Rembrandt

Colour, light and the texture of paint shape Mortimer Menpes's approach to Rembrandt. Published in 1905, this illustrated volume pairs Menpes's preface with C. Lewis Hind's essay on the painter's life and work. Menpes describes studying paintings at the Hermitage in bright sunlight and making copies to understand their construction. His account explains how a carefully painted monochrome foundation and layers of golden colour produce depth, surface texture and a balance of light and shade.

Hind approaches appreciation through imagined encounters with art: a London golfer discovers an etching of his favourite game, while an enthusiast buys inexpensive reproductions and seeks out originals in the British Museum's Print Room. These scenes connect scholarly study with the pleasure of looking closely. Discussion of portraits, religious scenes and etchings gives readers interested in art a way to think about technique, feeling and the differences between an original work and its reproduction.