Two Men in Discussion

The date and signature at the bottom of this sheet make it one of the few drawings securely attributed to Rembrandt. The men’s vaguely exotic attire may be inspired by fantasy or by the costumes of the foreign merchants who were a common sight in seventeenth-century Amsterdam. The fluidity of the flexible quill pen is combined with the atmospheric effect achieved with the heavier reed pen. Rembrandt used the reed pen to rework the outlines of the bearded figure, making it more prominent.