Self-portrait of Rembrandt from 1655
Beret, raised collar and face shaped by warm light: in this small format, Rembrandt transforms maturity into silent authority. The painting seems direct, but its date, its framing and its costume require precise reading.
The beret frames a new image of maturity
The Edinburgh self-portrait is neither a study of grimace like those of the 1620s, nor a worldly proclamation like the 1640 painting. Rembrandt concentrates his art on three elements: a black beret which widens the silhouette of the head, a raised collar which stabilizes the bust and a supple light which makes the textures of a mature face visible without transforming them into a spectacle.
His direct gaze produces a strong proximity. However, the work is not a photograph of the painter's mood. The costume is chosen, the framing is constructed and the surface hierarchical. Maturity therefore becomes less of an admission biographical than a pictorial problem: how to make the age, presence and status of an artist felt in a very tight space?
Six points of reference before looking
An incomplete date
The National Galleries Scotland transcribes the date "165[5]": the last number is retained with caution, although the museum presents the work as dating from 1655.
A small format
At 53 × 43 cm, the painting establishes a close relationship. The face occupies almost all the available field.
An autograph work
The official notice gives Rembrandt as author. There is no justification for presenting it as a copy or a workshop production.
A historic loan
The work belongs to the Bridgewater Collection Loan and is numbered NGL 072.46 in the Scottish collection.
An artist's beret
Already out of fashion in the 17th centurye century, the beret recalls the masters of the 16th centurye century and becomes a recurring visual sign for Rembrandt.
A face without flattery
Pink, gray, brown shades and light accents record age without erasing asymmetries or smoothing the skin.
1652 prepares the sobriety of 1655
The great Viennese self-portrait of 1652 reintroduced Rembrandt into his own painting after several years without a known great painted self-portrait. Hands on hips, brown clothing and frontality make up a broad, almost image monumental. The precious accessories from 1640 have disappeared: confidence now comes from the mass of the body and the stability of the pose.
In Edinburgh, this strategy is tightening. Arms are no longer necessary; the beret and the collar are enough to form an architecture around the head. The viewer goes from a confrontation with a body to a face-to-face encounter with a look. Sobriety therefore does not indicate a loss of ambition. It shows that Rembrandt can concentrate the same authority in a format four times smaller.
This comparison also makes it possible to resist an overly biographical reading. Financial difficulties began to weigh on us in the 1650s, but neither the posture of 1652 nor the look of 1655 constituted proof of defeat. These are painter's solutions, produced to be seen and probably appreciated by collectors.
Five images between success and late style
The artist arrived
Pose borrowed from Titian and Raphael, precious costume, social mastery.
The sober body
Frontality, hands on hips and muffled workshop clothing.
Mature face
Black beret, raised collar and proximity to Edinburgh's small format.
Matter amplifies
Frick, Washington and Met multiply ladders and impasto.
The job remains
Tools, repentance and surface freedom structure the last images.
Light doesn't illuminate the same way
The light comes from the left of the painting and focuses on the forehead, the bridge of the nose, the cheek and the lips. It does not cut out the face like a theatrical projector; it progresses through transitions. Light areas remain warm, mixing cream, pink and ocher, while the half-greenish or gray shades prevent the flesh from becoming uniform.
The shaded side is not empty. Transparent browns reveal the structure of the cheek, the eye and the birth of the beard. This economy requires the viewer to look slowly: from a distance, the face seems whole; up close, it is broken down into touches, smears and discontinuous accents.
The painter also treats both eyes unevenly. One catches the light more, the other remains more absorbed in the shadows. This asymmetry gives the gaze its mobility. It may seem introspective, serious or attentive, but no single emotion stands out as fact.
Two small self-portraits, two supports and two datings
Edinburgh
Oil on canvas, 53 × 43 cm, date transcribed "165[5]", Bridgewater Collection Loan. The black beret and raised collar draw a firm silhouette around the face.
Vienna
Oil on walnut wood, 48.8 × 40.5 cm, around 1655 -1657 according to the current German notice from the KHM. The museum also reports that the format was reduced later.
These two paintings are close in scale, maturity of the model and simplicity of the costume. Their online circulation under generic titles - "small self-portrait", "self-portrait with beret", "Rembrandt around 1655" - favors the confusions. To distinguish them, the support is decisive: canvas in Edinburgh, walnut in Vienna. Dimensions and inventory number complete the identification.
