Room 22

Faces emerge from darkness in different ways in this room. A bright patch can catch an eye or a fold of cloth while leaving much of the picture in shadow. Rembrandt used those changes to guide attention and give people a convincing physical presence. The room includes Self Portrait at the Age of 63 and A Woman bathing in a Stream. Compare the paint in a highlighted passage with a darker area nearby. Rembrandt worked in Leiden before building his career in Amsterdam, painting portraits and biblical subjects as well as making prints. His later pictures often leave the brushwork visible, so you can follow both a human expression and the means used to create it.