Rembrandt van Rijn

The Laughing Man

598 achterzijde
598 ingelijst
598 voorzijde
598 voorzijde

Rembrandt van Rijn
The Laughing Man

c. 1629-1630 On view in Room 9

Eyes shining and eyebrows raised, a man is baring his crooked teeth in a hearty laugh. This is not a portrait, but a character study or ‘tronie’ of a laughing man. Rembrandt painted it while he was living in Leiden and still had a very smooth style. So it is remarkable that he painted this head with incredibly loose brushstrokes – the style for which he later became famous. In some places, Rembrandt scratched in the wet paint to reveal the base – a copper plate covered in gold leaf.

Technical details
598 voorzijde

Rembrandt van Rijn
The Laughing Man

c. 1629-1630 On view in Room 9

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Details

General information
Rembrandt van Rijn (Leiden 1606 - 1669 Amsterdam)
The Laughing Man
c. 1629-1630
painting
598
Room 9
Material and technical details
oil
copper
15.3 x 12.2 cm

Provenance

Sale Cornelia Steyn-Schellinger et al., The Hague, 7-8 October 1783, lot 72; Gerard Munnicks van Cleeff, Utrecht, before 1860; sale Charles de Boissière, Paris, 19 February 1883, lot 40; F. Kleinberger Gallery, Paris, 1893-1894; Cornelis Hofstede de Groot, The Hague, 1894-1895; purchased, 1895