Self Portrait

Rembrandt van Rijn

c. 1628

oil on panel

Rijksmuseum

A young man with curly hair is depicted in a self-portrait, with a strong light source illuminating one side of his face and casting the other in shadow. He wears a dark garment and a white ruffled collar. Even as an inexperienced young artist, Rembrandt did not shy away from experimenting. Here the light glances along his right cheek, while the rest of his face is veiled in shadow. It takes a while to realize that the artist is gazing intently out at us. Using the butt end of his brush, Rembrandt made scratches in the still wet paint to accentuate the curls of his tousled hair.