Rembrandt's Self-Portraits
Rembrandt painted himself about 40 times, from a young man in Leiden to the last year of his life in Amsterdam.
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About the series
Rembrandt van Rijn portrayed himself in about 40 paintings, some 30 etchings and a number of drawings. Together they cover more than forty years, from the late 1620s in Leiden to 1669, the year he died in Amsterdam.
The early ones are studies of expression and light, and include costumes and fancy dress. In his thirties he showed himself as a prosperous, confident artist. The late self-portraits, painted after his bankruptcy, are plainer and more searching, with thick, worked paint and a steady gaze. The National Gallery in London holds a self-portrait at the age of 34 from 1640 and one from 1669. Others hang in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, Kenwood House in London and the Frick Collection in New York.
The later originals are large canvases, so a medium or large size gives the most natural effect. A young and a late self-portrait together show the full span of his life.
