While some historians have seen Rembrandt Peale as "complex and puzzling" (E. P. Richardson), others have seen him as an artist who lived and worked in "the shadow of his father" (Lillian B. Miller). By contrast, this study seeks to unscramble the puzzle, bring Rembrandt Peale out from under the shadow of his father, and establish his vital links to the traditions of European art, as well as to the times in which he lived and painted. It seeks to identify the guiding principles in Peale's seemingly diverse works by examining his aesthetic, psychological and social patrimony. His exhibition paintings, the works in which he placed his greatest hopes and ambitions, are the pictorial focus of this study. These paintings and his related lesser works, his fancy pieces, have, to date, received scant attention. Here, it will be demonstrated how they reveal the well-springs of Peale's art, his commitment to an art of strong visual and emotional effect that sought to be "in sympathy with the heart" of an emerging, diverse nineteenth century American audience seeking culture and entertainment. Although Rembrandt remained connected to many of the artistic traditions and issues that deeply engaged both his father, Charles Willson Peale, and his brother, Raphaelle, Rembrandt Peale produced a body of work that was uniquely his own and reflective of his intense, life-long engagement with the art of painting and his mission of being an artist.
