In the only surviving etching of the pair together, Rembrandt
and his wife Saskia are wearing historical fancy-dress. They sit in
the artist’s studio, with Rembrandt acknowledging the etching
process by depicting his hand holding the stylus. He produced a
vast number of self-portraits for various purposes, from recording
his features to experimenting with expressions. Greatly influenced
by Van Dyck’s Iconography, his self-portraits often play with
ideas surrounding status and the social standing of artists. The
numerous guises he adopted, ranging from a lowly beggar to a
wealthy middle-class burgher, reflect the creative licence inherent
in self-portraiture.

Inscriptions / Translations:  Signed and dated: Rembrandt f. 1636

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