The word "1655" here designates the work of Edinburgh; it must not transform all neighboring dating into certainties.
An old headdress, not just an everyday accessory
Rembrandt frequently wears berets, hats and headdresses in his self-portraits. The Metropolitan Museum recalls that the velvet cap appears in several of its images, while the Rijksmuseum notes that this type of headgear was already associated with ancient fashion. For him, the beret functions as an instrument of visual variation and as a sign of the artist.
In 1640, he completed a sumptuous outfit inspired by Renaissance masters. He helped present the painter as the equal of Titian or Raphael. In 1655, black fabric absorbed more light and matched the dark coat. Her broad form no longer proclaims luxury; it frames the head and gives breadth to a very close image.
It would therefore be excessive to automatically recognize the exact outfit worn each day in the workshop. The beret can be real and available, while playing a historical and symbolic role. Rembrandt doesn't just look at himself: he chooses how a painter should appear.
Three extensions of maturity
The Edinburgh canvas is therefore not an isolated episode. It is located at the beginning of a sequence where Rembrandt varies scale, costume and paint density without abandoning face-to-face. Maturity does not produce a single formula: it opens up several solutions, from silent proximity to monumentality.
A short palette, a very active surface
The painting is based on a reduced range: black-brown of the beret, warm earths of the garment and the background, muffled red, cream, pink and gray in the skin. This economy makes each variation significant. A light accent on the nose advances; A cold halftone hollows the cheek; a red border warms the whole without becoming decorative.
The material does not seem equally finished everywhere. The face receives the most attention, while the clothing and background can be more synthetic. This contrast is not a negligence: it guides the gaze. Rembrandt builds it presence by degrees of precision and thickness, rather than uniform finish.
What the eye perceives
Visible touches, faded passages, contours absorbed by shadow, warm light and concentration of work around the eyes, nose and mouth.
What to avoid inventing
Without a technical file published specifically for each area of the work, one should not assert the exact composition of the pigments nor attribute each irregularity to repentance.
From beret to painter in action
In Kenwood, the artist appears with palette, brushes and handrest in front of two circular shapes whose meaning remains debated. The headdress remains, but professional identity no longer needs to be suggested alone: the tools make visible. The larger body and light background give the image a breadth that the small Edinburgh painting concentrated in the head.
The comparison reveals essential continuity. In both works, authority does not depend on a smile, honorary decoration or luxurious interior. It arises from the control of pose and painting. Rembrandt can appear sober, old or dressed for work without giving up on being part of art history.
The circles have been brought closer to the legend of Giotto, capable of tracing a perfect form, but English Heritage keeps the interpretation open. This caution also applies to Edinburgh: the gaze calls upon us, without providing the psychological legend that we would sometimes like to impose on it.
What the table establishes - and what it only suggests
Established facts
- The National Galleries Scotland attributes the work to Rembrandt.
- The notice transcribes the date "165[5]".
- The support is a canvas and the image measures 53 × 43 cm.
- The work is kept in Edinburgh as part of the Bridgewater Collection Loan.
- The painter wears a dark beret and a garment with a raised collar.
Cautious interpretations
- The beret can affirm the identity of the artist and recall the old masters.
- The look may appear serious, attentive or introspective, without any emotion being proven.
- Traces of age can participate in a strategy of pictorial truth intended for amateurs.
- Rembrandt's financial situation sheds light on the context, but does not automatically translate the expression.
- The proximity to self-portraits from 1657 -1659 fuels the chronological debate without canceling the museum notice.
In 1669, the manhole remained a construction
In theSelf-portrait at the age of 63painted the year of his death, Rembrandt keeps a beret and a dark coat, but the material is freer and the bust looser. The National Gallery showed by x-ray that the hands and headdress had changed during execution. Even in front of the mirror, the artist never copies passively.
The Edinburgh painting already announced this logic: costume reduced to a few masses, light concentrated on the face and expression impossible to translate with a single word. Fourteen years later, the paint becomes thicker, but the problem remains the same - creating a credible presence without closing its meaning.
The maturity of 1655 should therefore not be read as a still arrival. It marks a threshold. Rembrandt found an image simple enough to be able to transform it further, until the last months of his life.
