Rembrandt (Drawing Gallery)

The Louvre has one of the world's largest collections of drawings by Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669), the great Dutch master who was not only an extraordinary painter and etcher, but also an unrivalled draughtsman in a wide variety of genres. Most of the themes of his drawings are represented in the Louvre collection: Biblical and mythical subjects as well as figure studies, genre scenes, landscapes, portraits and remarkable drawings after Mughal miniatures from India. Rembrandt's greatness lies in his highly individual style and his consummate skill in portraying character. The style of his drawings, etchings and paintings evolved constantly throughout his active life as an artist, from 1625 to 1669, which explains the marked differences between works produced in successive periods of his career. The Louvre's collection certainly reflects the great diversity of his graphic art but it also brings out constants in his drawings - and incidentally in his paintings and etchings - notably, his immense po