EARLY PORTRAIT PAINTING AFTER REMBRANDT: Oil/Canvas, 25.75'' x 22.5'', framed, 31'' x 28''. Rembrandt painted dozens of self-portraits over the length of his career, cast him in a variety of roles. This copy, painted in the same scale as the original, portrays the young artist as a distinguished Dutch court painter and intellectual. The gold chain, granted by nobles to their court painters, was not his own, as he was not affiliated with any court at the time of the work's completion around 1634. His beret, not in fashion at the time, had been adopted as a part of academic regalia and may symbolize the artist's self-identification as a genius. Painted in the midst of a decades-long war with Spain, Rembrandt's portrait also bears nationalistic associations. The armored collar, or gorget, that the artist wears and his direct engagement with the viewer portray two widely-publicized attributes of the Dutch people during Rembrandt's day: their military prowess and straightforwardness. St. John's Athenaeum website
CONDITION: Scattered punctures and abrasions with loss, needs cleaning, patches verso, sold as is.