Self-portrait in a soft hat and a patterned cloak 1631

Curator: Ah, there he is! This is Rembrandt van Rijn’s "Self-portrait in a soft hat and a patterned cloak," created in 1631. A delicate little drawing done in ink on paper, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: Intimate. That’s the word that jumps out. Just a quick sketch, but you feel like you’ve caught him in a private moment. Vulnerable almost, despite that rakish hat. Curator: It's intriguing to consider the fashion of the Dutch Golden Age, particularly how Rembrandt employs his wardrobe—in this case, a soft hat and patterned cloak—not just for personal expression, but as deliberate components to construct his artistic persona. We're witnessing a painter keenly aware of self-image in a burgeoning art market. Editor: Absolutely, constructing himself! The soft cap lends this wonderfully bohemian air. I see an echo of his later, more grandiose self-portraits, only here, it’s all suggestion. He is all strokes, and suggestion! It dances between precision and something beautifully unformed, the possibility that one can draw the image, the other only suggest it. Curator: Exactly! Line work serves less as a descriptor of physical reality and more as an atmospheric medium here. These weren't commissioned works, of course. The market simply wanted the real Rembrandt on paper to own and marvel at. It shaped the public view, too, the demand for personal connection shaping the way portraiture was being conceived. Editor: The etching…it’s like catching a fleeting thought. The informality is stunning when you remember the time! Think about the implications, capturing an image of yourself to be dispersed far and wide by an art world with increasingly loose, new pockets of revenue. Remarkable for an art world experiencing true industrial growth. Curator: Well said. It's more than just an image. This drawing is Rembrandt wrestling with the changing role of the artist, how his image functions within society, and how he might actively manipulate it. The self as a brand almost? Editor: Precisely. Before Instagram, there was ink! And yes... before reality television, there were small Dutch paintings, a perfect reflection of the everyday. You are left questioning whether you will buy in and the genius in this artist. It will sell well in the current world with those overtones alone. Curator: I'd say he mastered it. He truly knew the public's needs. I never get tired of looking into those eyes. Editor: It leaves you with a feeling. One that sits in you, the same every time! Perhaps that, in itself, is genius.