Rembrandt's revealing self-portraits in an appealing, affordable format
Celebrated as the supreme painter of the human condition, Rembrandt
Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) famously turned the intense spotlight
of his empathetic vision on himself. In the course of 60 years, he
produced more than 50 self-portraits, in mediums ranging from paintings
to drawings to engravings. Rembrandt stood at the beginning of a long
tradition of self-portraiture—one that has given us both Cindy Sherman
in the high arts, and selfies as the primary form of visual
self-expression in everyday life—and he explored its potential in a
thoroughly modern way. He portrayed the face he turned to the world,
from youth to old age: a dandy, a husband, an artist, a solitary genius,
among many other characters. He captured inner states that are \nuniversal to existence. Rembrandt by Rembrandt reproduces
Rembrandt's self-portraits, with commentary about each one, in an
appealing portable format that makes a perfect gift for any art lover.
