Dutch school, follower of Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669): Tronie of a man with a featered beret, oil on canvas, 19th/20th C.

Work: 122 x 99 cm

Frame: 149,5 x 126,5 cm

Although sometimes mistaken for a self-portrait, this picture was not intended to represent a specific person. Head studies known as tronies allowed artists to freely experiment with facial expressions, costumes, and lighting effects. Like his contemporaries, Rembrandt often employed his own features when creating these studies, which were sold on the open market. This eclectic costume is not indicative of seventeenth-century Dutch fashion but instead represents the whimsical product of Rembrandt’s imagination.

The original painting bij Rembrandt van Rijn (1606-1669) nowadays part of the collection of the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague. (link)