According to a website dedicated to Rembrandt van Rijn, the exact number of self-portraits that the Dutch master painted is unknown, but scholars believe it is somewhere in the range of 40-50. He also created drawings and etchings based on himself. Many people say that you can get to know the man by examining the self-portraits. They believe the depictions reveal details of the artist’s inner life. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC cautions that this approach should be used carefully. As an example, they discuss one of his self-portraits that hangs in theNational Gallery (self-portrait, 1659). Conventional wisdom had said that this painting was made after a financially stressful period in which he had to sell his home. The argument goes that the dark area surrounding his head showed he was melancholy as a result of his troubles. However, the National Gallery of Art says that a 1992 cleaning of the painting to remove dark and discolored varnish brightened up the background and forced a reinterpretation of the painting. Instead of being melancholy, the thinking now is that Rembrandt expressed an inner strength and dignity.
Helen, a library school student
