Rembrandt is among the few outstanding artists of universal appera. Yet he remains an elusive figure, too often the subject of romantic interpretation. The author firmly bases this study on the known facts, and builds a sensitive, accurate portrait of his life and work. He describes the happiness of Rembrandt's marriage, cut short by his wife's death, and discusses the catastrophe of his bankruptcy. The author suggests the psychological factors that may have awakened his sudden interest in landscapes and delineates the last decade, in which he retreated into the private world of his imagination.