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

Portrait of an Old Man

1665
Oil on canvas, 104 x 86 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Catalogue number: Bredius 285.

The old man depicted here is probably Johann Amos Comenius, Czech Jan Ámos Komenský (1592-1670), Czech educational reformer and religious leader, remembered mainly for his innovations in methods of teaching, especially languages. He favoured the learning of Latin to facilitate the study of European culture.

Rembrandt often used light to indicate a divine connection; the cloak and beard lend the subject an additional biblical quality.