The Mauritshuis is exhibiting ten masterpieces from New York’s Frick Collection. One of them is a self-portrait of Rembrandt, painted in 1658, two years after his bankruptcy. In the painting he wears a simple black hat. You can see that he has known low points, but in his glance I see, in addition to resignation, fighting spirit. A young woman who stood next to me with her boyfriend quickly saw it. “I don’t understand how old people make self-portraits,” she says disapprovingly and is gone.
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A version of this article also appeared in the December 10, 2022 newspaper