Self Portrait in a Black Cap (No Frame)

Rembrandt painted a number of self- portraits throughout his career. The present picture, which represents the artist wearing a black beret and a fur cloak, was painted on a panel from the same tree as a self-portrait by the artist of 1634 (Berlin, Gemäldegalerie). Underneath the present composition there is an unfinished half-length portrait of a lady. The panel was heavily cut after the portrait was painted, probably in around 1837 when it was fitted in a frame with a semi-circular top. Originally it was probably rectangular and might have been up to 10 cm higher and 6 cm wider than it is now. The figure was surrounded by much more space than today.