REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van Rijn
(b. 1606, Leiden, d. 1669, Amsterdam)

Self-Portrait as a Young Man

1634
Oil on wood, 62 x 54 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

This painting is one of the first of numerous self-portraits of the painter. It shows the artist with a strong-willed expression, in an extremely natural, uneffected three-quarter pose; the figure is illuminated by a light coming from the left whose spreading glow enlarges the space which serves as a background.