Self-portrait, bare head (1633)

Rembrandt (1606-1669)

Self-portrait, bare head
1633
Oil on panel, 60 x 47 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris

The gorget, quite common in Rembrandt‘s self-portraits, worn by the artist under his clothing, contributes to his taste for disguises (here as a soldier). The background gives a curious impression of unfinished business which underlines by contrast the brutal plasticity of the face. The x-ray of the Self-portrait of Glasgow (1632; cf. Lecaldano, no. 79) shows a draft of a self-portrait similar to that of the INV. 1744. (Louvre)