Head of Saint Matthew

Rembrandt van Rijn, probably early 1660s

Shown from the shoulders up, the head of a pale-skinned, elderly man with a long beard and short brown hair takes up most of this vertical portrait painting. The man’s face is turned slightly to our right, and his amber eyes gaze in that direction. Thick strokes of taupe, smoke gray, harvest gold, and flecks of black paint form his thick, chest-length beard. Patches of peach, butterscotch yellow, and rust red create his face. Wide squiggles of chestnut and tawny brown suggest short curls under a coffee-brown cap. The loose painting technique blurs his features, and his shoulders are suggested by sloping areas of coffee and chestnut brown below his head. He is lit from our left so the far side of his face is in shadow, and he is set against an earth-brown background.
Artist
Rembrandt van Rijn
Date
probably early 1660s
Type
Painting
Medium
oil on panel
Dimensions
25 × 19.5 cm
Collection
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Licence
Public domain, CC0

Image description

Shown from the shoulders up, the head of a pale-skinned, elderly man with a long beard and short brown hair takes up most of this vertical portrait painting. The man’s face is turned slightly to our right, and his amber eyes gaze in that direction. Thick strokes of taupe, smoke gray, harvest gold, and flecks of black paint form his thick, chest-length beard. Patches of peach, butterscotch yellow, and rust red create his face. Wide squiggles of chestnut and tawny brown suggest short curls under a coffee-brown cap. The loose painting technique blurs his features, and his shoulders are suggested by sloping areas of coffee and chestnut brown below his head. He is lit from our left so the far side of his face is in shadow, and he is set against an earth-brown background.

Rembrandt van Rijn