Joy WuWorld Art History1RembrandtSelf-portrait, 1660Oil on canvas80.3 x 67.3 cmSelf-Portrait by RembrandtRembrandt was born on July 15, 1606, and dies on October 4, 1669. He was a Dutch painter and etcher. To me, Rembrandt is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. As we all know, his contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age. Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandts later years were miserably marked by personal tragedy and financial hardship. “Yet his drawings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high and for twenty years he taught nearly every important Dutch painter.”1 More specific, Rembrandts greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. The self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity Joy WuWorld Art History2and with the utmost sincerity. As James Harris says in his article in Art and Images In Psychiatry, “Early on, Rembrandt focused on the play of light and shadow in his work rather than on reproducing his accurate likeness. At times, he posed before a mirror in costume. But as he grew older, the personal resemblance increased, often capturing his fleeting moods. His many etchings catalogue the early evolution of his art, showing the wild, often bushy hair of his youth, his keen searching eyes, his thick nose, and his sensitive mouth”. 2(Harris, 2013) Rembrandt did around 23 self-portraits in his lifetime. I picked 3 famous ones. The first one is called Self-portrait in a Cap and illustrated his youthful experimentation with emotions in 1630. His second one is called Self-portrait with Tocque and Gold Chain and painted in 1633. And here comes the third one that I want to introduce the most: his final self-portrait. It details how his self-image had changed during his lifetime. This piece of work in 1660 at his 53 or 54 years of age is considered one of his best works. In this portrait, he wears a heavy, brownish coat. His hat, in a rich black, contrasts nicely with the warm green background. The shadows in his face are warm and transparent, and his cheek is glowing with a clear texture of the flesh. I believe that “even though his forehead may be wrinkled with worry, the spark remains in his eye and a sense of pride lurks in the jaunty tilt of his cap and his raised head”. 2I like this painting so much. I like how he was painting his nose in really sharp Joy WuWorld Art History3strokes. It is the outstanding sharpness that makes his nose feel like it could jump out of the painting. And his paint his left shoulder in soft strokes, which make it go further to the back. Our painting professor once took us to the Metropolitan Museum to see this painting and taught us so many useful painting tips from this splendid painting. And I am so fortunate so that I could go to Metropolitan Museum to see it for another time due to this assignment. Every time I see it, I get new feeling from it. Conspicuously, in both painting and printmaking he exhibited a complete knowledge of classical iconography, which Rembrandt molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by his knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of the Jewish population of Amsterdam. I completely agree that because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called one of the great prophets of civilization.Joy WuWorld Art History4BIBLIOGRAPHY1 Rembrandt Van Rijn - The Complete Works. Rembrandt Van Rijn - The Complete Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.2 Harris, James C., “Rembrandt van Rijn: Self-portrait 1660”, Art and Images in Psychiatry/Vol 70 (No.2). Feb. 2013