Who was Rembrandt’s teacher in Leiden before he moved to Amsterdam?

Rembrandt’s teacher in Leiden before he moved to Amsterdam was Jacob van Swanenburg.

Van Swanenburg was a Leiden-born painter who spent many years in Italy, where he absorbed influences from Italian art and developed a reputation for scenes of hell, fire, and the underworld. Rembrandt studied with him in Leiden for roughly three years, beginning around 1625.

The apprenticeship introduced Rembrandt to painting practice, although van Swanenburg was not his only important early influence. Rembrandt also worked briefly in Amsterdam with Pieter Lastman, whose historical compositions had a particularly strong effect on the younger artist.

A common mix-up is to identify Lastman as Rembrandt’s only teacher. Lastman was his Amsterdam teacher, while van Swanenburg was the principal master associated with his early training in Leiden. Rembrandt later established his own workshop in Leiden before relocating to Amsterdam around 1631.