Self Portrait at the Age of 34
"Of course you will say that I ought to be practical and ought to try and paint the way they want me to paint. Well, I will tell you a secret. I have tried and I have tried very hard, but I can't do it. I just can't do it! And that is why I am just a little crazy".
Life etches itself onto our faces as we grow older, showing our violence, excesses or kindnesses.
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN
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In this self portrait, the artist Rembrandt presents himself dressed in fur and velvet, and wearing a hat laced with jewels. These expensive clothes indicate his success. Appearing wealthy and self-assured, he makes direct eye contact with the viewer. By placing his arm over a wall, Rembrandt creates the illusion of entering our time and space.
Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in around 1631, where he became a successful painter. Throughout his life, he produced dozens of self portraits to demonstrate his skill and to attract commissions.
Although painted in the 1640s, Rembrandt is dressed up like a gentleman from one hundred years earlier. He is using the clothing, composition, colours and poses of the earlier great artists Titian, Raphael and Dürer. He is making a point.
With this self portrait Rembrandt is saying "Look at me! I am as good an artist as them; maybe even better!"
Welcome
Brighton Museum is delighted to be showing this world-renowned painting by the Dutch Old Master Rembrandt van Rijn.
Self Portrait at the Age of 34, 1640, is on display as part of the National Gallery's bicentenary National Treasures tour.
The National Gallery's 200th birthday celebration involves twelve simultaneous exhibitions at twelve cultural organisations across the UK. More than half the UK population will be within an hour's journey of a National Gallery masterpiece.
Rembrandt's exquisite self portrait is a masterclass in artistic time travel. He plays with ideas and themes from the past to create an image of himself for the future.
Practise what you know, and it will help to make clear what now you do not know.
REMBRANDT VAN RIJN