Rembrandt, A Bearded Man in a Cap
ca 1657Paintings sorted by Historical period | Painter | Subject matter | Pigments used
Overview
The painting is a tronie, that is to say, a character study and not a portrait of a particular person. Rembrandt’s technique is restrained but assured with practically no changes (pentimenti).
The pigment analysis reveals a palette consisting of ochres in all colours, bone black, red lake, and vermilion.
Medium: Oil
Support: Canvas
Size: 78 x 66.3 cm
Art period: Baroque
National Gallery London
Inventory number: NG 190
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.
Pigments
Pigment Analysis
This pigment analysis is based on the work of scientists at the National Gallery London (1).
1 Background right side: underlayer consisting of orange ochre and coarse silica followed by an upper priming of lead white tinted with umber. The glaze on top is made of bone black with a small amount of red ochre and red lake. Blue verditer (artificial form of azurite) is also present in the glaze.
2 Background on the left side: similar lower layers as in the background on the right side covered with a second layer of a warm version of the glaze.
3 Flesh paint in the cheek and nose: lead white mixed with yellow ochre and red ochre and a very small amount of vermilion.
4 Black cap and coat: similar pigment mixtures as in the darkest background. Bone black is a principal pigment here mixed with small amounts of red lake and red ochre.
5 Greenish grey of the tunic: black combined with yellow, red and brown ochres and a little white.
References
(1) Bomford, D. et al., Art in the making: Rembrandt, New Edition, Yale University Press, 2006, pp 89-99.
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.
Publications and Websites
Publications
A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings, Volumes I – VI, by the scientists of The Rembrandt Research Project are available on the website of The Rembrandt Database in pdf-Format.
(1) Bomford, D. et al., Art in the making: Rembrandt, New Edition, Yale University Press, 2006, pp 89-99.
