Self-Portrait

Jürgen Ovens's Self-Portrait from around 1670 shows the painter at the height of his career, working at the court of the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein. Ovens had trained under Rembrandt in the 1640s before establishing himself in the northern German Protestant courts, where he combined Rembrandtesque technique with the demands of courtly decoration and portraiture. This self-portrait demonstrates the range and ambition of a painter working at a considerable remove from the major centers of European art.

Ovens presents himself in the informal manner typical of painter self-portraits, likely with palette or brush visible. His Rembrandt training shows in the warm, directional lighting and the psychological directness of the self-observation. The handling is painterly and confident.