The Raw Material for Beauty An Essay on Suffering, Creativity and Hope By Paul Richardson This article is written in response to a recent tragedy. A friend ended his own life on Sunday morning, January 22, 2012. He was an artist. Throughout history, the most enduring creative expressions are most often created within …
Rembrandt is considered by some to be the greatest of all artists in the history of western civilization. Any way we look at him, he is a timeless giant in the arenas of creative expression. Rembrandt was a master of painting light and blending color. As one looks at a Rembrandt, it is easy to marvel at his talent. Yet we must look behind his paintings, beyond the museum walls into his life. First, Rembrandt and his wife, Saskia, experienced the excruciating death of