Portrait of a white-haired man

Portrait of a white-haired man
 1667

Gallery location
17th Century & Flemish Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
 

About this work

Portraits of individuals and groups represent almost two-thirds of Rembrandt’s oeuvre. This painting is an outstanding example of the artist’s late style and is the second-last portrait he made, only two years before his death. Although advanced in age, Rembrandt here is still experimenting with technique and form. The sitter’s right hand is cropped, symbolic of a life beyond the picture frame, and his pose is dynamic. Rembrandt has also used the sharp end of his brush to gouge the paint in the sitter’s hair, which adds to the lively appearance of this yet to be identified subject.

Artwork Details

Medium
oil on canvas
Measurements
108.9 × 92.7 cm
Inscription
inscribed in brown paint u.c.: Rembrandt f. / 1667
Accession Number
2372-4
Department
International Painting
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1951
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Reproduction requests
Gallery location
17th Century & Flemish Paintings Gallery
Level 2, NGV International
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Portraits
Subjects (specific)
beards black (colour) brown (colour) grey (colour) half figures human hair men (male humans) tassel
Frame
Reproduction, 1997, based on a Dutch frame from 1665

Frame

Three frames have been used for Rembrandt Portrait of a white haired man, 1667.
The painting was acquired in 1951 with a nineteenth century gilded, empire style frame (identified in storage in the 1990s). (above right)
In 1954, then Director, Daryl Lindsay had a frame made in London by Frederick Pollak, using a form that made reference to Dutch frames. (above left)
With new reference material, a re-framing of Portrait of a white haired man was proposed in 1996 and the frame ordered in 1997.
The frame was made in London.
The prototype for this frame is from 1665, two years earlier than the painting.

Frame Details

Framemaker
Reproduction - commissioned by the NGV
Date
1997
Materials

Ebonised fruit wood.

Discover more

Essay
Rembrandt’s watermarked papers at the National Gallery of Victoria
Essay
‘Rembrandt by himself’: a brief history of the Melbourne portrait of Rembrandt by an unknown artist
Essay
Rembrandt etchings on oriental papers: papers in the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria

Explore the collection

The Banquet of Cleopatra Giambattista TIEPOLO An Expert Harry FURNISS (Minstrel) Edwin LANDSEER Two crouching figures bending forward Alfred STEVENS Gates of Venice (View of the Venetian lagoon with the Tower of Marghera) Francesco GUARDI Lady in grey John LONGSTAFF Self-portrait Joseph WRIGHT of Derby Honey-Pots Phil MAY Flour lumper, Dimboola Sidney NOLAN Weeping woman Pablo PICASSO What Betsy Ann Makes of it Phil MAY The Crossing of the Red Sea Nicolas POUSSIN Great dancing pair Erich HECKEL Untitled Phil MAY Untitled Alfred E. CHALON Untitled Charles Samuel KEENE Merry go round Konrad SRZEDNICKI Frederick van Velthuysen and his wife, Josina Thomas de KEYSER Anguish August Friedrich Albrecht SCHENCK Untitled David TENIERS II Man seated in overcoat Charles KEENE The Virgin and Child FLANDERS Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara Dosso DOSSI; Battista DOSSI (attributed to) Remember Remember Phil MAY 10 Rillington Place Brett WHITELEY Cahill Expressway Jeffrey SMART The grasshopper Jules LEFEBVRE The Mayor's Cup William KERR Not Satisfied? Honoré DAUMIER Untitled G. STAFFORD