Rembrandt in light of the ideas of A. Volynsky

The well-known literary critic, philosopher of religion and culture, art critic and ballet theorist Akim Volynsky (Chaim Leibovich Flexer, 1861 or 1863-1926) in his unreleased book “Rembrandt” (1925) develops a new perspective on the artist's work. At the same time, he follows his idea of the special cultural and historical significance of Judaism. He raises the question of Rembrandt's attitude to Jewry in genealogical and spiritual terms, reveals his connections with the religious, cultural, everyday traditions of Judaism, and examines in detail the Judaizing trend in his work. This aspect of the study is combined with the consideration of thematic, genre, style, technical features of painting and graphics of Rembrandt. Volynsky problematicizes the content of those paintings of Rembrandt, in which it is customary to see the development of evangelical and later Christian subjects. The purposeful reconstruction of the Judaic tradition in the biographical material and in Rembrandt's work is explained by Volynsky's deep disappointment in modern Christianity. In “The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Hannah and Simeon)” (1627-1628). Volynsky sees first of all the Jewish domestic scene. The painting “Saint Paul in the prison” (1627) was radically audited. The Rembrandt's John the Baptist (“Preaching of Saint John the Baptist” circa 1633-1634) has also been bred beyond Christian history. For criticism is important to compare the preaching John and the surrounding crowd - in light of the contrast between the material and the spiritual. Rembrandt’s personality is very convincingly shown by the life-related circle of Amsterdam Jews, their way of life and worldview. Volynsky also points out that the ideological landmarks of Rembrandt were the teachings of Rabbi Moshe bin Maimon, Menasse ben Israel, Spinoza. All this led the artist away from the experience and creative reflection of Christian subjects. In the later development of the theme “Ecce homo”, in the etching “Christ presented to the people” (1655), Volynsky found, from his point of view, genuine Rembrandt characters who change the meaning of the depiction of the famous evangelical scene. A successful pictorial interpretation of the image of Christ finds Volynsky in Rembrandt paintings dedicated to the “Emmaus legend”. Of all Rembrandt’s works on evangelical subjects, he is most impressed by the etching and painting “The Return of the Prodigal Son” (etching 1636, painting 1666-1668). The artist's intimate feelings also colored the “greatest graphic masterpiece” - the etching “The Adoration of the Shepherds” (1652). Rembrandt's early experiments on Old Testament plots seem to Volynsky to be unsuccessful. But already in the picture “Saul and David” (circa 1630) he felt the music embodied in the image of the hands of a psalm singer playing the harp. Volynsky masterfully describes the position and movement of his fingers. However, in Rembrandt's transmission of Old Testament subjects Volynsky notices the split of the historical consciousness of the artist and, accordingly, the duality of the image. One of the few things that Volynsky recognized as successful are Rembrandt's paintings and graphic works related to the biblical Book of Tovit.

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