It was created at a time when he was just establishing himself in Amsterdam and enjoying some new-found commercial success.Īhead of the sale Sotheby's co-chairman of Old Master paintings worldwide George Gordon, said: “Rembrandt’s face is instantly recognisable to us at every stage of his adulthood – far more so than any other painter. The painting showed Rembrandt wearing a ruff and black hat and was one of only two self-portraits in which he depicted himself formally dressed. ‘Instantly recognisable’Ī detail of the Rembrandt’s signature on the self-portrait. With buyer’s premium added, the price was £14.6m. The work carried a third-party guarantee, meaning it was always bound to sell at the auction on July 28. No details were available about the consignor of the work, but the catalogue noted that it had been in the same collection since it was acquired from Noortman Master Paintings in 2005, the year before the dealership itself was acquired by Sotheby’s. The date implies the artist was aged 26 when he painted the portrait.

Dendrochronological analysis also showed that it was painted on a panel cut from the same Baltic oak tree as another Rembrandt picture known from the same period. Sotheby’s said this example was one of the earliest and could be dated to a narrow window towards the end of 1632, thanks to the fact that it was signed with a form of the artist’s signature that he only very briefly employed. In all, Rembrandt recorded his own physiognomy in no fewer than 80 paintings, etchings and drawings. Enjoy unlimited access: just £1 for 12 weeks Subscribe nowĮstimated at £12-16m, it was one of just three self portraits painted by the artist remaining in private hands with the almost all the others now in major museum collections.

Rembrandt portraits