Self-Portrait

In this bold self-portrait, Jan Lievens, a contemporary of Rembrandt van Rijn in Leiden, portrayed himself close to the picture plane, filling the composition with his penetrating gaze and long, free-flowing hair. The lively brushwork that defines his face, along with the scarf he wears tightly around his neck, conveys energy and passion. This portrait represents the apex of a remarkably rich phase in Lievens’s early career, one involving a prolific exchange of artistic ideas and painting techniques with Rembrandt.

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