How to Read Paintings: Self-Portrait by Rembrandt

A powerful image of ageing and personal loss that eludes any concrete reading

Self-Portrait (1660) by Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn). Oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, U.S. Image source The Met (public domain).

When an artist depicts their own image, it is not a typical portrait they undertake. The attention to facial details is charged with a new concern: not merely depiction but representation. With a self-portrait, the artist must play two roles when…