Workmanship: Two Sides of the Same Coin (Part 2)

Workmanship n. 2. Evidence of such skill.

In the previous post we see Vermeer’s porcelain-like rendering of a beautiful young woman, whose face is painted in such a way as to leave no visible trace of brushwork. She is a vision of idealized, youthful beauty that transcends brush, paint and canvas.

Rembrandt                                                           Self Portrait  @ 1660

Rembrandt's self portrait stares back at us from the other end of the artistic spectrum. Looking at the careworn face we can almost hear the bristle brushes being dragged across the canvas.

Here Rembrandt makes no effort to hide his workmanship, allowing the individual strokes to stand out from one another, rich in variation and texture. He is as honest about the years that show on his face as he is about his brushwork; we see here a man whose youth and optimism have left him, a man worn and resigned and altogether changed from the young, playful artist of years before. 

Rembrandt                     Self Portrait with Saskia 1635

 What has happened to this man in the 25 years between the execution of these two paintings? If Rembrandt is so worn and resigned, why does he still paint? Why would someone paint such a picture of himself? Unlike Vermeer, much is known of Rembrandt’s life and a brief account of his family and career sheds a great deal of light on the mood of the later self portrait.