Rembrandt Face to Face

Exhibition Rembrandt Face to Face (Indianapolis Museum of Art, August 6 - November 26, 2006). This book is a close examination of one of the earliest of the more than seventy self-portraits in painting, drawing, and print that Rembrandt produced. Painted around 1629, it depicts a young artist in his twenties, in gorget and cap. The phrase "Rembrandt self-portrait" instantly conjures up an image of a world-weary, ruddy-cheeked man, donning a floppy hat and gazing at us benignly while alert to the source of his next guilder. By stark contrast, the Clowes Rembrandt portrays a soft-whiskered youth with a surprised expression, open mouth, and dashing military garb. The spontaneity of this image sets it apart from much else in Rembrandt´s oeuvre. Stephanie S. Dickey´s penetrating study of the Clowes Rembrandt is a model of acute observation and rigorous research. By retracing the place of this work in Rembrandt´s canon, Dutch society in the early 17th century, the genre of self-portraiture, and pertinent iconographical traditions, she allow us to approach a work familiar to many with fresh eyes.