Bust of a laughing young man

Bust of a Laughing Young Man from 1630 in the former Sedelmeyer collection is a tronie from Rembrandt's final Leiden year in which he systematically explored the full range of human facial expression as a preparation for the narrative and portrait paintings he was already producing. The expression of laughter — broadly open, spontaneous, social — was among the most technically challenging states to capture convincingly in oil paint, requiring the accurate modeling of lifted cheekbones, crow's feet, the changed position of the eyes and the exposure of teeth, all simultaneously rendered without hardening into a fixed or artificial grimace. Frans Hals had been producing laughing figure paintings in Haarlem since around 1620, and Rembrandt's early interest in capturing mirth may reflect awareness of Hals's achievement. Where Hals's laughing figures participate in lively social scenes, Rembrandt's expression studies are more isolated and clinical, focused on the mechanics of the expression itself.

Rembrandt captures the spontaneous expression of laughter with remarkable vivacity, using quick, assured brushwork to freeze the transient moment with convincing naturalism.