Self-portrait (?) with Plumed Cap and Lowered Sabre

Rembrandt portrays himself here in costume and with props. He wears a gorget, a piece of armor worn in his day by Dutch civic guards. The saber mentioned in the title appears only in the first state of this print, but Rembrandt removed it from the image when he cut the etching plate into the oval shape seen here. A bust-length costumed figure was commonly identified as a tronie, a popular format featuring a figure with a pronounced facial expression. It is likely that the artist used his own likeness as a starting point, subsequently altering and exaggerating the figure’s facial features so as to explore the effects of the costume.

The newly discovered watermark on this sheet indicates a previously unknown batch of paper used to print the plate.

(“Lines of Inquiry: Learning from Rembrandt’s Etchings,” curated by Andrew C. Weislogel and presented at the Johnson Museum September 23–December 17, 2017)