Rembrandt van Rijn created more than 40 painted self-portraits over his 63-year lifetime, transforming the genre from a simple artistic exercise into a profound autobiographical tool. These works document his evolution from a young man learning his craft to a wealthy professional painter, and eventually to an elderly artist living in poverty. Through his sustained engagement with self-portraiture, Rembrandt left behind an invaluable visual record of both his personal struggles and his artistic development, making him the first artist in history to use the genre so extensively and systematically.
The artist's early self-portraits reveal a young man mastering his technique. Self-Portrait with Disheveled Hair (1628), painted when Rembrandt was just 22 years old and living in his native Leiden, demonstrates his experiments with chiaroscuro—the dramatic interplay of light and shadow that would become his signature. Around this time, Rembrandt attracted the attention of Constantijn Huygens, secretary to the Prince of Orange, who connected the ambitious artist with affluent patrons from The Hague. These connections provided crucial commissions and launched Rembrandt's career, establishing him as a rising talent in Dutch art.
The 1630s marked Rembrandt's most successful and happy decade. After moving to Amsterdam, he married Saskia van Uylenburgh in 1634. Saskia's cousin, Hendrick van Uylenburgh, was an influential art dealer who helped secure important commissions, including the famous group portrait The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632). The Prodigal Son in Tavern (c. 1635) shows Rembrandt and Saskia illustrating the Biblical parable, with Rembrandt casting himself as the spendthrift son and Saskia as the entertaining woman. Ironically, this narrative would foreshadow Rembrandt's own financial troubles later in life.
By 1640, Rembrandt had achieved remarkable success. His Self-Portrait at the Age of 34 depicts him wearing furs, velvet, and gold jewelry in a style reminiscent of 16th-century masters like Titian and Raphael. This grandiose presentation established Rembrandt as both heir to the great masters and a member of the new elite who earned his status through artistic skill. However, Saskia's death in 1642 marked the beginning of his decline. His will stipulated that Rembrandt would lose access to funds left for their son if he remarried, preventing him from legally wedding his new partner Hendrickje Stoffels. Their daughter was born out of wedlock, adding social pressure to his mounting financial difficulties.
The Large Self-Portrait (1652) reveals a starkly different Rembrandt. Instead of finery, he wears simple worker's clothes and regards viewers with somber acceptance of his changed circumstances. His expressive style had fallen out of public favor, students left his workshop, and commissions dropped dramatically. In his later years, Rembrandt continued painting Christian scenes, sometimes using himself as a model, not from vanity but to make sacred figures more relatable. Self-Portrait with Two Circles (1665) remains mysterious, with incomplete circles in the background that may demonstrate his artistic mastery or reference sacred geometry, though art historians still debate their meaning.
Rembrandt's final self-portrait, painted at age 63 in 1669 during the last months of his life, shows an old, tired man without vanity or pretension. His face bears spots and blemishes, his eyes appear dark and weary. X-ray analysis reveals he originally painted himself holding a brush and a support device for his weak hand, later changing this to clasped hands. Rembrandt died in October 1669 with only his illegitimate daughter Cornelia present at his modest funeral. Today, these self-portraits serve as crucial documents for art historians, illustrating not just one man's life but the universal journey of artistic dedication, success, loss, and enduring creative spirit.
