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Portrait of a Man

1632
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 616
Painted just after Rembrandt’s arrival in Amsterdam, this well-preserved portrait reveals the talent that enabled the young artist to quickly make a name for himself in the Dutch Republic’s largest and most artistically competitive city. The oval format was fashionable at the time, and the linen folds of the man’s ruff offered Rembrandt the chance to display his signature vigorous brushwork. Nothing is known about the man’s identity, and the inscription giving his age as forty is most likely by a later hand.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of a Man
  • Artist: Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) (Dutch, Leiden 1606–1669 Amsterdam)
  • Date: 1632
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: Oval, 29 3/4 x 20 1/2 in. (75.6 x 52.1 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Lincoln Ellsworth, in memory of Lincoln Ellsworth, 1964
  • Object Number: 64.126
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

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Abraham Casting out Hagar and Ishmael, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching with touches of drypoint
Abraham Casting out Hagar and Ishmael
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1637
St. Jerome Reading, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching
St. Jerome Reading
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1634
Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching, pen and ink
Return of the Prodigal Son
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1620–69
St. Jerome in Prayer, Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching
St. Jerome in Prayer
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1635
Portrait of Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol, Writing Master (the larger plate), Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) Dutch, Etching and drypoint; fourth state
Portrait of Lieven Willemsz van Coppenol, Writing Master (the larger plate)
Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn)
1658

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Rembrandt (Rembrandt van Rijn) - Portrait of a Man - The Metropolitan Museum of Art