Third Centenary of Rembrandt’s Birth

Rembrandt van Rijn is regarded as the Netherlands’ most important painter. Medals relating to him have been made time and again, often when his year of birth or death is commemorated. Throughout his life the sculptor Piet Esser (1914-2004) was fascinated by Rembrandt, in particular the artist’s head. He made numerous portrait medals, each one different, modelling them by hand, after which he fired them in clay or had them cast in bronze.