Portrait of a Man in a Tall Hat

After learning the fundamentals of drawing and painting in his native Leiden, Rembrandt van Rijn went to Amsterdam in 1624 to study for six months with Pieter Lastman (1583–1633), a famous history painter. Upon completion of his training Rembrandt returned to Leiden. Around 1632 he moved to Amsterdam, quickly establishing himself as the town’s leading artist, specializing in history paintings and portraiture. He received many commissions and attracted a number of students who came to learn his method of painting.

The identity of this distinguished sitter has long been lost, but his dress and demeanor indicate that he was a well-to-do man, probably an Amsterdam merchant. Similarities between this work and Rembrandt's Syndics of the Cloth Drapers' Guild of 1662 suggest that the two paintings are not far removed in date. The sitter's hairstyle and costume, particularly his wide, flat collar with its tassels, are similar, as is the self-assured gravity that he projects as he focuses his eyes on the viewer from beneath his wide-brimmed black hat.

Unfortunately, large portions of the painting have suffered from abrasion and overpainting, and a thick layer of discolored varnish covers the work. Nevertheless, the sitter’s face has been well preserved, so that the painting retains its powerful presence and the sitter his imposing dignity.