Self-Portrait

Look at the ridges of paint across Rembrandt’s face. Light catches the brow, the skin beneath the eyes and the chin. The Dutch painter made this self-portrait in 1660, when he was fifty-four. He had studied his own appearance throughout his working life, producing roughly forty surviving self-portraits. In this one, folds and pouches remain part of the face he chose to present. The thick paint follows the folds beneath his eyes and catches the light across his brow. The curls below the cap reveal another kind of mark. Rembrandt turned the brush around and drew into the paint with its blunt end. Removal of a later varnish made those incised lines easier to see. A tool used to lay color on the canvas could also cut a line through it. Compare a bright passage on the face with a curl or a darker area of clothing. Thick paint, thin paint and scratches work together in one small space.