The Etchings of Rembrandt: A Study and History

Philip Gilbert Hamerton (1834-1894) was an Englishman who was devoted to the arts in numerous forms. He became an orphan at the age of ten; his mother died giving birth to him, and he ended up living with two aunts when he turned five. Five years after that, his father died. At first, he tried his hand at poetry, but his work was not well received. He moved onto painting, in particular, landscape painting. However, his work was also not well-received. On a more positive note, while he was painting in the Scottish Highlands, he met his wife, Eugenie Gindriez. While his painting and poetry was not fawned over, his book, Painter’s Camp in the Highlands, published in 1863, was lauded. Due to the praise, Hamerton stuck with art criticism, and went on to write other works, such as Etching and Etchers (1866) and Contemporary French Painters (1867). He also wrote novels, biographies, and reflections on society. This new edition is dedicated to Gordon Alt, whose energetic lifelong efforts for the arts have saved many important works that otherwise would have perished.