REMBRANDT BY STALE AMSTERDAM

The work that inspired me is Rembrandt’s self-portrait as the Apostle Paul from 1661. I’ve visited the Rijksmuseum several times a year to admire this masterpiece. Together with the Jewish Bride it’s my favorite piece in the museum.

Just like Rembrandt, I tried to play with light and contrast. The applied layers of paint are the same shades that Rembrandt himself used. Think of burnt umber, brown and red ocher, burnt sienna and titanium white. The portrait comprises 37 layers of intensive dripping of paint. The colors are applied layer by layer with a total of seven liters of acrylic paint being used. The size of the canvas is 160 x 160 cm.

This artwork was part of the exhibition ‘Long Live Rembrandt’ in the Rijksmuseum from 15 July – 15 September 2019.