'The book will appeal to wide range of reader ... And a Rembrandt specialist might learn a thing or two. I did.' (Christopher White, Historians of Netherlands Art Newsletter)

'Art & Ideas has broken new ground in making accessible authoritative views on periods, movements and concepts in art. As a series it represents a real advance in publishing.' (Sir Nicholas Serota, Director, Tate London)

'The format is wonderful and offers what had long been missing in academic studies: usable manuals for specific themes or periods ... I am definitely not alone in welcoming Art & Ideas as a precious set of teaching tools.' (Joachim Pissarro, Yale University)

'As a rounded and well-informed short monograph on Rembrandt and his ambience, the book will appeal to a wide range of reader, whether student, scholar in another field or art-orientated layman. And it is not excluded that a Rembrandt specialist might learn a thing or two. I did.' (Newsletter of the Historians of Netherlandish Art)

'Westermann's prose is lively, vivid and clear. The two most important tasks an author of such a book has to undertake - the sympathetic and engaging description of individual works of art, and the synthesis and distillation of current scholarship - are carried out in ways that show common sense and judiciousness.' (College Art Association) 

 'A thorough chronological account of Rembrandt’s life and art, taking into account the vast and ever-growing literature on the artist … written in a highly accessible style.' (Burlington Magazine)