What do Picasso and Rembrandt have in common? Both were stereoblind, says Margaret Livingstone, a Harvard neuroscientist (tinyurl.com/q6r3b). This means that their view of the world was flatter than ours, because their eyes weren’t aligned properly; which, apparently, is good for painting.

Livingstone studied 36 of Rembrandt’s self-portraits, and the reason the Dutch master pulled such a face in his Self-portrait with Wide-open Eyes of 1630 is simple. “Rembrandt used these early self-portraits to practise reproducing facial expressions,” says www.rembrandt400.com, which displays many examples of his work.

Nightwatching, a theatrical installation created in Amsterdam for the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s birth by the film director Peter Greenaway, offers a fresh perspective on The Night Watch — there’s an intelligent slide show at tinyurl.com/hypff.

The Night Watch, as I recall from children’s encyclopedias, was greeted with derision and led to Rembrandt’s bankruptcy in 1656. Rubbish, say articles at www.rembrandtpainting.net. He was well paid, and the critics didn’t hate the painting.

If you plan to get married in Rembrandt’s house, think again: the venue isn’t hosting weddings again until next year. See what you’re missing at www.rembrandthuis.nl, an interactive treat. Rembrandt lived here between 1639 and 1658, and you can view an online etching demonstration, leaf through his personal effects, even learn about “findings from the cesspool”. Delightful.

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