November 13, 2011–FEBRUARY 5, 2012
The Artist as a Young Man
Rembrandt and Degas were both in their early twenties when they began to produce self-portraits, and the Dutch artist continued the practice throughout his life. Indeed, before the mid-nineteenth century, no other artist had depicted himself as often, making Rembrandt a logical role model when Degas began to explore his own self-image. Rembrandt tended to use dramatic lighting and innovative painting and etching techniques, and often presented himself with varied expressions in a wide range of roles. Degas’s portrayals use the same sorts of techniques to suggest a more focused exploration of his own introspective personality.
This is probably one of Rembrandt’s earlier self-representations. Dark shadows fall over half of his stern-looking face, while the other half is brightly lit. Rembrandt used similar strong contrasts to heighten the drama in many of his etchings, as well as in his paintings.
The relatively precise handling of this early self-portrait suggests Degas’s interest in the work of the academic artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, although the strongly shaded face is somewhat unconventional. Inspired by Rembrandt’s very different style, Degas pursued his exploration of unusual lighting and loosely handled paint, as in the Clark's self-portrait.
VOLUME 59 (2011)/2
This recent volume of The Rijksmuseum Bulletin includes an essay entitled “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Edgar Degas Inspired by Rembrandt,” by Jenny Reynaerts (Senior Curator of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century paintings at the Rijksmuseum and curator of the exhibition in Amsterdam) and Stella Versluis-Van Dongen (Rijksmuseum intern 2010-11, and co-researcher for the Bulletin essay and exhibition in Amsterdam).
The Rijksmuseum Bulletin is the English language academic journal of the Rijksmuseum, published quarterly. It offers scholarly articles contributing to the historical and art-historical research of the collections of the Rijksmuseum to an international audience of curators, scholars, students, art professionals and enthusiasts.
The Rijksmuseum Bulletin is published by the Rijksmuseum Publications Department.
Editors: Jan de Hond, Jenny Reynaerts, Marijn Schapelhouman
Printing: ÈPOS | PRESS, Zwolle