Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
Interpretive Essay and Museum Visit Analysis of Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn’s An Old Man in Military Costume Art History 20 – Art Appreciation, Fall 2012 Christina Acosta October 20, 2012 Museum visited: Getty Center Date of visit: October 6, 2012 Name of work: An Old Man in a Military Costume Date of creation: 1630 Rembrandt’s life span: 1606 -1669 Approximate size: 26” x 20” Materials used: Oil on panel Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
Christina Acosta photos at the Getty Center on October 6, 2012.
Christina discussing the two different painting styles of Rembrandt at the Getty Center
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
Rembrandt’s The Apostle Bartholomew painted in 1661.
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
Gerrit Dou’s Astronomer by Candlelight (Late 1650s)
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
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Color – monochromatic Cohesiveness Lighting Realism, extreme attention to detail, lifelike Curvilinear lines Repetition Shadows and contrast Mood, expression, Drama Brushwork Comparison to Dou and Rembrandt’s later paintings
Rembrandt, a master artist of the Baroque period, showed astounding realism in his paintings, consistent use of a monochromatic color scheme, and skill accurately painting many different textures and incorporating them into a single painting. Like many of his contemporaries, Rembrandt used lighting effectively and incorporated mood and drama by using various techniques such as using a diagonal stream of light, deep shadows, and an intense facial expression on his subjects. Rembrandt achieved warmth and three-dimensionality in An Old Man in Military Costume by his use of a warm monochromatic color scheme using ochre tones throughout the composition. The painting’s monochromatic color scheme adds to the painting’s dramatic feel and give it an old world quality, seen in many paintings of the Baroque period. Color Rembrandt’s use of muted earth tones follows the color palate often used by Baroque artists, many of whom seem to use different tones of ochre. Rembrandt’s paintings typically use this same ochre color palate. Even Rembrandt’s first student, the accomplished Baroque painter Gerrit Dou, appears to use this same color palate, as seen in his painting Astronomer by Candlelight. When viewing An Old Man in Military Costume up close, one can see slight variations in color with a “makeup” look on the man’s face. It looks as if Rembrandt was trying to show the model with face makeup on. Once one moves back from the painting a couple of feet and the colors on the old man’s face smoothly blend together, it becomes even more mesmerizing. The use of warm tones makes the painting even more inviting. The farther back one goes, the more one can truly appreciate it. Realism and attention to detail Arnold Houbraken (1660-1719), a Dutch painter and biographer of the Dutch Golden Age artists, said of Rembrandt, “He would spend a whole day or even two arranging the folds of a turban until he was satisfied. Our great Rembrandt was of the same opinion (as Caravaggio) and was indeed faithful to the principle that one must follow only
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
nature, anything else was worthless in his eyes.” Houbraken’s quote succinctly captures Rembrandt’s observational and painting skills. Rembrandt repeatedly created paintings that were extremely realistic and so lifelike that it feels like the subject is actually alive and breathing. Model’s Strong Presence – Mood The model is painted extremely realistically. Rembrandt captured even minute details shown in the determined expression of the man’s face, the softness of the feather, glassiness of his eyes, and hardness of the breastplate. The old man’s face has a lot of character in it, and Rembrandt accurately paints him with heightened feelings and unmistakable presence. The old man is turned in three-quarter pose, but gazes straight forward. Rembrandt paints in such a way the viewer can feel the man’s intense gaze and the pink color he added to the man’s nose gives him a lifelike appearance. This painting completely draws in the viewer because of the old man’s life-like appearance, achieved by Rembrandt’s ability to observe and paint minute details and feelings that mesmerize the viewer. The carefully blended brushstrokes allow the viewer to truly enjoy the painting up close. One can closely view the precision of Rembrandt’s brushwork, which followed the realistic style of the Baroque artists. Single brush strokes – Realism It is amazing how Rembrandt painted the old man’s beard in what looks like he may have used single-hair paint brushes to paint it. The beard has a soft, wispiness to it. The painting style of the beard is exact, like in Jan van Eyck’s 1434 Renaissance painting, The Arnolfolini Portrait, in which van Eyck used brushes with only a single hair to paint certain elements in the composition like the dog’s hair. During the Baroque period, artists moved away from idealism and toward Realism since photography had not yet been invented. The Baroque painters chose to paint as close to real life as possible with an added focus on light, drama, and expression. In An Old Man in Military Costume Rembrandt accurately recorded the old man in a way a photograph could not. The painting comes to life for the viewer. The painting is close to photographic quality. However, An Old Man in Military Costume offers more than what can be achieved by a photograph. It captures mood, drama, and intensity, which is difficult to achieve, even today. Rembrandt was able to incorporate mood and drama into this masterpiece by accurately capturing minute details via his careful observational and painting skills, effective use of light and shadows, and ability to create drama through lighting and contrast. Textures
