Rembrandt – Stormy Landscape

Stormy Landscape is Rembrandt’s painting from about 1638: heavy dark clouds roll over hilly country, and between them a band of light opens that falls on a ruined tower on a hill, a distant town on the slope and a plain with a stream. The original, oil on a wooden panel, is 51.3 cm high and 71.5 cm wide and belongs to the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum in Braunschweig. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas in 8 landscape sizes, from 53 x 38 to 160 x 115 cm, or to your own measurement, and show it to you in a photograph before dispatch.

Stormy Landscape – Rembrandt

What does Stormy Landscape show?

Most of the painting is sky: heavy brownish and grey clouds pile up over the land, and on the right a bright gap opens between them. The light falls slantwise into the middle, onto a hill with the ruin of a tall tower and onto trees bent by the wind.

Far left on the slope lies a walled town, and on the right a plain opens with a waterfall or stream. In front the landscape is dark, with tiny figures on the path that you only notice from close up.

What does the storm in the painting mean?

Rembrandt did not paint a landscape he had actually seen. Holland is flat, but this country has hills, ruins and waterfalls, as he imagined them.

That is why the painting works as a mood rather than a postcard: a storm still on its way, and light that breaks through the dark for a moment. Many see in it an image of hope in hard times.

Why are Rembrandt’s landscapes so rare?

Because Rembrandt painted mainly biblical stories and portraits, and only a few landscapes. This one dates from about 1638.

That makes Stormy Landscape a special choice: Rembrandt’s light and dark, without a single large figure. For lovers of landscape it is a lesser-known, very personal Rembrandt.

Where is the original today?

In the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum in Braunschweig, Germany, under inventory number GG 236. It is painted in oil on a wooden panel and measures 51.3 x 71.5 cm.

The Braunschweig museum holds several paintings by Rembrandt, among them the well-known Family Portrait.

Stormy Landscape or another Rembrandt?

Stormy Landscape suits a study, a library or a hallway with light from the side, for lovers of nature and weather. Its calmer companion is The Mill, a landscape in the light after the storm.

For a storm on the water there is The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, for a rider in a dark landscape The Polish Rider, and for ruins and grief Jeremiah Lamenting the Destruction of Jerusalem. All the famous Rembrandt paintings we paint are on the Rembrandt page.

How does our painter paint your Stormy Landscape?

This Rembrandt reproduction starts with the sky, the real hero of the painting. In oil on canvas the painter builds up the clouds with dense strokes, then lets the light spread over hill and plain.

Last come the ruin, the bent trees and the small figures. An oil painting reproduction like this has clouds in relief that a paper print cannot show.

Which size is right for your room?

In short: 53 x 38 or 60 x 42 cm for a shelf or a narrow wall, 70 x 48 or 90 x 62 cm above a desk or chest of drawers, 100 x 70 and 110 x 80 cm above a sofa, and 140 x 103 and 160 x 115 cm for a large wall.

There are 8 landscape sizes (width x height): 53 x 38, 60 x 42, 70 x 48, 90 x 62, 100 x 70, 110 x 80, 140 x 103 and 160 x 115 cm. The original is 71.5 cm wide, so 70 x 48 cm is almost its size. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 110 x 80 cm works well.

Because the painting is dark, hang it under a lamp or near a window, with its centre about 150 cm from the floor.

Can I choose another size or a frame?

Yes. The original is roughly 7 : 5 in proportion; in that ratio sky and ruin keep their balance. Write to us with the size for your Stormy Landscape and we will quote a price and a delivery date.

We send Stormy Landscape rolled, on a stretcher bar or framed; our workshop in Slovenia prepares every canvas painting. You compare frames for Stormy Landscape in the 3D application, which is only for that; seeing it on your own wall is a separate service. Dark wood stresses the storm, antique gold the band of light.

When will the painting be with me?

We paint Stormy Landscape to order and dispatch it within 15 to 45 working days; the parcel with Stormy Landscape travels customs-free across the EU. A photograph of the finished painting reaches you before dispatch; whatever you would like different, we correct, and our returns policy applies to every order.

For a hiker, a weather lover or someone who should choose the size, there is the wall art voucher.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the original Stormy Landscape?

In the Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum in Braunschweig, inventory number GG 236.

Is it a real landscape?

No, Rembrandt invented the hills, ruins and waterfall; Holland is flat.

When was it painted?

Around 1638, in Rembrandt’s Amsterdam years.

What is the original painted on?

On a wooden panel; we paint our Stormy Landscape in oil on canvas.

Is your Stormy Landscape a print?

No, it is a hand-painted copy; the painter paints the clouds and light with a brush.

How big is the original?

It is 51.3 cm high and 71.5 cm wide. Our sizes run from 53 x 38 to 160 x 115 cm.

Which size is closest to the original?

70 x 48 cm, almost the size of the panel in Braunschweig.

Who would like it as a gift?

Nature lovers, hikers and anyone fascinated by the weather.

• Subject: dark storm clouds over hilly country, a band of light on a ruined tower and a plain.
• Original: c. 1638, oil on panel, 51.3 x 71.5 cm, Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig.
• Ours: painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 landscape sizes from 53 x 38 to 160 x 115 cm or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: the landscape is imaginary; Rembrandt painted only a few landscapes.