Self Portrait

Ludolf Bakhuizen's self-portrait, held in the Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, offers an unusual glimpse of the man behind the marine paintings — an artist whose identity was so thoroughly associated with ships and sea that a self-representation in the conventional three-quarter portrait format carries an almost unexpected quality of interiority. Self-portraits by Dutch specialists are comparatively rare; most genre and marine painters left their self-representation to the occasional inclusion of observer figures in their compositions. That Bakhuizen chose to paint himself in the conventional portrait format suggests an awareness of his own status as a significant artist rather than merely a craftsman of a specialist genre. The undated canvas makes precise stylistic dating difficult, but the Sheffield collection's holding of the work reflects the breadth of Dutch Golden Age material that entered British provincial museums.

Oil on canvas, with Bakhuizen applying to his own face the controlled, careful brushwork he normally reserved for vessel and figure details in marine compositions. The portrait is likely painted against a neutral or dark ground in the Dutch portrait tradition, with light falling from the upper left to model the facial structure in the manner established by Rembrandt and his followers. The handling of the sitter's clothing reflects the same assured drapery technique visible in figure passages of his marine scenes.