From the mid-1650s until his death at age sixty-three, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669) generated a remarkable body of work as he searched for a new, painterly, and expressive style. His later works demonstrate his mastery, skillfulness, and exceptional ability to render the effects of light, and they have since defined his image as an artist. Rembrandt gleaned inspiration from his direct study of nature, exalting the humble, the mundane, and even the ugly, particularly in his self-portraits and works based on his everyday surroundings. His intimate pictures of figures from history, often portrayed in austere or introspective attitudes, are created with extraordinary sensitivity.