Frick Collection: Rembrandt Self Portrait-1658
             As the art appreciator walks through the illustrious Frick Collection and enters into the long ballroom-like West Gallery, one is initially in amazement by the coffered ceilings, the vast lighting, and the use of marble to give the room an illusion of great height. The initial amazement is furthered as you walk through the lengthy gallery. Then, as one approaches the western end of the gallery, they see a tremendous portrait of a famous man. This kingly portrayal strikes the viewer with its glazed shine and its thick impasto pigments. The viewer senses a feeling of uneasy confrontation from this seated man and the shadowed glare that he casts off. This is the self-portrait of a loathsome genius. This is Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn.
             Part of the Frick Collection since 1906, this self-portrait of Rembrandt is one of over sixty that he did in his painting days of 1625-1669. The portraits range as widely in nature as they do in date. Many connoisseurs believe the Frick Self Portrait to be the best of them all. Though it sits on the wall of a well-lit gallery, the painting still manages to glimmer as if it were made of gold. At 52 5/8 x 40 7/8 inches in size, the onlooker sees an apparently prosperous old man. He sits in his armchair, as if it was a thrown, and he fingers a staff in left hand as if it were his scepter. His right arm lays sternly on the other arm of the chair, and a red sash is draped around his waste, giving the portrait an open and horizontally linear value to it. The three-quarter-length portrait embodies the artist in a hieratic frontal pose, which was unusual in self-portraiture of the time. The red and gold of his aristocratic garments light up the chiaroscuro portrait, further contributing to the impression of wealth and power. Behind the artist, there lies a subdued and dark background, so that warm gold and vermilion colors of the artist's garment...