Self-portrait in a cap: laughing 1630

Editor: This is Rembrandt van Rijn's "Self-portrait in a cap: laughing" from 1630. It's an etching, so a print, and looking at it I’m immediately struck by how raw and immediate the expression feels. He really captured a moment of genuine amusement, right? What do you make of it? Curator: Genuine amusement, eh? I'd agree... and it makes you wonder *why* he's laughing, doesn’t it? Is it a private joke, or is he laughing *at* something, maybe even at us? Look how quickly he worked, lines dashed off as if on the spur of the moment. To me, it suggests the quickness of laughter itself. Don't you feel that? Editor: Yes, absolutely, that fleeting moment quality is really emphasized by the medium. I’d not thought about the idea of him laughing *at* the viewer… Curator: Or consider that during the Dutch Golden Age, self-portraits became a real phenomenon, almost a way for artists to assert themselves in a changing world. Maybe he’s laughing at the absurdity of trying to capture one's self! I see in his gaze an element of playful irony that really challenges me to reconsider portraiture conventions. Editor: Wow, that's such a clever point! The print medium itself challenges our notion of what portraiture even means at this moment. Is this a portrait, a document, or a quick sketch? Curator: It's all those things and none of them. It’s Rembrandt being Rembrandt. Think of it as Rembrandt poking fun at the very act of "self-representation." What have you discovered making this audio guide? Editor: I will never look at another Rembrandt the same way, thinking now of what might be *behind* the smile, the captured expression. Curator: Wonderful! And hopefully, others listening in will also be provoked. That’s the fun, isn't it?