Self-Portrait at the Age of 34

Rembrandt painted around 80 self-portraits over the course of his life — more than almost any artist before or since.

This one, made in 1640 when he was 34 and at the height of his fame and wealth, is among the most deliberate.

The costume is archaic — 16th-century dress, not his own time.

The pose echoes Raphael's portrait of Baldassare Castiglione and a Titian that Rembrandt had seen at auction in Amsterdam.

He is constructing a version of himself: prosperous, confident, in complete command.

Twenty years later, he would be bankrupt, his house and collection sold to pay his debts.

The self-portraits from that later period are looser, more searching, and very different from this.

The distance between them is one of the great stories in art.

Fun fact: Rembrandt had bid aggressively at the Amsterdam auction where the Raphael and Titian appeared, driving up prices well beyond his means.

His financial recklessness was a defining trait.

But both paintings stayed in his memory long enough to reappear here, in the way he chose to stand.