Eight self-portraits to locate 1655
| Date | Work | Institution | Function of the beret or headdress | To watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1640 | Self-portrait at 34 | National Gallery | Historical prestige | Installation, handle, parapet |
| 1652 | Great Self-Portrait | KHM, Vienna | Sober hairstyle on front body | Hands to hips, silhouette |
| 165[5] | Self-portrait | Scottish National Gallery | Black frame around the face | Eyes, cervix, skin transitions |
| around 1655 -1657 | Little Self-Portrait | KHM, Vienna | Daily proximity | Walnut support, reduced format |
| 1658 | Monumental self-portrait | Frick Collection | Large authority beret | Ladder, cane, golden suit |
| 1659 | Self-portrait | National Gallery of Art | Reworked dark beret | Collar raised, hands clasped |
| 1660 | Self-portrait | Metropolitan Museum | Hat on sculpted material | Impasto and incisions |
| 1669 | Self-portrait at 63 | National Gallery | Beret and last role built | Repentances, face, hands |
Four steps to follow this evolution
Hanging conditions may change: always check the museum page before traveling.
Edinburgh
The Scottish National Gallery is exhibiting self-portrait NGL 072.46 on loan from the Bridgewater Collection.
Vienna
The Kunsthistorisches Museum preserves the large self-portrait from 1652 and the small panel around 1655 -1657.
New York and Washington
The Frick, the Metropolitan Museum and the NGA allow us to compare solutions from 1658 to 1660.
London
Kenwood House retains both circles; the National Gallery presents the 63-year-old self-portrait.
How to watch the 1655 self-portrait
Start with the silhouette
Look at how beret and collar form two dark masses around a lighter face.
Compare the two eyes
Note their difference in sharpness and light before naming an emotion.
Track temperatures
Spot pinks, ochres, grays and browns: skin is never a uniform color.
Change distance
Up close, observe the keys; as you step back, see how they become flesh and gaze again.
Test the role of the costume
Ask what the beret adds to the painter's professional identity.
Separate proof and narrative
Distinguish date, support and dimensions from assumptions about sadness or pride.
Find exactly the Edinburgh self-portrait
The shop offers a reproduction corresponding to the work NGL 072.46 from the Scottish National Gallery. The general collection then allows us to compare this sober maturity to youthful self-portraits, studio images and late works.
See the reproduction of the Self-Portrait of 1655Explore Rembrandt's self-portraitsFAQ about Rembrandt's self-portrait of 1655
Where is Rembrandt's 1655 self-portrait?
It is kept at the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh, on loan from the Bridgewater Collection, under number NGL 072.46.
Is the date 1655 certain?
The museum transcribes the date "165[5]", with brackets around the last number. It presents the work as dating from 1655, while making this reading uncertainty visible.
What are the dimensions and technique?
This is an oil on canvas. The image measures 53 × 43 cm according to the National Galleries Scotland instructions.
Why is Rembrandt wearing a beret?
The beret, already old in the 17th centurye siècle, allows him to dialogue with the image of the masters of the Renaissance and becomes a recurring sign of his identity as an artist.
Does the picture show Rembrandt sad?
The look may seem serious or introspective, but the painting does not prove a specific emotion. The costume, light and pose are constructed.
Is this the same painting as the Little Self-Portrait of Vienna?
No. Edinburgh keeps an oil on canvas of 53 × 43 cm; Vienna has an oil on walnut of approximately 48.8 × 40.5 cm dated around 1655 -1657.
Is the attribution to Rembrandt disputed?
The current National Galleries Scotland notice attributes this to Rembrandt. The main uncertainty reported here mainly concerns the exact reading of the date.
Is there an exact reproduction in the store?
Yes. The product linked in the article corresponds to Edinburgh self-portrait NGL 072.46 and identifies it as a work by Rembrandt.
Continue with Rembrandt
Museum and institutional references
- National Galleries Scotland - Self-portrait, 165[5], NGL 072.46
- Kunsthistorisches Museum - Great Self-Portrait, 1652
- Kunsthistorisches Museum - Little Self-Portrait, circa 1655 -1657
- Frick Collection - Self-Portrait, 1658
- National Gallery of Art - Self-Portrait, 1659, technical notice
- Metropolitan Museum of Art - Self-Portrait, 1660
- English Heritage - Self-portrait with two circles
- National Gallery - Self-portrait at the age of 63, 1669
The nine reproductions of the body of the article are different and served from the Shopify media library.
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