How did Rembrandt remain respected despite his financial difficulties?

Despite his significant financial difficulties and eventual bankruptcy in 1656, Rembrandt remained a highly respected figure throughout his life due to his enduring international reputation as a master artist.123

While his uncompromising realism became unfashionable in the Netherlands as the taste for Classicism grew, his fame among connoisseurs and collectors continued to rise. He was frequently sought out by international patrons, such as the nobleman Don Antonio Ruffo, who purchased his works specifically because of Rembrandt's renown. Even in his later years, he was visited by prominent figures like Prince Cosimo de' Medici, who referred to him as a "famous painter" (pittore famoso) in his travel journals.2413

Furthermore, contemporary art lovers and scholars continued to hold him in the highest regard, with some even labeling him the "miracle of our age" (nostrae aetatis miraculum). Although he was sometimes viewed as headstrong or nonconformist by those who preferred the prevailing classicist style, his peers and admirers recognized him as a towering figure whose technical skill and artistic vision remained unsurpassed.34