For the past few decades graphic novels have come into their own covering a broad range of subjects from the Holocaust to Superheroes Now the 17th century artist Rembrandt is featured in a new publication in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Rembrandt is regarded as one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European history and one of the most important in Dutch history. His self-portraits have revealed an intimate personal record of himself as an artist, but he has also established his reputation for reflecting the growing wealth and prosperity of 17th century Amsterdam and its inhabitants.
This absorbing graphic novel presents an authentic account of his life full of historical colour, and in an absence of facts, the author has
drawn inspiration from the wealth of anecdotes about Rembrandt. His private life often found him at odds with the Church and nobility,
forever in debt and living with his former maid. It’s a story that unfolds with all the passion and drama of a TV series as it reveals one man’s artistic vocation and the work it demands, a world of life and death, love and bereavement, fame and loss.
Rembrandt represents an unique collaborative enterprise between the author, Typex, The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture and the Rijksmuseum, home of the world’s largest and most important Rembrandt collection, which has resulted in a stunning and surprising account of one of the world’s most influential painters.
The author, Typex (b.1962) is an Amsterdam College for the Arts graduate. His work appears in many nationwide newspapers and magazines. He illustrates numerous children’s books and has published some of his own. He is also author of numerous comic books.
Gerrit de Jager and Gert Jan Pos wrote the concept for Rembrandt. Gert Jan Pos (1967) is a journalist and translator. He curated several comic related art shows. At the moment he works as a trustee of comics for The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture.
Rembrandt marks the first of an exciting new series from SelfMadeHero under the ART MASTERS banner. Future volumes will give the same biographical treatment to the lives of Salvador Dalí and Pablo Picasso, all told by internationally renowned writers and illustrators. It’s set to appeal to both fans of art history and graphic novels alike.
“Here is to the greatest Dutch artist… I mean the second greatest. First there was Rembrandt then there was Typex!” says; Nick Cave – Musician, Writer SelfMadeHero is a publisher of the finest fiction, biography, history and humour in the graphic novel medium that showcases leading authors and artists from around the world: from the quirky and humorous to the political and profound.