Rembrandt's 1663 Self-Portrait and Renaissance Realism

Introduction to the Renaissance and Rembrandt

The word renaissance refers to a complete transformation in modes of art, literature, music, and architecture, as well as an altered sense of morality and ethics during a given period of time. This change stems from an expansion of thought and, with it, a new sense of what matters in the world. Every type of art developed and changed throughout the Renaissance period, including literature, music, and the visual arts — namely painting and sculpture. One of the finest artists to emerge from the European Renaissance was Rembrandt van Rijn. Rembrandt is unique among Renaissance artists in that he was primarily interested in painting people he knew rather than historic figures or events, though he also painted Biblical scenes to which he felt particularly connected.

The piece examined here is a self-portrait by the artist Rembrandt van Rijn — more commonly known simply as Rembrandt — painted in 1663 and appropriately entitled Self-Portrait. Rembrandt painted many self-portraits during his career, and each one shows him at a different stage of his life. This particular self-portrait is clearly from his later years, perhaps the end of middle age. His hair has turned grey, with some parts white, and his mustache is colored similarly. His neck shows folds, as though his skin is aged and he has put on some middle-aged weight. On top of his head sits a floppy white hat, worn either to keep warm or perhaps to conceal a receding hairline.

Description of the 1663 Self-Portrait

Even though he was painting himself, Rembrandt did not bother to appear fashionable (Van de Wetering 290). The image gives the impression that he had just woken up or was lounging at home and simply decided to paint himself as he was dressed. What is most striking about this painting are Rembrandt's eyes. He looks out from the canvas directly at the viewer. His is not the face of vibrant youth, but of a man who is older and tired. From the canvas, he seems to tell the story of his entire life through a series of colored brushstrokes.

During the Renaissance, painters worked diligently to create new ways of depicting the human form on canvas and wood. Before this era, artists rendered human figures in very flat, two-dimensional ways. Medieval art consistently shows people who do not look like fully rendered human beings. During the Renaissance, this changed: artists wanted their human subjects to look as they do in the real world. The intention was to create the most realistic depiction of humanity possible within a two-dimensional medium. If one examines portraiture from this period carefully, it is evident that the presentation of the subject's face was of paramount importance to artists.

This perspective is clear in Rembrandt's painting. Even though the face appears somewhat blurred due to the artist's technique, it still gives the impression of a real person rather than a mere representation. Rembrandt himself said that in his work he intended to portray the greatest and most natural moment (Hughes 6). This is apparent when one looks at other self-portraits he made: none of them adopt stoic, dignified poses. Instead, they show the artist wearing fancy costumes or making expressive faces — poses he would have composed by looking into a mirror.

Renaissance Ideals of Realistic Human Depiction

The self-portrait of Rembrandt allows the modern viewer to glimpse one essential component of traditional Renaissance art. During this period, artists became deeply interested in the human body — and in particular the human face — and in how it varied from individual to individual. In this picture, Rembrandt is neither handsome nor smiling. It does not appear to be a particularly momentous occasion, but that is precisely the point: that every moment has merit and deserves to be remembered through portraiture.

Hughes, Robert. "The God of Realism." The New York Review of Books. 53(6), 2006. Print.