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Vermeer and the Delft School
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Description
Fabritius studied with Rembrandt in Amsterdam about 1642–43 and then returned to his native Midden-Beemster, remaining until about 1650. That year the young widower married a widow from Delft and moved to her hometown. This romantic self-portrait may have been painted slightly before Fabritius's Delft period. It reveals how Rembrandt's intense scrutiny of natural light and the painterly means to describe it helped prepare Fabritius for his more exclusive concern with appearances. The picture seems to capture the image in a mirror, though the sitter's rakish attire is out-of-date. Contemporary viewers probably appreciated the painting as an artistic tour de force rather than as a portrait of an artist on the edge of fame.
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Description