A Man seated reading at a Table in a Lofty Room 

Rembrandt painted 'A Man Seated Reading at a Table in a Lofty Room' using oil paints, and an approach to mark-making that feels both meticulous and deeply intuitive. It’s about light, but it’s also about how light shapes our perception and our understanding of space. The materiality of this piece grabs me – the way Rembrandt uses thin, transparent glazes to build up these incredible, luminous shadows. Look at the wall behind the reader, the way light rakes across it. You can almost feel the texture of the plaster, the coolness of the stone. Then there's the contrast, the way he lets areas dissolve into darkness, leaving just enough detail to suggest form. That sharp contrast, the tension between light and dark, shapes the emotional core of the painting. Rembrandt's exploration of light and shadow reminds me of Caravaggio, though Rembrandt brings a unique sense of intimacy to his scenes. Ultimately, the painting feels more like a question than a statement, inviting us to linger in the ambiguity of the scene.