Self-Portrait in a Cap with Plume (B., Holl. 20; Hind 156)

Rembrandt is one of the most prolific and interesting self-portraitists in the history of western art. He portrayed himself countless times, in paintings and prints, in different formats, attires and attitudes. Here, in this fine impression of the Self Portrait with a velvet Cap with Plume, we see him aged thirty-two, curiously dressed in costume from the century before, possibly in order place himself in the tradition of the great masters of the early 16th century, such as Albrecht Dürer. If so, he foresaw his place is history as one of the greatest artists and printmakers of all time.