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Lot Essay
No longer a very young man, Rembrandt here once again portrays himself in anachronistic garb, in this case an embroidered cloak with vertical slits, as was fashionable in the 16th century. Although the portrait does not have quite the braggadocio of the grand Self-Portrait leaning on a Stone Sill (B. 21; New Holl. 171) of 1639, his attire is reminiscent of Italian Renaissance portraits, an association that Rembrandt was probably aiming to evoke. The dating of this etching is somewhat uncertain and earlier cataloguers placed it around 1638, preceding the Self-Portrait leaning on a Stone Sill. More recently and mainly on stylistic grounds, it has been dated to circa 1642, a view that Erik Hinterding also supports (see: Hinterding, 2008, no. 17, p. 67-68).
Whatever the truth, the rather open structure of lines and the fact that Rembrandt left much of the plate blank, both around and within the face, give this etching a lightness of touch that makes it stand out amongst his self-portraits. The artist's inquisitive and doubtful expression in this etching foreshadows the psychologically most penetrating print of himself, the Self-Portrait etching at a Window (B. 22; New Holl. 240) of 1648.
Whatever the truth, the rather open structure of lines and the fact that Rembrandt left much of the plate blank, both around and within the face, give this etching a lightness of touch that makes it stand out amongst his self-portraits. The artist's inquisitive and doubtful expression in this etching foreshadows the psychologically most penetrating print of himself, the Self-Portrait etching at a Window (B. 22; New Holl. 240) of 1648.