{"id":1450,"date":"2026-06-09T21:34:05","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:34:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/horscadre.paris\/rembrandt-the-self-portrait-as-a-diary-of-a-life\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T22:43:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T20:43:02","slug":"rembrandt-the-self-portrait-as-a-diary-of-a-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/horscadre.paris\/en\/rembrandt-the-self-portrait-as-a-diary-of-a-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Rembrandt \u2014 The Self-Portrait as a Diary of a Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Amsterdam, summer of 1669.<\/strong> A sixty-three-year-old<\/strong> Dutch painter stands before his easel in a small, modest studio<\/strong> on Rozengracht<\/strong>, a working-class neighborhood in the northwest of the city. He had already lost<\/strong> his first wife, Saskia<\/strong> (who died in 1642), his second partner, Hendrickje<\/strong> (who died in 1663), and his only son, Titus<\/strong> (who died the previous year, in 1668). His large house<\/strong> on Sint Antoniesbreestraat was sold at auction<\/strong> in 1656<\/strong> to pay off his debts. His art collection<\/strong> \u2014which he had built up over thirty years and included works by Raphael, Mantegna, Leonardo, Titian, and Rubens<\/strong> \u2014was dispersed<\/strong>. He now lives in relative poverty<\/strong>, supported<\/strong> by his daughter Cornelia<\/strong> and his daughter-in-law Magdalena<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n

Standing before his easel, the old man paints himself<\/strong>. A canvas measuring 86 \u00d7 70.5 centimeters<\/strong>. A frontal<\/strong> view of his face. Hands crossed<\/strong> over his stomach. A black beret<\/strong> atop his white hair. A brown coat<\/strong> lined with fur. His gaze is direct<\/strong>, fixed<\/strong> on the viewer, without self-indulgence<\/strong> or self-pity<\/strong>. The flesh<\/strong> is painted in thick, layered strokes<\/strong>, and the folds of his face<\/strong> are modeled<\/strong> with a mastery of chiaroscuro<\/strong> honed over fifty years of practice. The background<\/strong> is almost black<\/strong> \u2014 a dense shadow<\/strong> from which the light<\/strong> of the face emerges.<\/p>\n\n

This self-portrait from 1669<\/strong>, now in the collection of the National Gallery<\/strong> in London, was the last<\/strong> one Rembrandt painted before his death on October 4, 1669<\/strong>. It is also, according to several modern art historians, the most moving self-portrait<\/strong> in the entire history of Western painting. But it is not an isolated self-portrait<\/strong>. It is the final entry<\/strong> in a visual diary<\/strong> that Rembrandt kept for forty-five years<\/strong>, and which has no parallel<\/strong> in the history of world painting. <\/p>\n\n

Nearly one hundred self-portraits<\/strong> have been identified and documented in Rembrandt\u2019s body of work\u2014paintings, drawings, and etchings. From his first known self-portrait<\/strong> (1628, when he was 22 years old, now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam) to his last<\/strong> in 1669, Rembrandt depicted himself every one to two years<\/strong> throughout his adult life<\/strong>. No painter in Western history<\/strong> has painted as many self-portraits, as regularly<\/strong>, or with such introspective rigor<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

This article recounts the remarkable life story of this miller\u2019s son<\/strong>, born in 1606 in Leiden, who, by the age of 25, had become the most sought-after portrait painter in Amsterdam<\/strong>, amassed a considerable fortune<\/strong>, married into a patrician family<\/strong>, built one of the greatest private art collections<\/strong> of 17th-century Holland, went bankrupt in 1656<\/strong> amid a sensational legal scandal<\/strong>, lost<\/strong> everyone he loved one after another<\/strong>, and died in 1669<\/strong> in relative poverty<\/strong>. This article also traces, as a narrative thread<\/strong>, the series of self-portraits<\/strong> that punctuate his life like a visual heartbeat<\/strong> \u2014each marked by an emotional truth<\/strong> deeper than the one before. <\/p>\n\n

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Leiden, 1606 \u2014 The Childhood of the Miller’s Son<\/h2>\n\n

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn<\/strong> was born on July 15, 1606, in Leiden<\/strong>, in the Republic of the United Provinces<\/strong> (now the Netherlands), thirty-five years after<\/strong> the Dutch gained independence from Spain (proclaimed in 1581). His family belonged to the modest<\/strong> but education-minded<\/strong> middle class<\/strong> of this university town. <\/p>\n\n

