Much have I travel’d in the realms of gold1
“K thyself” resonated with Rembrandt van Rijn. More than any other artist of his caliber at any time, he explored his own image in as many as 90 self-portraits, some 60 of them paintings, an extraordinary record of self-examination. He was so frank with his depictions he could not have been motivated by narcissism. He may have taken up portraiture for its connection to history painting, a lifelong interest. Portraits were very popular in the commercial market of his day, and his were much sought after in Holland. Whatever the motivation, his self-portraits captured much more than physical features. From youth to ripe old age they amounted to a spiritual autobiography, and since he never strayed more than a few miles from his native Leiden, the journey of discovery was an inward one. Rembrandt’s life has been shrouded in mystery, largely because no written records exist beyond the usual certifi cates of birth, baptism, marriage, and death. He left no journal, and seven surviving letters from his hand concern routine transactions. But for an inventory of his possessions when near the end of his life he declared himself insolvent, the great artist left few clues about himself, save in his art, a brilliant legacy of more than 2,300 works, among them the famed Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp, Night Watch, some of his self-portraits, and Aristotle with a Bust of Homer, on this month’s cover. Aristotle with a Bust of Homer was commissioned by Don Antonio Ruffo, Sicilian nobleman, art collector, and patron of Rembrandt, without specifi c guidance, except to paint a philosopher. The meeting of the minds ensemble that ensued was the painter’s idea. A mixture of history and myth, the composition contains Rembrandt hallmarks: simplicity, quiet, character, empathy. While two fi gures are clearly present, a third one, Alexander the Great, appears indirectly, on the ornate pendant worn by Aristotle. The philosopher is portrayed in his study as a distinguished fi gure, clad in fi nery reminiscent of the Renaissance. A certain social rank, the markings of which appear in other works by Rembrandt, including some self-