Portrait of himself

Rembrandt van Rijn (attributed to) 1606 - 1669

Summary

A reproduction produced by the Vasari Society of a drawing by Rembrandt. The drawing is a self-portrait of the artist, drawn in red chalk. He is wearing a soft cloth cap, underneath which curly hair is visible, and a pleated fabric collar. His eyes are slightly raised, rather than meeting the gaze of the viewer. Text from the accompanying booklet produced by the Vasari Society: "8. REMBRANDT (b. 1606; d. 1669) PORTRAIT OF HIMSELF Collection of C. F. U. Meek, Esq. Red chalk. 12.8 x 12.2 cm. (5 x 4 3/4 in.). A powerful study of a subject much rarer in Rembrandt's drawings than in his pictures and etchings. In fact Dr. Hofstede de Groot only describes four portraits of the artist in his Catalogue of the drawings, and the present is a hitherto unpublished example. In date it appears to me to be about the same period as the National Gallery picture of 1640 and the etching of 1639 (Rembrandt leaning on a stone sill). In general appearance of the face and form of the cap it is most reminiscent of the small etching of 1631 (Rembrandt wearing a Soft Cap) (Hind 57), but the impériale is fuller, more as in the etching of 1639, and the face is that of a man more worn in experience, though hardly yet by age. Moreover the form of the collar is the same as occurs in the picture of 1640 and etching of 1639, and in the portrait of Jan Uytenbogaert of 1639, a form which becomes much less common after this date. Later the coat is more often shown buttoned up to the neck. If later than 1640, I would certainly say not later than the portrait painting of Himself in Buckingham Palace (Bode 261), generally date about 1646, where the cheeks are beginning to show the puffiness of middle-age. Portraits of 1650 (e.g. Fitzwilliam Museum and Lady Anthony de Rothschild) already show him more lined in face, and the Rembrandt of 1654, e.g. the picture in Cassel, Bode 349, at forty-eight, is that of a prematurely aged man. A. M. H."