About ten percent of all of REMBRANDT VAN RIJN’s works were
self-portraits. He made around one hundred, of which about forty are paintings.
His earlier efforts were mainly etchings but later on the oil-paintings took
over. He produced self-portraits at a steady rate until his death in 1669 aged
63 and they form a sort of artistic autobiography and they give us an ever-changing
view of his appearance – warts and all. This is my favourite of his self
portraits; he generally did not paint in this rather grand way but instead
showed himself in everyday poses and using a variety of facial expressions
which was very unusual for that time.
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| Self-portrait, Rembrandt van Rijn 1606 - 1669
In his portraits Rembrandt often looks worried and vulnerable but the facial expressions he used were frequently for the purpose of study. His pictures are devoid of conceit or self-deception and he shows himself in an honest and realistic way (usually!) He was also skilled in many other genre's of painting.
Rembrandt, acknowledged as one of the greatest European artists whoever lived, died as a pauper and was buried in an unmarked grave. He was notoriously careless with money and he became a bankrupt and there was no money for a headstone so it is not known exactly where he is buried. He died 350 years ago and he never left the country of his birth. |
I'm listening to Elvis Costello singing the marvellous song Shipbuilding, originally written for Robert Wyatt (whose version I actually prefer). Elvis improved the original lyrics in the light of the Falklands War. It includes the wonderful lines "Diving for dear life when we could be diving for pearls" - a poignant look at the choices people make. The song tells the story of men and boys being sent to war in the very ships that they had constructed. Listen here.
10 comments:
Hello Bazza, I love these Rembrandt self-portraits. It seems to me that he looks more like a real person in them, rather than "someone in an old painting." My favorite here is the 1663 portrait, which seems to show wisdom and a little bit of resignation, rather than arrogance or attitude.
--Jim
I wish there was proper evidence, but my guess is that there wasn't enough money to pay models to sit for his portraits. He married into a classy, educated and moneyed family when Saskia van Uylenburgh could have supported a decent life for the artist. Alas Saskia died early :(
Jim: Resignation is a great word to sum up that look. By that time he had plenty to worry about!
Hi Bazza - I gave a talk on Rembrandt and was amazed what I found out ... it was a few years ago ... but he was known in his day for his penmanship art, rather than as we know him for his paintings. I really should dig out my talk and re-read ... thanks for the reminder. He's a great artist ... enjoying Shipbuilding! Cheers Hilary
Hels: That's true but he made plenty of excellent self-portrait from at least fifteen years old.
Hilary: Publishing or reading
a Blog (as well as giving talks) is a wonderful way to learn new things. Hels is an academic and I'm sure she would agree!
These are the original selfies, without the smiles. I was surprised to read that Rembrandt was a starving artist.
Arleen: He did have great success during his life through painting and teaching but he didn't follow the advice of Charles Dicken's Mr Micawber! Income vs expenditure didn't balance...
I think it's interesting that he did so many self-portraits. I guess if you don't have a camera... I enjoyed seeing how he changed throughout the years.
Sherry: The original 'selfie'? It's interesting how portrait painting survived the invention of the camera. In fact the work of artists like Degas were greatly influenced by photography.
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