Immigrants and Refugees in Rembrandt’s World

Rembrandt’s Works on Paper

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669) is considered one of the most famous artists in Dutch history. Next to Johannes Vermeer, they form the pantheon of quintessentially Dutch art which you will see in the greatest museums of fine arts in the Western world, such as the Rijksmuseum, the Louvre, the National Gallery, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Besides his captivating oil paintings, such as the Night Watch, Rembrandt is famous for his drawings and prints which are continuously appreciated for their incredibly raw lifelikeness and technological innovation.

Rembrandt famously lived on Jodenbreestraat 4 in Amsterdam, in the house which is turned today into the Rembrandt House Museum, and often portrayed everyday life figures he saw in his neighborhood. As archival research showed, his neighbours were often foreigners: economic migrants and political refugees from as far as Africa. In the 17th century, up to 60% of residents in Amsterdam were foreigners. They hailed from all around the world, escaping numerous religious and political wars raging on their continents.

The Exhibition

The exhibition Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic reflects on the effects of Rembrandt’s diverse surroundings on his art. Ultimately, the show brings to light what Rembrandt witnessed and represented in his works during a transformative era in Dutch Republic’s history in which the questions of what it meant to be Dutch were continuously being shaped and redefined.

The show’s title makes a reference to the lion, a symbol of resilience, strength, and authority for the 17th-century Dutch people. Although, the animal was considered exotic and non-native to northern Europe, it appears extensively on medieval heraldry and was later recontextualized by many European countries as a symbol of statehood and civic identity.

The lion recurs in Rembrandt’s oeuvre, often in portrayals of Saint Jerome who encountered a wounded lion while wandering the Syrian desert. According to the legend, the saint tamed the dangerous animal by pulling a thorn from its paw and the lion remained with him thereafter. The curator of the exhibition, Sarah Mallory, understands this motif as a representation of compassion, loyalty, and acceptance amid difficulties of exile.

Other works tell a story of individuals such as Manasseh Ben Israel (or Manoel Dias Soeiro), a Portuguese-born Jewish scholar and rabbi who settled in Europe’s most prominent Sephardic community located in Amsterdam. Ben Israel lived around the corner from Rembrandt and the two were likely friends. His parents moved to Amsterdam in 1610 and this family represents countless life stories of those who found a safe haven in the Dutch Republic and rose to prominence as outsiders.

The exhibition is built around six sections:

• The founding myth of the Republic and how this played a role in Amsterdam’s famed religious and political tolerance welcoming many famous refugees, such as French philosopher René Descartes.
• Depictions of outsiders, migrants, immigrants, and exiles, both in Amsterdam street scenes and Biblical stories.
• Colonial activity of the Dutch Republic which became a vessel for many free and enslaved people to move around the globe.
• Diversity of Amsterdam seen through Rembrandt’s drawings and prints.
• Rembrandt’s career as a portraitist of not only of those who were famed and prominent but also of members of Amsterdam’s upwardly mobile class who sought to fit in the Dutch society.
• Lastly, the show takes a look at the last years of the artist’s life during which he depicted marginalized communities.

Examining Rembrandt’s versatile works enables us to experience difference and otherness, social topics that are still highly relevant to our world, and how they were perceived in the 17th century. Similarly, how those who were perceived as other sought to find or create a sense of belonging, is also a fundamental human need to which we all can relate to in some way.

Rembrandt’s Lions: Art and Exile in the Dutch Republic is on view through January 31, 2027, at the Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY, USA.