Titus van Rijn (22 September 1641 – 4 September 1668) was the fourth and only surviving child of

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally conside ...

and Saskia van Uylenburgh. Titus is best known as a figure or model in his father's paintings and studies but also because of a legal case as

preferential In psychology, economics and philosophy, preference is a technical term usually used in relation to choosing between alternatives. For example, someone prefers A over B if they would rather choose A than B. Preferences are central to decision theo ...

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...

Life

Titus van Rijn was born in Amsterdam on September 22, 1641, the fourth child of the famed artist Rembrandt van Rijn and his wife Saskia van Uylenburgh. When she died Titus and Rembrandt were her only heirs, until Rembrandt would remarry or Titus or all his children would die before his father. He grew up at

Jodenbreestraat The Jodenbreestraat ("Jewish Broad Street") is a street in the centre of Amsterdam, which connects the Sint Antoniesluis sluice gates to the Mr. Visserplein traffic circle. North of the sluice gates, the street continues on to Nieuwmarkt square ...

, for years named Rembrandthuis. Titus the largest and preferential creditor of Rembrandt, meaning that, if Rembrandt went insolvent, the will would have made Titus became the first person to be paid off, before any other creditors could step in. At age 14, in a year of

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

, Titus made a will at his father's insistence, making his father sole heir, shutting out his mother’s family. One year later his half-sister Cornelia (1654-1684) became his only heir. After Rembrandt's bankruptcy in 1656, and the sale of the house in 1658, the family moved to a cheaper house at Rozengracht in the

Jordaan The Jordaan is a neighbourhood of the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Centrum. The area is bordered by the Singelgracht canal and the neighbourhood of Frederik Hendrikbuurt to the west; the Prinsengracht to ...

. Titus and Rembrandt's longtime lover, Hendrickje Stoffels, were named in charge of Rembrandt's affairs and began in 1660 an art dealership, specializing in Rembrandt's work. The authorities and his creditors were generally accommodating to him, except for the Amsterdam painters' guild, which introduced a new rule that no one in Rembrandt's circumstances could trade as a painter. To get around this, Hendrickje and Titus set up a dummy corporation as art dealers in 1660, with Rembrandt as an employee. In 1662 one of Rembrandt's creditors went to the High Court (

Hof van Holland The Hof van Holland, Zeeland en West-Friesland (; usually shortened to Hof van Holland in the literature, and translated in English literature as "(High) Court of Holland") was the High Court of the provinces of Holland, West Friesland and Zeeland ...

) as didn't accept Titus had to be paid first. Isaac van Hertsbeeck lost twice and had to pay the money he had already received to Titus, which he did in 1668.Wexuan, Li
"Review of: 'Rembrandts plan: De ware geschiedenis van zijn faillissement"
''Oud Holland Reviews'', April 2020. Titus died on 4 September 1668 during a

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

epidemic in Amsterdam and was buried three days later on 7 September 1668.

Marriage

In February 1668, Titus married Magdalena van Loo (1641-1669). The couple lived at Magdalena's mother's house on the Singel. Her husband was Jan van Loo, silversmith, whose brother was Gerrit van Loo, a lawyer in

Het Bildt Het or HET may refer to: Science and technology * Hall-effect thruster, a type of ion thruster used for spacecraft propulsion * Heavy Equipment Transporter, a vehicle in the US Army's Heavy Equipment Transport System * Hobby–Eberly Telescope, a ...

. Titus van Rijn died on 4 September and was buried in the Westerkerk. His father, wife, and mother-in-law all died a year later. The couple had one daughter, Titia (1669-1715), who married François van Bijler in 1686, the son of her guardian.

References

External links

Amsterdam City Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rijn, Titus van 1641 births 1668 deaths Businesspeople from Amsterdam Dutch art dealers Articles containing video clips Family of Rembrandt