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Lot Essay
This is the first self-portrait Rembrandt made after 1631 and since his early facial studies of himself (see lots 1-4), and the first he signed with his full name. It is decidedly more ambitious, formal and composed than the small plates of the previous years. The print is larger, his dress more elaborate and the weight and structure of lines and hatchings is more varied than before. The depiction of light and shade continues to occupy him, but he approaches it here with greater confidence and added complication, by depicting himself illuminated mainly from behind, with only the lower part of his left cheek and ear catching full light, while most of the face and chest lies in darkness. Rembrandt's ability to create the finest gradations of darkness on a copperplate would become one of the most astonishing features of his printed oeuvre (see for example lots 19, 32 & 60), but we can already see him honing his skills here.
Presumably to add interest and swagger to his likeness, he continues to depict himself dressed in unusual garments. In this portrait he wears a military-style dress in an informal manner, complete with a 'point', a button on his shoulder with laces for attaching armour, and sports an East Indian scarf that features in other works of the period.
Presumably to add interest and swagger to his likeness, he continues to depict himself dressed in unusual garments. In this portrait he wears a military-style dress in an informal manner, complete with a 'point', a button on his shoulder with laces for attaching armour, and sports an East Indian scarf that features in other works of the period.