Bust of a laughing young man
Rembrandt·1630
Historical Context
This bust of a laughing young man from 1630 belongs to Rembrandt's Leiden period when he was systematically studying expressions and emotional states. Such tronies were both technical exercises and saleable works that demonstrated his ability to capture fleeting human expressions. Rembrandt's portraits use a restricted palette of warm browns and blacks punctuated by jewel-like highlights, built up through multiple glazing sessions that create an almost tangible surface texture. His patrons we...
Technical Analysis
Rembrandt captures the spontaneous expression of laughter with remarkable vivacity, using quick, assured brushwork to freeze the transient moment with convincing naturalism.
Look Closer
- ◆Notice the open-mouthed laugh frozen in paint — a transient expression that makes most portrait subjects look awkward, but that Rembrandt captures with conviction.
- ◆Look at the quick, assured brushwork appropriate to an expression that must be caught rather than posed.
- ◆Observe how the early tronie exercises in capturing emotion served the entire career: the laugh studied in 1630, available for use forever after.
- ◆Find the vitality in the young man's expression — Rembrandt's gift for the moment of life rather than the convention of the pose.
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