A weekly Guide column in which we dissect the influences and interpretations of a work of art
Golden age …
We feel the burdens of a long life in this man’s furrowed brow. Like the rings of an ancient tree, his great, greying beard betokens his longevity and experience. The sitter’s gaze speaks of hard-won knowledge, sorrow even, and most of us will recognise it with a jolt. It’s an end-of-the-day feeling that defies the centuries since the painting’s creation in 1632.
Going grey …
This is one of several studies of the heads of old men that Rembrandt made while a young gun, honing his craft in his mid-20s. For all the painting’s vivid humanity, it was not a portrait of a known figure but an anonymous model, and intended to suggest a type rather than an individual. In such works the artist finessed his handling of flat, finely layered paint, dramatic lighting and how to capture weighty emotion.
A regular saint …
A stock of careworn male faces was needed for paintings of saints and sages, yet it’s a highly finished work. These heads, or tronies, didn’t lack for an audience, though unlike commissioned portraits they had to take their chances in the art market.
