COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
TFC_.Rembrandt.06-1-97
AMICA Library Year:
1999
Object Type:
Paintings
Creator Name:
Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn
Creator Nationality:
European; Dutch
Creator Dates/Places:
1606-1669
Creator Name-CRT:
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn
Title:
Self-Portrait
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
1658
Creation Start Date:
1658
Creation End Date:
1658
Materials and Techniques:
oil on canvas (lined)
Dimensions:
52 5/8 x 40 7/8 in. (133.7 x 103.8 cm.)
AMICA Contributor:
The Frick Collection
Owner Location:
New York, New York, USA
ID Number:
06.1.97
Credit Line:
Purchased
Inscriptions:
Signed and dated on the arm of the chair at right: "Rembrandt / f. 1658".
Context:
Between 1625, the date of his earliest known work, and 1669, the year of his death, Rembrandt painted over sixty self-portraits and drew and etched his own likeness repeatedly. The portraits range as widely in character as in date. The artist's youthful self-portraits concentrated more on reproducing physical appearance, and many seem to have been experiments in which he practiced dramatic lighting effects on transitory facial expressions, using himself as a model. The later portraits are more subtle andsearching. In the Frick portrait, Rembrandt created an image of strength and worldly power that seems to contradict the external facts of his life. A small man, he portrayed his figure in monumental dimensions. Only fifty-two, he painted a face blurred and eroded by age, sorrows, and illness. A bankrupt, he pictured himself in a costume he seems elsewhere to have associated with ancient or Oriental kingship. The hieratic frontal pose, unusual in self-portraiture of the time, also suggests an enthroned ruler, and the artist holds his stick as if it were a scepter. It gleams as though made of gold, and the warm gold and vermilion colors of his garments further contribute to the impression of richness and power.
Related Document Description:
New York, The Frick Collection. Art in the Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts [cat.]. Comp. C. Ryskamp, et al., 1996, p.65 (reproduced in color). New York, The Frick Collection. An Illustrated Catalogue. Vol.1, Paintings. [cat.]. 1968, pp.266-269, p.267 (reproduced).
Related Image Identifier Link:
TFC_.rembrandt.06-1-97.tif