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
What truly stands out in this painting are both Rembrandt’s ability to accurately paint the old man and make him come to life and to incorporate many different textures in a single painting. The viewer can clearly see these textures placed next to one another, which helps make this painting captivating and memorable. In An Old Man in Military Costume, Rembrandt accurately captures the old man’s facial features, intense, strong gaze, and his attire. Characteristic of the Baroque period, Rembrandt incorporates the dramatic use of light, shadows, and contrast. Rembrandt’s brushwork is flawless, individual brushstrokes are nowhere to be found. His brushwork is carefully measured and the proportions and coloring of the man and his costume are accurately depicted. Rembrandt created a great deal of drama with a mixture of contrasting textures. There is an air of confidence and nobility in the old man’s lined face, which displays experience, intensity, and wisdom. The viewer will notice in An Old Man in Military Costume, Rembrandt’s obvious talent for painting many different textures. He shows extremes in texture and differing tactile qualities. Also, he incorporates extremes of hard and soft, rough and smooth, thin and thick, and varying degrees of flexibility. Rembrandt carefully paints the metal breastplate so it appears cold, shiny, and stiff. It also appears heavy resting on the old man’s chest. In contrast, the feather appears to be dull, soft, flexible, and weightless. It is held into place by a thin band of glass beads encompassing the base of the old man’s soft, velvety cap. The feather’s soft, airy appearance makes the viewer want to touch it and delight in its softness. The sheer scarf peaks out from underneath the old man’s breastplate. The extreme contrast of the soft, weightless scarf underneath the heavy breastplate makes the viewer notice the tactile qualities of these elements. The contrast of light and dark on the breastplate give it a feeling of being a sturdy metal breastplate. The viewer can see deep shadows under the cap and breastplate, and on the right side of the man’s face. The style of the breastplate and raised drops along the top of the collar give it the appearance of being from the Middle Ages. The coldness of the breastplate is repeated in the man’s stern gaze with a befitting furrowed brow, piercing eyes, and tightly pinched mouth. The texture of the man’s suede coat is contrasted with the metal plate on top of it show differing combinations of textures. The man’s rough, weathered face is painted full of expression and contrasts. The man’s light skin is in contrast with his graying soft, scraggly beard. There is a texture to the old man’s beard, which is in direct contrast to both the diaphanous scarf and metal breastplate. When observing this painting, the viewer is struck by the artist’s many different textures
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
against a dramatic, old world backdrop. The monochromatic color theme forces the viewer to focus more on the different textures and away from the use of color, in the same way that some black and white photographs encourage us to focus on the elements in the picture instead of on the color scheme. According to Prebles’ Artforms, “The Baroque period, which ran from about 1600 to 1770, artists used the Renaissance techniques to move art in the direction of drama, emotion, and splendor.” Many artists during the Baroque period, like Caravaggio and Rembrandt, painted realistically and often used highly dramatic lighting to attach to their paintings. An Old Man in Military Costume shows the influence of the Italian Baroque period through its use of dramatic contrasts of light and dark. (Frank, pg. 267) An Old Man in Military Costume vividly shows Rembrandt’s amazing talent as an artist that shows realism in his paintings. An Old Man in Military Costume is stunning due to its drama and meticulous attention to detail. It displays many elements used by Baroque artists, like contrast, drama, and lighting, which draw in the viewer and evoke feelings in him or her. Cohesiveness of the Painting Rembrandt’s carefully blended brushstrokes and acute attention to detail bring the man to life and the atmospheric effect of the background lights up the painting. A dramatic stream of light is shown from the top left side of the composition down to the bottom right side, typical in many paintings of the Baroque period. Rembrandt’s use of light is actually more subtle than those of many of his contemporaries like Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi who often incorporated a strong spot light effect to add to its drama. Rembrandt carefully composed An Old Man in Military Costume so that the viewer would be seamlessly directed clockwise around it. The viewer starts at the top left corner, moves to the top right of the curved feather, to the cap, to the man’s face, to the right side of the breastplate, down to the bottom left side of the breastplate, and ultimately back up to the top left corner of the painting. The Baroque period is summed up in the following quote from Preble’s Artforms, “The Baroque period had more varied styles than the Renaissance, yet much of the art shows great energy and feeling, and a dramatic use of light, scale, and composition. Baroque artists set aside the balanced harmony achieved by Renaissance artists such as Raphael in his School of Athens and Michelangelo in his David, as they explored more innovative uses of space and more intense ranges of light and shadow. Their art, with its frequent use of curves and counter-curves, often appeals to the emotions first.” Rembrandt clearly follows the style of the Baroque period as depicted in this quote. The viewer can clearly see the use of realism or natural style over the idealism depicted in many Renaissance paintings. In addition, An Old Man in Military Costume shows atmosphere. The old man is painted adeptly using the chiaroscuro style, famous during the Baroque period. Rembrandt heavily used light and dark values and shadows. Rembrandt
