All About Self-portrait as a Young Man by Rembrandt

Title of Artwork: “Self-portrait as a Young Man”

Artwork by Rembrandt

Year Created 1634

Summary of Self-portrait as a Young Man

Traditional art historians consider the tronie Portrait of a Young Man with Gorget and Beret, also known as Self-portrait as a Young Man (both with alternative titles), to be one of over 40 self-portraits painted by Rembrandt. The most recent restoration by Daniele Rossi, on display today at Florence’s Galleria degli Uffizi, unearthed the artist’s signature, which had been covered by decades of varnish.

All About Self-portrait as a Young Man

Even if it were an incomplete Rembrandt portrait taken over by another artist, the Rembrandt Research Project and other contemporary academics today question whether or not it is by Rembrandt at all. Considering how little the face resembles the many established Rembrandt self-portraits, it’s even less likely that this is a self-portrait by the artist.

It was formerly thought to have been painted around 1634 due to the subject’s apparent youth (assuming it is a self-portrait) and Rembrandt’s lack of his signature moustache at that time. If we consider only Rembrandt’s style, we can place this about 1639–1641.

The person, as in many of Rembrandt’s authentic self-portraits, is dressed in a fantastical manner that is more reminiscent of the 16th than the 17th century. Many of Rembrandt’s tronie self-portraits feature the gorget, which was common military garb at the time.

Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (“Jan Willem”), who was married to Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, the last Medici, was an avid art collector. He ruled from 1690 until 1716. Like his father-in-law, Johann Wilhelm amassed a number of artists’ self-portraits for his personal collection.

A family of Florentine nobility and art collectors, the Gerini family received the artwork as a gift from the artist. In 1724, it was displayed in Florence under the name “Rembrandt Self-Portrait,” and in 1759, an illustrated catalogue of the Gerini collection was produced, identifying the painting as belonging to that collection.

Frescoes by Giuseppe Zocchi (1711–67) at the Palazzo Gerini depict the personification of “Painting” perusing a catalogue held by two putti and revealing the page depicting that work.

The significance of the painting is demonstrated by the exceedingly uncommon fresco rendering of a reproduction print. The Uffizi’s renowned collection of painters’ self-portraits included it in 1818.

Information Citations:

En.wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/.

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