An inter-action : Rembrandt and Spinoza

Instead of privileging the continuous expressivity of the plane of existence, as Deleuze does, however, we lay the emphasis on the points in Spinoza's philosophy where a rupture or interruption is manifest. We are curious to see how such (dis)junctures or hinges affect the thinking of the single immutable substance. From the side of Rembrandt, we seek an analogous rupture or interruption constitutive of his art. In other words, interruption, as a concept and as a praxis, could be used to broach the relation between Rembrandt and Spinoza. In that case, the impossibility of their relation would be nothing more" and nothing less" than the impossible unity between philosophical contemplation and artistic endeavour, the discontinuous relation between the realm of essences and the plane of existence. But then, their relation will not be impossible in any simple sense any longer; rather it will be (im)possible, a possibility that cannot be simply stated. It will rather have to be produced as an effect of their shared intellectual outlook" an outlook determined by those points of interruption and discontinuity. It is this (im)possibility that will concern us here. We will show this relation between Rembrandt and Spinoza first by indicating how the present" the now" is relevant to an understanding of their cultural significance, then by illustrating that significance with reference to Rembrandt's work, followed by suggesting that Spinoza's scant references to art are nevertheless crucial in presenting the cultural politics of his philosophy.