Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606-1669)

'One sees in the portraits he has etched how every stroke of the needle, like every stroke of the brush in painting, gives to the parts of the face a character of life and truth which makes one admire his genius’ (Roger de Piles, ‘Abregé de la Vie des Peintres’, Paris, 1699, quoted in: Christopher White, Rembrandt as an Etcher - A Study of the Artist at Work, New Haven & London, 1999, p. 169).

In Self-Portrait leaning on a Stone Sill Rembrandt presents himself sumptuously dressed in the fashion of the 16th century, his pose self-consciously emulating two great portrait paintings of the High Renaissance, Raphael’s Portrait of Baldassare Castiglione, 1515 (Louvre, Paris) and Titian’s Portrait of Gerolamo (?) Barbarigo, circa 1510 (National Gallery, London). The presentation of himself in fine clothing, with a somewhat aloof demeanour, reflects the influence of Sir Anthony van Dyck’s Iconography, in which the artist elevated his own status - and that of his admired artistic peers - to the level of the aristocrat, adopting the mien and accoutrements of the nobility.