Getty Museum
Two Studies of the Head of an Old Man
Creator
Rembrandt Harmensz. van RijnDutch Artist · 1606–1669
All works by this person →The ninth child of well-to-do millers, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn was born in Leiden on July 15, 1606. In 1620, after two years at Leiden University, Rembrandt became the pupil of Jacob van Swanenburgh. He subsequently moved to Amsterdam to apprentice with the leading history painter in the Netherlands, Pieter Lastman, absorbing his colorful palette and eloquent narrative approach. After six mon
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- 1626
- Medium
- Pen and brown ink, torn down the center and rejoined
- Culture
- Dutch
- Department
- Drawings
- Institution
- Getty Museum
In his bold, vigorous, and economical style, Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn examined this man's pensive face from two directions. He presented the eyes as dark caverns, with shadows alone defining the ear, cleverly allowing the blank paper to do the rest. Broad pen strokes develop areas such as the neck, shoulder, and back of the head. Rembrandt often preferred to draw and paint older figures, subjects whose greater life experiences showed in their faces. As a French scholar wrote in 1909, "He is there when we are old, when we look fixedly at the side of the night that comes."
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