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

Portrait of a Gentleman with a Tall Hat and Gloves

1656-58
Oil on canvas, 100 x 83 cm
National Gallery of Art, Washington

Catalogue number: Bredius 327.

Rembrandt conceived this portrait of a man and the Portrait of a Lady with an Ostrich-Feather Fan (also in Washington) as pendants, or companion pieces. In both, light illuminates the subjects from exactly the same angle. The sitters interact with restrained yet poignant warmth; he gestures toward her while looking at the viewer, and she glances in his direction while holding her feather fan so that it inclines toward him.

The painting is in poor condition and has been significantly overpainted several times, once probably in the nineteenth century.




© Web Gallery of Art, created by Emil Krén and Daniel Marx.