National Gallery. At a glance one can see that it is not the mere head of a model, as she lies in bed raising herself to put aside a curtain. In 1654 he painted the famous "Portrait of Jan Six," the future burgomaster, consummate in its ease and char acter, as Six descends the steps of his house drawing on his glove. The connection between Rembrandt and the great family of Six was long and close. In 1641 the mother of Six, Anna Wymer, had been painted with consummate skill by Rembrandt, who also executed in 1647 the beautiful etching of Six standing by a win dow reading his tragedy of Medea, afterwards illustrated by Rem brandt. Now he paints his portrait in the prime of manhood. In 1656 Rembrandt's financial affairs became more involved, and the Orphan's Chamber transferred the house and ground to Titus, though Rembrandt was still allowed to take charge of Saskia's estate. Nothing, however, could avert the ruin of the painter, who was declared bankrupt in July 1656, an inventory of all his property being ordered by the Insolvency Chamber. The first sale took place in 1657 in the Keizerskroon hotel; and the second in 1658, when the larger part of the etchings and drawings were disposed of—"collected by Rembrandt himself with much love and care," says the catalogue. The sum realized, under 5,000 guilders., was but a fraction of their value. Driven thus from his
house, stripped of everything he possessed, even to his table linen, Rembrandt took a modest lodging in the Keizerskroon hos telry (the amounts of his bills are on record), apparently without friends and thrown entirely on himself.
But this dark year of 1656 stands out prominently as one in which some of his greatest works were produced, as, for example, "Jacob blessing the Sons of Joseph" of the Cassel Gallery, and "John the Baptist Preaching" of the Berlin gallery, though this picture is sometimes ascribed to an earlier period of about 1635. Instead of the brilliancy of 1654 we have for two or three years a preference for dull yellows, reds and greys, with a certain uni formity of tone. The handling is broad and rapid. There is less caressing of colour for its own sake, even less straining after vig orous effect of light and shade. To the same year belongs the "Lesson in Anatomy of Johann Deyman," in the museum at Amsterdam. The subject is similar to the great Tulp of 1632, but his manner and power of colour had advanced so much that Sir Joshua Reynolds, on his visit to Holland in 1781, was reminded by it of Michelangelo and Titian. The same period gives us the "Adoration of the Magi" of Buckingham Palace.
After the sale of the house in the Breedstraat, Rembrandt retired to the Rosengracht, an obscure quarter at the west end of the city. We are now drawing to the splendid close of his career in his third manner, in which his touch became broader, his impasto more solid and his knowledge more complete. We may mention the "Old Man with the Grey Beard" of the National Gallery (1657) leading up to the great portraits of the "Syndics of the Cloth Hall" of 1661.
In his old age Rembrandt continued to paint his own portrait as assiduously as in his youthful days. Fine examples are in the Louvre, in the National Gallery, London, and in the Frick collec tion, New York. All show the same self-reliant expression, though broken down by age and the cares of a hard life.
About the year i668, Rembrandt painted the (so-called) "Jewish Bride" of the Rijks museum in Amsterdam, and the "Family Group" of Brunswick, the last and perhaps the most brilliant works of his life, bold and rapid in execution and mar vellous in the subtle mixture and play of colours in which he seems to revel.