Self-portrait in a Cap, Laughing, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1630
etching, h 52mm × w 45mm More details
Already in 1604 the artists’ biographer Karel van Mander advised artists to look in the mirror and practise in the rendering of states of mind. This is what Rembrandt does here. He looks angry, horrified, smiling. Each of these emotions recur in his work. Each of these emotions would recur later in his work.
