Das Aachener Rathaus: Ein Bauwerk als Zeugnis europäischer Geschichte, Band 2: Die repräsentative Umgestaltung im Barock und Rokoko. Georg K. Helg. Scriptorum Carolinum 4.2. Aachen: Geymüller, 2016. 276 pp. €59.
artworks themselves could be interpreted as supporting either cause. “Rembrandt’s World,” chapter 4, brings a dual focus: on the place in the world of the Dutch as a nation (including the horrors of Dutch-abetted slavery in the New World) and on Rembrandt’s personal world, including the inner world suggested through his series of self-portraits. Silver balances discussion of the social context of Rembrandt’s life and art admirably throughout these chapters, and the thematic approach allows him to consider works of art from different aspects, adding to the depth of presentation. The highlights remain those passages where he describes specific paintings and prints (and a few drawings). Here Silver’s lucid prose and engaged eye help bring these works to vivid life, especially important in the many cases where works are discussed but not illustrated. Rembrandt’s Holland is a welcome and refreshing addition to the vast scholarly literature on the artist, offering an accessible, well-rounded picture of Rembrandt, his art, and his society.