Draughtsman, etcher, painter, Rembrandt van Rijn, fascinated with the expressive face, inclined to acting out different character roles, inserting himself into the crowds to witness his subjects, shaping his public persona through his art, uncertain in youth, self-assured by mid-life, reflective towards the end, it is believed, with scholars still counting, that he created 40 to 50 paintings, 31 or 32 etchings, and 7 drawings of himself over a period of 44 years.

It is believed to be a record for self-portraits by a renowned artist.

The curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, C.S. Ackley writes that: “The artist used himself as a cheap model, studying his contorted features in the mirror.”

A student of Rembrandt wrote in 1678 that a young budding artist should use a mirror to aid in the representation of the passions or emotions in order “to be at once performer and audience.”

To paraphrase the Delphic maxim: Know your art by studying yourself.

Source Rembrandt’s Journey by C.S. Ackley, 2003. ThoughtCo. 2019. Graphic: Rembrandt, Self-Portrait, Oil on Panel, 1629, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston.