Rembrandt Laughing
Rembrandt Laughing is a oil on copper painting by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. It is an elaborate study of a laughing face, a tronie, and, since it represents the painter himself, one of over 40 self-portraits by Rembrandt, probably the earliest elaborate one. The painting, which was only recently discovered, is now in the J. Paul Getty Museum, California. Description The painting shows a laughing man, bareheaded, with his head tilted back, dressed in a deep purple robe, surrounded by a rougher brown woolen cape. He also wears a polished metal gorget, a piece of armor which is protecting the throat. The man's face has the features of the young Rembrandt, shown as a laughing soldier. His hair is long, "fluffy", light and dark blond, as in other Rembrandt portraits of the period (e.g. Self-Portrait in a Gorget in Nuremberg). He is looking directly at the viewer. The brushwork is sure, sensitive, spontaneous and bold, sometimes precise, sometimes broad and loose, and it clearly reveals the hand of a genius, who precisely knows how to best capture the transitory reaction of laughing. History of the painting Similar to many other Dutch paintings of the 17th century, the early