The Light of Leiden In the quiet streets of Leiden, Netherlands, a boy named Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn grew up in a house filled with the scent of flour and grain. His father, Harmen, ran a mill, while his mother, Neeltgen, came from a family of bakers. This middle-class stability provided enough for a seat at the Leiden Latin School, where he spent seven years studying classical texts. He later sat in classrooms at the University of Leiden, though his eyes often drifted toward the brush and the plate. His hands learned their trade through apprenticeships. First, there was Jacob van Sw…