Self-portrait Leaning on a Stone Sill

Artist Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)

Date1639

MediumEtching with touches of drypoint on laid paper

Dimensions7 7/8 × 6 3/8 inches (20 × 16.2 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineBequest of William P. Chapman, Jr., Class of 1895

Terms

Male portraits
Self portraits
Etching
Capes (outerwear)
Hats
Male portraits
Self portraits
laid
Dutch

Object number57.123

Label CopyBy the time Rembrandt made this self-portrait, he had become a successful artist in Amsterdam, and aspects of this image communicate his achievement. Here, he makes explicit references to two iconic Italian Renaissance portraits - Raphael's Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione at the Louvre Museum in Paris, and Titian's Portrait of a Man at the National Gallery in London - assuming the pose of one and donning an elaborate sixteenth-century costume and hat as in the other. By alluding to both portraits, Rembrandt aligns himself with his illustrious predecessors—known, as he would come to be, by their first names alone. He also showcases his skill as an etcher through his ability to capture the tactile quality of the fur that lines his coat as well as his light, wispy hair.

(“Lines of Inquiry: Learning from Rembrandt's Etchings," curated by Andrew C. Weislogel and presented at the Johnson Museum September 23–December 17, 2017)

Collections