Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn, the greatest master of the Dutch Golden Age, was born on this day in 1606.
During his long life, Rembrandt painted and drew dozens of his self-portraits. They are renowned for their emotional depth and introspective quality, capturing the artist's evolving visage over his lifetime. These works often reflect his mastery of chiaroscuro, with dramatic contrasts of light and shadow highlighting his expressive features.
In today's amazing portrait, Rembrandt is depicted from the waist up as an older man with pale, peachy skin, looking out at us with deep-set, gray eyes beneath a furrowed brow. The background is sable brown. His body is angled to the left while his face turns toward us. He has a faintly pink, bulbous nose, slightly sunken cheeks shaded with gray, and peach-colored lips framed by a wispy, gray mustache and goatee. His battleship gray hair is styled in soft curls, with bronze-orange lines adding texture, under a brown beret trimmed with gold. The dark collar of his fawn-brown coat is turned up, covering his neck. Illuminated from the upper left, his body and the right side of the painting are deeply shadowed. The canvas's left side features blended tawny and dark brown strokes. His dark coat blends into the background, with his folded hands in shadow in the lower left corner. Brushstrokes are visible, especially on the man’s face. The painting is signed and dated “Rembrandt f. 1659.”
P.S. Want to get to know Rembrandt's art a bit more? Here are 10 of Rembrandt's paintings you need to know! For more, see the articles below.
P.P.S. Rembrandt's works are meant to inspire. If you love to be inspired by art and like to write down your thoughts, check out our Art Journals in the DailyArt Shop.