His father, Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn<\/strong> (1568\u20131630), was a miller<\/strong>. He operated a windmill<\/strong> on the Old Rhine<\/strong> ( Oude Rijn<\/em> in Dutch)\u2014hence the family surname<\/strong> van Rijn<\/em> (\u201cof the Rhine\u201d). The family owned<\/strong> their own mill and several houses<\/strong> in Leiden\u2014a comfortable<\/strong> but non-aristocratic<\/strong> situation. His mother, Neeltje Willemsdr van Zuydtbroeck<\/strong> (1568\u20131640), was the daughter of a baker<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Rembrandt was the ninth of ten children<\/strong> in the family. Several of his brothers<\/strong> followed in their father\u2019s footsteps<\/strong> (as millers) or choseother manual trades<\/strong> (such as bakers and shoemakers). But his parents<\/strong> quickly<\/strong> recognized Rembrandt\u2019s interest in learning<\/strong> and drawing<\/strong>. They decided to invest in his education<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

1613\u20131619<\/strong>: Rembrandt attendedthe Latin School in Leiden<\/strong> \u2014a rigorous classical<\/strong> education that includedinstruction in Latin<\/strong>, Greek<\/strong>, rhetoric<\/strong>, and ancient history<\/strong>. Such a humanistic education<\/strong> was rare<\/strong> for a miller\u2019s son. It would have a lasting impact on<\/strong> Rembrandt\u2019s iconography<\/strong>: his in-depth knowledge of classical mythology<\/strong>,the Old Testament<\/strong>, and ancient history<\/strong> would later enable him to paint biblical and mythological subjects<\/strong> with remarkable literary precision<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

1620<\/strong>: At the age of fourteen<\/strong>, Rembrandt was enrolled atthe University of Leiden<\/strong> \u2014one of the most prestigious<\/strong> universities in the United Provinces (founded in 1575 by William the Silent<\/strong>). But according to university records<\/strong>, he did not attend any classes there<\/strong>. The enrollment was likely an initiative by his family<\/strong> to protect<\/strong> Rembrandt from military service<\/strong> or to keep open the option<\/strong> of higher education for the future. <\/p>\n\n

Around 1621<\/strong>: Rembrandt officially gave up his university studies<\/strong> and turned to painting<\/strong>. This was an unusual<\/strong> decision for a family of millers\u2014at the time, painting<\/strong> was considered a craftsman\u2019s trade<\/strong> rather than a respectable profession<\/strong>. His parents agreed. Rembrandt began his apprenticeship<\/strong> with Jacob Isaacszoon van Swanenburgh<\/strong> (1571\u20131638), a local painter in Leiden who had spent several years in Italy<\/strong> (particularly in Naples<\/strong>) and ran a renowned studio<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

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Education \u2014 Swanenburgh in Leiden, Lastman in Amsterdam<\/h2>\n\n

Rembrandt’sformal apprenticeship<\/strong> with Swanenburgh lasted about three years<\/strong> (1621\u20131624). There he learned the fundamental techniques<\/strong> of oil painting, drawing from life<\/strong>, the rules of Baroque composition<\/strong>, and how to master lighting effects<\/strong> in night scenes<\/strong> (Swanenburgh\u2019s specialty). <\/p>\n\n

1624<\/strong>: Rembrandt, at the age of eighteen<\/strong>, left for Amsterdam<\/strong> for six months<\/strong> to further his training inthe studio of Pieter Lastman<\/strong> (1583\u20131633). Lastman<\/strong> was, at the time, one of the most respected history painters<\/strong> in the United Provinces. He had spent time in Italy<\/strong> between 1604 and 1607<\/strong>, where he studied<\/strong> the works of Caravaggio<\/strong> andthe Roman Baroque school<\/strong> firsthand<\/strong>. In Amsterdam, he became the primary source<\/strong> of Italian artistic innovations<\/strong> for the younger generation<\/strong> of Dutch artists<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n

Rembrandt\u2019s stay with Lastman<\/strong> was, in fact, a defining experience<\/strong> for him. There he discovered: <\/p>\n\n