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

Old Rabbi (detail)

1642
Oil on wood
Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest

The seated figure of a wise old man is outlined against an obscure background, his face and hands brightly illuminated by the light from a candle. It is a pose frequently seen in seventeenth-century portraits and one frequently used by Rembrandt himself. Although this is a portrait from life, the treatment of the subject evokes a biblical atmosphere. The picture is almost allegorical: the old man's attitude of meditation symbolizes the ephemeral nature of man's intellect. The light shining on his face is echoed in the glow from the back and the copper candlestick, familiar objects that give a feeling of warm intimacy. The picture was painted in the same year as the famous Night Watch.




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