The art painting that would be scrutinized in this paper is Rembrandt’s Self Portrait in the National Gallery. The painting was sent by M. Lewinski I on 1st November 2001. It’s one of the finest, most exquisite pieces of art t that lies in the Gallery. It is central to the Gallery’s attraction, wherein visiting students, tourists, families, etc always make it a point to snap it and take it with them as a part of their travel memorabilia. It lies on the East Wing of the National Gallery and in the words of a visitor is a “startling piece of art”. The painting has been construed very smartly and the entire space involved is used to the best of its ability. The upper two-thirds of the painting is approximate ‘33.25’ by ‘26’. This part is home to Rembrandts’ face and found its way through to there in 1656. The entire masterpiece was completed in the same year by Mr. Rembrandt.
There are various nuances associated with a typical artist’s depiction of himself, and herself. While some paintings at times become a victim of personal biases or self-obsession giving it the fake superficial look, others stand out because of the carefree less cautious exuberance bellowing through them. Typically artists across the globe will be found painting themselves well dressed and content. In most cases, they are relaxing on an easel as they work along. Rembrandt chose the other way round. The portrait has a melancholic atmosphere oozing out while he looks exhausted, dejected, and sad to an extent. The entire painting has been dimmed by shadowy shades. Only the face has been left to light up and rests in the center as the focal point of attraction of all light. One can make out that age is changing the contours of his shape and his means of existence. It’s softening while his hair takes on shades of gray. His eyes are conspicuous and stand out in the entire portrait. They are the center of attraction of his painting making one feel as if they had been provoked as painted along.
His coat is nothing attractive or inspiring. It’s dull and undistinguished. This is a sharp contrast from Rembrandt’s previous paintings of himself. In most cases he’s painted himself in complete finesse, giving himself the standard exotic look. But in this painting, it’s pretty apparent he is wearing an old worn-out coat with an equally outdated hat. The hues and colors of his painting that he has employed give the painting the sad, melancholic outlook; all shadowy and dark. His hands remain visible and so are the other parts of his body but for his face; which may leave one wondering precisely why he chose to hide the rest of him but for his hands. Many observe that maybe he wanted the face to be the center of attraction and had he shone the light to the hands, the focus would have been drifted away from his face. More like, he intended to stress the importance of his facial expressions, his wrinkles, and the lines than on anything else. At the first glance, it does look like he had turned over to greet someone, and from the expressions of it, he’d have been better off had that someone not intervened and interfered in his thoughts. There is one more area that is shown to capture light. It’s the lowermost of the painting and slightly curved. Many suggest that that curved shape could be his painting palette too.
Rembrandt was a very pro-active artist and he derived the moods and expressions of most of his paintings from his real-life experiences. He had a huge array of paintings of himself and would make self-portraits very frequently. He averaged at one portrait a year beginning from the age of twenty. Over time the moods of his painting changed. Most of his early works showed him as ever-smiling, confident, successful, and prosperous. With the passage of time, his painting started acquiring a melancholic look to itself. He started aging in his portraits too, the lines became more conspicuous and the general atmosphere a little gloomy compared to the preceding ones. Many critics argue that the comparatively happier, the brighter stance was deliberately adopted by Rembrandt to attract commissions and highlight his advertisement skills. Ironically, this painting was never painted to attract commissions. Its real intent lay somewhere else and there have been a number of speculations in the same regard. Some critics argue that Rembrandt had painted all his life and as he neared his last days, he wanted to make one that showed the real him. This one perhaps was his true façade, the real man behind those paintings, an honest virtual take on his life intended to raise the curtains of his real life. It’s albeit obvious. He could have chosen any other way of depicting himself but he deliberately chose the somber pose. Why What for? A whole lot of what has been argued over in the aforementioned paragraphs has been cited by a-many painting analysts. (Learning About Art: Art Criticism)
Of course, one can’t ever be too sure over why Rembrandt chose to portray himself as sad and unmoved in this particular masterpiece. However, there have been varying assumptions. One definite assumption assumes that he attempted to encapsulate his entire life in this picture. The hues of shadow and light were probably intended to highlight the successes and failures of his entire life span. While others are vehement in their belief that he was trying to show through inexplicable defeat in this portrait, the kind he won’t be too comfortable sharing and disclosing it out to the world. A more realistic acceptable notion is the fact that he tried to reign in by showing a true picture of his life. The room has barely any lights, the outlook is cold, the outfit is worn out and old and the expressions show him pensive, apprehensive, and tired. Maybe the painting was trying to depict the emotional turmoil he was in through these details without resorting to pompous and ostentatious shows of clothes and bright colors. (Art-English works)
Whatever, it was that Rembrandt tried, to portray, his painting has attracted a lot of eyeballs for sure. It has been subjected to intense scrutiny for quite some time by a myriad of artists and paints critics all around the world while the exact reason behind this melancholic demonstration of emotions and exterior could never be zeroed down. Such was the impact this painting left after Rembrandt passed away and the speculations carry on.
References
- Art-English works. Washing D.C: Galludet University, 1997.
- Learning About Art: Art Criticism. 2009.