Self-Portrait at an Easel Painting an Old Woman

1685 · Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

portrait

In this unusual self-portrait the artist portrays himself laughing as he sits at his easel painting a portrait of an unlovely old lady. Why is he laughing? Albert Blankert persuasively argued that he has depicted himself as the ancient Greek painter Zeuxis who laughed so hard while painting the portrait of a funny old crone that he choked and died.

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Self-Portrait at an Easel Painting an Old Woman

About the Artist

Aert de Gelder

1645 – 1727

Dutch painter, active mainly in his native Dordrecht. After studying there with Hoogstraten, he became one of Rembrandt 's last pupils in Amsterdam. He was not only one of the most talented of Rembrandt's pupils, but also one of his most devoted followers, for he was the only Dutch artist to continue working in his style into the 18th century. His religious paintings, in particular, with their imaginative boldness and preference for oriental types, are very much in the master's spirit, although de Gelder often used colors - such as lilac and lemon yellow - that were untypical of Rembrandt, and his palette was in general lighter. One of his best-known works, Jacob's Dream (Dulwich College Picture Gallery, London), was long attributed to Rembrandt.

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