“Self-portrait with beret, wide-eyed”
An amusing self-portrait from the wonderful Rembrandt.
“Self-portrait with beret, wide-eyed” is an etching on paper by the Dutch art master, Rembrandt van Rijn, from 1630. Throughout his life, Rembrandt created many self-portraits, including about 40 paintings, 31 etchings, and several drawings. This is one of his earlier self-portraits, made when he was around 23 to 24 years of age.
Rembrandt depicts himself staring at the viewer with a bold expression on his face. He is wearing a cap, with his curly hair spilling out from beneath it. His eyes are wide, and his lips are pursed. His head is slightly raised as if he is taken aback from some very interesting news. This piece is a wonderful example of a tronie, an unconventional style of portrait in which people were depicted with exaggerated facial expressions, and often in costume. Tronies were very popular during the Dutch golden age and were bought by wealthy merchants with a healthy sense of humor. Joos van Craesbeeck was a Flemish contemporary who also excelled in this craft.
Using his own depiction in his work was also a means of self-advertising. Rembrandt created so many portraits of himself, that his face received some notoriety in the art world, and he became recognizable to the public. Rembrandt also used his self-portraits as teaching tools for his students, who had to create copies of his self-portraits are part of their studies of facial expressions.
There are several original copies of this etching in existence today. “Self-Portrait in a Cap, Open-Mouthed” is in the collections of Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States.
“Self-portrait with beret, wide-eyed” is currently in the collections of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
For more on Rembrandt van Rijn, please visit his short biography here.
You can find more artists to learn about here.
