Rembrandt van Rijn, Essay Example

The Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn is one of the most famous portrait painters in history. He was active during the “Golden Age” of art in Dutch history. His influence extended beyond the impact of portraits and paintings and included etchings. He was also an influential teacher of the principles of art and the techniques of painting. Throughout his career as an artist, Rembrandt created self-portraits. The inclusion of so many self-portraits in his body of works functions like a kind of visual autobiography. One of the significant qualities of his self-portraits is that they are more or less realistic in tone and execution. That is, the self-portraits are free of any obvious vanity or self-glorification. His earnest style was used also in the portraits he created of others and also in Biblical scenes he illustrated. The employment of such a realistic style allowed Rembrandt to craft powerful images that remain in the observer’s mind long after viewing of the painting. At the same time, Rembrandt’s works, due to their realism and detail, allow for a glimpse into the historical conditions of Dutch life in the seventeenth century.

One of Rembrandt’s most famous self-portraits: Self Portrait, 1658 exemplifies many of the qualities of line, color, perspective, theme, and design that are part of his larger body of work. For example, the use of space in the painting is conspicuous and expressive. Rembrandt’s body fills the canvas, leaving very little unused space. In fact, his form seems to expand beyond the lower boundary of the canvas, as though to suggest that the line between his life and art is nonexistent. The viewer can easily conceive of the figure in the painting standing from its seated position and walking around to turn view the canvas themselves.

The use of the line in the painting is fascinating because Rembrandt employs a simple geometrical design for the central figure. The figure of the artist  forms a triangle, or pyramid.  The bold use of line would seem to dominate the painting. However, a close examination of the figure’s chest, hands,. or sleeves shows a delicate use of line to create a sense of motion and depth that dramatically contrasts with the basic triangular pattern of the overall design. The shape of the figure’s red sash is also triangular, but it is a “broken” triangle that is resting on it’s side. This marks a release from the heavy pyramid of the figure and sets up a sense of balance between order adn disorder, as though the artist is the means by which chaos and order is achieved.

The self-portrait relies on repetition of shapes, such as the triangle to communicate  ideas and to give the image a sense of living motion. The scale and proportion of the figure are as close to lifelike as could be achieved on a canvas of this size. the idea behind the design is to blur the definition between life and art. The blurring of the sense of reality and imagination is meant to liberate the observer from the burdens of the “real” world by offering the transcendent and expressive reality of art.  Because the work is a self-portrait, it invites the observer to seek this transcendent experience through self-reflection. the calm and steady emotion of the painting encourages the viewer to follow the artist’s example: to blur the distinction between art adn life by looking honestly within.

The self-portrait also toys with concepts of motion and time. This is accomplished by the use of contrast in the figure’s pose and the color of the painting’s background. The figure is seated, yet holds a walking stick as if ready to rise and walk away at any moment. behind the figure, is a black, image-less background so that it is impossible to gauge or know the time of the painting. Is it day or night? The image could be of anywhere at any time. The artist is seen to be passing through the chaos of time, but  also shown to be peaceful and solid in the eye of the storm. The contrast between the black background and the gold and red of the artist’s clothing shows that it is the passion and vision of the artist that gives motion, meaning, and emotional resonance to life.