Rembrandt Van Rijn

The first time I saw Rembrandt van Rijn, Self- Portrait, 1659, I found I wanted to both, avert my eyes and remain transfixed. In this particular portrait, Rembrandt is fifty-three years old and even though he is a man well into his middle age his gaze remains powerful and gripping.(pg. 90 THTTA) Rembrandt painted himself near a hundred times over his lifetime but I will focus on this particular portrait which shows a Rembrandt in the midst financial ruin after some bad business decisions. (pg. 90 THTTA) Presence! This is the initial response I have to this painting. He is in my space, his body fills the foreground to the extent that his elbow can almost brush against me. When I look more closely, I can see every wrinkle and imperfection. In so much as portraits usually seek to flatter the sitter, this self portrait does the opposite, it shows us the life he has led, every hardship and every sorrow. This is accentuated by the thick paint that Rembrandt layered on the face whereas the rest of the painting has a lighter more loosely painted appearance. The face shows us he spent time working on it and as the eye travels across it, we move from light to dark, back to light again producing folds These appear softened with half-shadow mid-tones. and grabbing the hair on his face. The entire architecture of …show more content…
Ageing, defeated but still filled with passion. The movement in and out of light on Rembrandt's face lends to a painterly quality which appears very naturalistic. Additionally, the coloration on the face is intriguing with the use of greens, yellows, blues, reds, browns and even greys. He wears an artist hat and a dark brown jacket, curls have been drawn into his curly wild hair. The figure was painted with broad, flat brushstrokes, while the background and hands were thinly painted. The palette appears thematic with the ubiquitous use of earth tones throughout the