Rembrandt and Learning

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Rembrandt Project was designed to apply state-of-the-art digital technology to the development of the multiple competencies needed for understanding and appreciating Rembrandt and his time. As educational consultant to the project, the author was given the assignment of conceptualizing a framework that would accommodate and illuminate the project's purposes. This meant that he not only had to refamiliarize himself with 17th-century Dutch art and culture and with the national and state standards for the visual arts, but also acquaint himself with the standards for socials studies; both sets of standards occupy a prominent place in the project and are the subject of the third section of this article. The overarching viewpoint from which the author approached his assignment, however, was that of the humanities, a topic to which he turns first. Since the project's foremost concern is with masterpieces of the visual arts, the author thought it apposite to address briefly some issues in aesthetics, especially those that relate to experiencing artworks appropriately. Having surveyed the project from the perspectives mentioned, the author then asks to what extent it was successful in avoiding the pitfalls that often frustrate the implementation of novel ideas and methods. (Contains 23 notes.)