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
carefully paints deep shadows on the cap, breastplate, feather, and left side of the old man’s coat. Especially noticeable is the deep shadow, covering close to half the right side of the old man’s face, which helps add to the drama of the painting and pulls in the viewer. The viewer is drawn to the old man’s eyes and face ravaged by old age. His eyes are wet and glassy, but piercing. The backdrop of ochre in different values adds to the painting’s dramatic feel and give it an old world quality, typically seen in many paintings of the Baroque period. Through Rembrandt’s meticulously blended brush strokes, the old man appears to be standing in front of the viewer. The light to dark values of ochre adds to the drama of the painting and adds interest for the viewer. This painting appears more realistic than a photograph of the man because it also breathes life. It is both captivating and memorable for the drama it evokes combined with the multiple textures. Lighting Rembrandt’s use of a monochromatic color scheme, dramatic use of shadow, contrast, and lighting adds to the painting’s dramatic mood. In his monochromatic color scheme, Rembrandt uses a multitude of values, from light to dark. Many Baroque artists like Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Dou, and Gentileschi incorporated this sense of drama in their paintings. Use of Curved lines Edvard Munch (1863 – 1944) stated, “In common with Michelangelo and Rembrandt, I am more interested in the line, its rise and fall, than in color.” The viewer can clearly see Rembrandt’s limited color palate and his strict use of curvilinear lines in An Old Man in Military Costume. His use of warm tones and curved lines, typical of the Baroque period makes the painting more inviting. The artist captures the viewer’s interest by expressing emotion and attitude in this painting. In An Old in Military Costume, Rembrandt chose to use strictly curvilinear lines. This choice creates a soft rhythm to painting. Up close, the viewer cannot see individual brushstrokes. Cohesiveness As the viewer carefully studies this painting, he or she can see that many of the lines and elements are repeated, which helped Rembrandt achieve cohesiveness and draws the viewer’s eyes around the painting. The curve in the feather mimics the curve in the front of the breastplate. Viewers will notice that these two curves are made from objects that could not be any more different: the delicate weightlessness of the softly curved feather compared to the sharp curve of the bottom of the hard, metal breastplate. The curve of the top of the velvety hat mimics the curve of the old man’s scraggly beard. The man’s piercing beady eyes mimic the eight raised dots on the collar of the breastplate and the beads at the base of the cap, and the curve in the old man’s chin mimics the
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Analysis of Rembrandt’s An Old Man in Military Costume
curve at the top and bottom of the breastplate. Dou versus Rembrandt In 1628, Gerrit Dou began his studies with Rembrandt and remained his student for three years. In Astronomer by Candlelight, Dou learned the chiaroscuro style and ability to paint minute details from Rembrandt and used it masterfully. The Astronomer by Candlelight and An Old Man in Military Costume are located close to one another at The Getty Center. The viewer can see Rembrandt’s style, color palate, and careful attention to detail come through in Dou’s work. Dou painted Astronomer by Candlelight in the late 1650s, he uses strong chiaroscuro style effectively to show volume and three dimensionality of his scenes. There is a clear resemblance to Rembrandt’s color scheme and dramatic painting style. Rembrandt’s later works As Rembrandt aged, his style changed significantly. He no longer was interested in using carefully blended brushstrokes. His style evolved to one that was rougher, where the viewer could actually see his thick paint, delineations in colors, and brushstrokes. An example of Rembrandt’s later style is shown in his 1661 painting The Apostle Bartholomew, which he painted eight years before his death. It is interesting to note that while Rembrandt painted details so meticulously when he was younger, with no visible brushstrokes, in his later years, he changed to using heavier brushwork where obvious thick brushstrokes can be seen and which used less blending. The Apostle Bartholomew, with its heavier brushstrokes depicts a foreshadowing of the Impressionist period of the late 19th century. Because photography had been invented, artists became less interested in exactly capturing a subject and more interested in using color and less detailed brushwork to express a mood and feeling. In Impressionist paintings, the viewer must step back about 20 feet to fully appreciate them. In An Old Man in Military Costume, Rembrandt is at the height of his game with realism being of utmost importance. This painting shows great thought and planning. It incorporates so many intriguing elements into a single painting, it is no wonder why it has remained a revered painting over the centuries. Bibliograhy Frank, Patrick, Prebles’ Artforms, 10th edition, 2011, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Némo, Paul, Rembrandt Drawings, 1975.
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