Widebrim 1639

Curator: This drawing, titled "Widebrim", was created in 1639 by Rembrandt van Rijn. You can currently find it here in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. Editor: It’s intriguing, isn't it? The lightness of the lines gives it a sense of immediacy. The wide brim hat almost dominates the composition, doesn't it? It makes me wonder about the paper, what sort of weight did Rembrandt use here, how many sheets might he have gone through for such a study? Curator: Rembrandt's drawings are incredibly important for understanding his process as a painter and printmaker. In his time, portraiture was very tightly connected to socio-economic class and profession. His drawings weren't usually the final output, but allowed him to understand the construction of form. Editor: You can really sense the hand of the artist here, can't you? There's a real economy of line, it looks almost effortless. Did Rembrandt produce his own inks? How much variation do we see in his mark making when we compare it to others producing in this moment? I think it is a demonstration of complete mastery over the material and that leads to artistic authority. Curator: Absolutely. And that mastery allowed him to play with ideas about status. A wide-brimmed hat in 17th-century Netherlands often signified wealth or a specific profession. How the wearer would be received by society was immediately coded by fashion of the period. Here Rembrandt focuses on the construction of a type, maybe experimenting for a future painting. Editor: I agree. It feels very much like a study of material culture and its impact, even in this raw state. This approach forces us to really look at the line itself. I love seeing the subtle differences in the ink where it's slightly heavier, implying weight or shadow. And how little he used to give us this person, complete with shoes, hat and clothes. Curator: Looking at this drawing provides a wonderful window into Rembrandt's world, offering insights into the visual culture of the Dutch Golden Age. Editor: Agreed. The magic for me resides in seeing how an expert brings line, paper, and ink together in a spontaneous and almost perfect act of material synthesis.