Standing Man with a Stick, Facing Left, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1629 - c. 1630
black chalk, with opaque white; framing line in black ink, h 294mm × w 170mm Catalogue entry
Already early on in his career, Rembrandt enjoyed observing attentively and drawing the characters he happened upon in the street. Moreover, he was exceedingly skilful in the use of black chalk. He captured the pose and frame of mind of these three down-at-the-heels men with deft lines. He corrected the contours in areas with the sharpest point of his chalk.
