Self-Portrait
c. 1636–38
Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669)
Oil on panel
The Norton Simon Foundation
Rembrandt was his own favorite model, and there is no moment in the artist’s biography that he did not vividly represent. Rembrandt portrays himself here in the characteristic beret that had been associated with the artistic milieu since the sixteenth century. The chain around his neck was a symbol of prestige awarded to artists, often by a noble patron. The combination of elegant attire and an artist’s attributes elevates Rembrandt to the status of a fine artist. This distinction was important at a time when artists were only beginning to realize their social standing among the creative elite.
Portrait of an Artist
In 2012, Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait was cleaned and restored by Yvonne Szafran, former senior conservator and head of the Paintings Conservation Department at the J. Paul Getty Museum. Szafran carefully removed layers of discolored varnish and old retouching, which for years had obscured Rembrandt’s deft hand, and even caused some scholars to doubt the painting’s authenticity. Her treatment revealed subtle juxtapositions of translucent and thick opaque paint, applied in a manner that was decidedly “characteristic of Rembrandt’s technique.” More about the structural treatment of the panel and the history of this fascinating painting appears in Northern European Art in the Norton Simon Museum (2025).
