Rembrandt, Self-Portrait at the Age of 34
1640Paintings sorted by Historical period | Painter | Subject matter | Pigments used
Overview
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait at the Age of 34 shows the artist at the height of his fame in rich and elegant clothing.
The pigment analysis revealed a limited palette consisting of red and yellow ochres, bone black, charcoal black, lead white, and vermilion.
Date: 1640
Medium: oil
Support: canvas
Size: 102 x 80 cm
Art period: Baroque
Painting in the Rembrandt Database
Characterization of this painting by the scientists of the Rembrandt Research Project (1):
“A moderately well preserved, authentic work bearing perhaps a basically reliable signature and date of 1640.”
(1) J. Bruyn, B. Haak, S. H. Levie, P. J. J. Van Thiel, E. Van De Wetering, Self-Portrait, in A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project Volume 3, 1989, pp 375-381.
Inspiration
The Rembrandt scholars generally agree that this self-portrait was inspired by two well-known renaissance portraits by Raphael and Titian. It is obvious that the pose and the position of the body in Rembrandt’s painting are much closer to Titian’s portrait (1).
|
Raphael, Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione, ca 1514-15. Musée du Louvre |
Titian, Portrait of a Man with a Quilted Sleeve National Gallery London |
Rembrandt, Self-Portrait at the Age of 34, National Gallery London |
Pigments
Pigment Analysis
This pigment analysis is based on the work of the scientists at the National Gallery London (1).
1 Flesh paint: lead white, yellow ochre, red ochre with a little vermilion, and a translucent brown pigment, probably Van Dyke brown.
2 Dark cloak at lower right and dark brown areas on both shoulders: bone black, charcoal black, and red lake pigment.
3 Brown background at lower right: yellow and red ochre, black pigment and translucent brown.
4 Yellow-brownish parapet: lower layer consisting of ochre, red lake, bone black, chalk and lead white. The top layer is painted with lighter yellow-brown paint.
References
(1) Bomford, D. et al., Art in the making: Rembrandt, New edition, Yale University Press, 2006, pp. 70-74.
Pigments Used in This Painting
Resources
See the collection of online and offline resources such as books, articles, videos, and websites on Rembrandt in the section ‘Resources on Painters‘
PowerPoint Presentations
Painter in Context: Rembrandt
A richly illustrated presentation on the painting technique and pigments employed by Hieronymus Bosch specially crafted for Art Education. (Number of Slides = 20)
- Each presentation starts with the basic resources on the painter such as his biography, main catalogs of his paintings, and a bibliography.
- Next, you find slides describing the painting technique of the artist and the pigments he usually employed in his work.
- The majority of the slides show examples of paintings containing the specific pigments.
The majority of the slides show important examples of paintings where Rembrandt employed specific pigments. The slides are organized according to the color of the pigments.
Videos
Video: 'Rembrandt: The Power of His Self-portraits' by National Gallery London
Video: 'Rembrandt's Self Portraits' by Ashmolean Museum
Video: 'Rembrandt by Himself' by Documentary movies
Video: 'Rembrandt's Self-portraits' by Smarthistory
Video: 'Rembrandt Presents Himself' by Yale University Art Gallery
Publications and Websites
Publications
(1) Bomford, D. et al., Art in the making: Rembrandt, New edition, Yale University Press, 2006, pp. 70-74.
(2) J. Bruyn, B. Haak, S. H. Levie, P. J. J. Van Thiel, E. Van De Wetering, Self-Portrait, in A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, Stichting Foundation Rembrandt Research Project Volume 3, 1989, pp 375-381.
